Even after 17 years, the survival horror third-person shooter from 2005 Resident Evil 4 is still considered one of the most influential games ever made, which is one of the many reasons fans are excited about the upcoming 2023 remake. Despite a tumultuous development history, the game has the over-the-shoulder third-person view popularized and changed the survival horror genre forever.
With this title playing such an important role in gaming history, it’s not surprising that many games have followed in its footsteps. Some of these games, such as: Empty space, were indirectly or directly inspired by Resident Evil 4.
10 Saving Space – Organization Puzzle (2022)
Inspired by the inventory system in Resident Evil 4, Save space – Organization puzzle is a relaxing puzzle game released earlier this year. During each level, the player must fit all available items into the limited space of the inventory by moving or using the items.
Certain levels require the player to complete tasks such as combining gunpowder to make ammunition, reloading the weapons, combining herbs to create healing items, and healing the in-game character. Players can also browse the inventory items to see all of their unique descriptions, adding some depth to the experience.
9 Haunting Ground (2005)
During Resident Evil 4‘s development, at least four different versions of the game were created and then discarded. Of these early builds, two were reused for all-new games. In the “Hallucination” version, co-written by Clock tower 3‘s writer Noboru Sugimura and Resident Evil 3: Nemesiss writer Yasuhisa Kawamura, the game had a stronger focus on horror and featured a subplot about a girl and a Bio Organic Weapon (BOW) dog.
While Resident Evil 4 one short scene with the dog, the rejected premise was also used as the basis for the 2005 survival horror game ghostly ground, which is considered a spiritual successor to the Bell tower franchisee. The game follows an 18-year-old woman named Fiona Belli who explores a dangerous castle, dodging enemies and solving puzzles with her animal sidekick Hewie.
8 God Hand (2006)
Created by part of the team that worked on Resident Evil 4, god hand is a 2006 comedy action beat ’em up released by Clover Studio, a short-lived studio within Capcom that also Viewtiful Joe series and kami. This cult classic follows a 23-year-old martial artist named Gene whose right arm is severed as he tries to protect a young woman named Olivia from bandits trying to steal the titular God Hand.
After Olivia attaches the God Hand to his severed arm, Gene is sent out to stop various demons from attempting to resurrect the demon king Angra. With lots of great humor and challenging gameplay, god hand is a unique and unforgettable experience.
7 Uncharted series (2007–present)
Created by famed video game director Amy Hennig, not mapped is a continuous Indiana Jones-inspired action-adventure franchise that follows treasure hunters as they uncover various historical mysteries around the world. While almost all of the entries have mainly followed Nathan Drake and his companions, the latest installment is, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, instead it revolves around Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross.
In addition to the obvious film influences, the development team was also inspired by the atmospheric stories of Resident Evil 4. Naughty Dog wanted to use triggered events and other ways to integrate the story into the game so that players could engage directly with the plot without interrupting the gameplay.
6 Dead Space series (2008–present)
While there are plenty of horror games that take place in space, one of the most influential is the Empty space franchise, which is currently a trilogy of third-person over-the-shoulder shooters. After losing contact with his girlfriend Nicole Brennan, who is the USG . is ishimuras Chief Physician Isaac Clarke travels to the spaceship to discover what happened to her, battle strange creatures known as ‘Necromorphs’ and uncover the truths behind the mysterious artifacts called ‘Red Markers’.
Without Resident Evil 4, however, this multimedia franchise would not exist. Although the first game was originally intended System shock 3, the developers decided to create their own original series after playing RE4. This first episode will get a remake scheduled for 2023.
5 Modern Resident Evil Entries (2007–present)
In addition to influencing other games and franchises, Resident Evil 4 also influenced the Resident Evil franchise itself. Popularized by the original 1996 resident evil, The survival horror genre was mostly characterized by tense item management mechanics, emphasized horror elements, puzzle-focused gameplay, pre-rendered backgrounds, and fixed camera angles. This all changed with the release of RE4, which took the genre into a new, action-oriented era.
Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil 6and numerous other titles followed in RE4s footsteps, divisive for fans, as some preferred the traditional horror and puzzles. although Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Resident Evil Village, and the Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3 remakes all bring back some original survival horror concepts, the intense action gameplay, fully 3D environments and atmospheric storytelling remain.
4 Gears of War/ Gears series (2006-present)
Another beloved franchise created because of Resident Evil 4 is the weapons of war, also known as gears, series. Set in the world of Sera, this franchise follows squads of soldiers known as “Gears” as they battle underground creatures called the Locust Horde, their mutated counterparts called the Lambent, and finally their new iteration called the Swarm to Save Humanity.
Originally the first Weapons of War was supposed to be a multiplayer arena game within the Unreal franchise titled Unreal warfare. after seeing Resident Evil 4, however, the game’s lead director, Cliff Bleszinski, wanted to create a similar horror-based shooter that used the same over-the-shoulder perspective and pace.
3 Devil May Cry Series (2001–present)
Together with ghostly ground, another game created from an early build of Resident Evil 4 was the original 2001 action adventure game Devil May Cry. For the earliest version of RE4, director Hideki Kamiya and writer Noboru Sugimura, both of whom had previously contributed to the creation of Resident Evil 2, tried to make a “stylish” action game that fits within the Resident Evil universe.
This game would have centered around a protagonist named Tony who would slowly discover that his body’s mysterious superhuman abilities were caused by biotechnology. Because the producer, Shinji Mikami, felt this version strayed too far from Resident Evil’s roots, this build was reused in a new franchise about a cocky half-demon named Dante who protects humanity from armies of demons.
2 God of War (2018)
Released in 2018, god of war is an action adventure game and a soft reboot of the god of war franchisee. Focusing on Norse mythology rather than Greek mythology, the game follows recurring protagonist Kratos and his son Atreus as they journey around the cremated ashes of Faye, Kratos’ second wife and Atreus’ mother, to spread on the highest peak of the Nine Realms.
While god of war was influenced by several excellent games such as dark souls and blood-borne, one of the biggest inspirations was Resident Evil 4. Unlike previous installments with a fixed movie camera, this game uses an over-the-shoulder free camera, which is even presented as a continuous shot. Both this camera perspective and the game’s increased focus on exploration were influenced by: RE4.
1 Bioshock (2007)
Considered a spiritual successor to the System shock series, BioShock is a 2007 horror FPS that follows a young man named Jack who is the sole survivor of a plane crash. Leaving the wreckage in the Atlantic Ocean, he finds an underwater city known as Rapture, which rapidly deteriorated after the discovery of a gene-altering substance called ADAM. As he explores the ruined city and fights enemies, he slowly discovers the truths behind what happened and his own past.
According to bioshock’s chief designer Bill Gardner during an interview with Den of Geek, Resident Evil 4 affects almost every level of BioShock’s gameplay, including the environments, items, and combat elements. For Gardner and other developers, RE4 proved that players wanted more complex gameplay mechanics that acknowledged their intellect and abilities.
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