CAPCOM shared some details about the changes coming to Resident Evil 4 Remake and one of them is about the improved co-op gameplay with Ashley Graham.
Resident Evil 4 Remake features Leon Kennedy and his mission to rescue Ashley from the Ganado cult, a group that has been infected with a parasite that has the same effects as the zombies in previous games. In the original game, Ashley was a problematic companion character as most of the time she would cause game overs a lot. If she dies, it is an automatic game over, which meant players have to cover for her constantly but the AI at that time was still not that great.
A recent interview with Game Directors Yasuhiro Ampo and Kazunori Kadoi with Game Informer revealed what CAPCOM has improved with Ashley’s gameplay in the remake.
“We wanted the game to change when Ashley is with you,” said Ampo. In the original game, Leon was able to “command” Ashley to hold a position and stay back from combat, but this changed in the remake. It is revealed that this time, the goal was to make her presence known without making it outright overbearing.
The developers revealed that in the remake, Ashley has been created to be more serious, believable, and self-reliant compared to the original version. The final result is expected to make her more enjoyable and engaging.
“As a character, we wanted to have her by your side so she left an impression,” says Ampo. “And as a game, having her hide while you went and fought in the original, that was fun in some ways. But having a character like Ashley and then having her basically disappear for a while felt like a waste. We wanted to avoid that in the remake.”
Kadoi then adds, “Making an A.I., you don’t want them getting in your way. But if you can just forget about them and they take care of themselves, then it doesn’t feel like you’re really protecting them. Finding a balance between those two is difficult.”
Expect Ashley to be the reliable companion in the whole journey this time around rather than just an annoyance and being on the way.
Resident Evil 4 Remake launches on March 24, 2023 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PS VR2.