20 Best Video Games Of 2023 - RANKED

4. Resident Evil 4

We didn't think they could do it. The original Resident Evil 4 was god-tier - and it very much still is - but by overhauling the entire "feel" of the original, letting Resident Evil 2 remake's developers take over and by adding plot elements and environments we didn't know we wanted, RE4R slots in as a worthwhile reimagining of that 2005 classic for a whole new audience, that doesn't want to replace what came before.

Most fascinatingly of all is how Capcom are reworking their own history; repurposing one of the biggest mechanical shifts in gaming history from the isometric Resi 3 in 1999 to the pioneering RE 4 in 2005, into a new streamlined timeline and franchise identity, for what is for now four games.

Leon and Ashley's relationship is improved on massively, the outdated aspects of her character matured as this newly minted co-dependence is a stronger spine for the whole game. Gunplay is far weightier, walking a line somewhere between Resident Evil 2 Remake and Red Dead Redemption 2, meaning you still get tense survival scenarios in tight spaces, with the satisfaction of suplexing a zombie or roundhouse kicking their head off to finish a group.

Fans continue to debate specific lore changes or screentime with certain villains, but besides RE3 feeling like glorified DLC, Capcom are on a form not seen in years. Whether they remake and refocus RE5 and 6, is the real question going forward.