With a few exceptions, the Resident Evil 4 remake isn’t terribly scary. It’s a bit more moody than the original, but not really a game I’d recommend for Halloween. The Separate Ways DLC has even less of a horror-focus, but some extremely good autumn vibes.
I don’t think I’ve played the original Separate Ways since the Wii version a decade and a half ago. I only finished the RE4 remake for a second time last week, and this is my first go at the DLC, so I’m definitely no Steve Perry.
The DLC stars Ada Wong, who is even more agile than the nimble Leon Kennedy from the remake. Ada zips around ledges and towards enemies with her cool zip gun, looking cool. This is a much more action-heavy RE4 experience, and in the same setting as the remake but without the scares, it has more of a weirdly fast pumpkin patch hayride feel.
Ada’s red dress juxtaposed with orange leaves and gothic castles feels like an action-packed Journey through Target’s Halloween section. The RE4 mechanics and gameplay loop are as satisfying as ever, but not even the slimy hooded magic monster antagonist provides any real frights. Personally, I’m already deep into spooky season, but if you want to ease yourself in, Separate Ways is a great way to warm up for the hallowdays.
Played and captured on my PC (AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D / 4080 Super 16GB / 32 GB RAM).
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