For context, IIRC I spent about 30 minutes abusing the living shit out of this ai chatbot. Then it fully just broke. I get that I typed “imagine” so it initiated an image generation prompt, but I have no idea what the subsequent image has to do with a help centre.
I think I genuinely pissed it off, and this was its way of getting back at me. That image is the stuff of nightmares lol
It’s no question that OG RE4 was highly influential on gaming industry general, but particularly horror-action. One of my all time favourite franchises, Dead Space, was born from that influence. Both games have been remade and are fantastic. On top of this, a solid newcomer has joined being Cronos: The New Dawn, which I find has taken a lot of inspiration from both RE4 and Dead Space. Having played all 3 more than a few times now and liking them all, I found myself wanting to break down aspects of each game and compare them to see how they stack up. Keep in mind that this is solely my opinion, and you’re welcome to disagree with any of my takes!
Story
I’m a sucker for the Marker plagued story of the Dead Space games, so I’m surprised myself that I ended up concluding Cronos had the best narrative of the 3 games. Albeit confusing at times, it felt the most fresh and although the main villain twist was predictable, I myself did not see the protagonist twist coming. I also REALLY liked how the game ends where subsequent NG+ play throughs actually make sense, canonically speaking. For that, I feel it slightly edges DS out for first place here. As for RE4R, the story was…good enough. It felt like a typical horror/action storyline. Damsel in distress, freakish enemies, cult etc. A lot of the story (that matters) takes place in documents found throughout the game. Case in point, I completely missed who Verdugo was and his significance till I did some research. It felt like I may as well have been getting chased by an unnamed Xenomorph.
Graphics
DS takes the cake here and it’s not even close. The original looked great for its time but the remake looks incredible. Parts of the Ishimura look sublime. As for Cronos and RE4R, it was pretty much one or the other for last place. I found in performance mode, Cronos had slightly better fidelity. I liked the sepia tone during the Steelworks in Cronos (late-00’s piss filter advocate), and the Castle section looked great in RE4R. Other than that, both games were basically dull and grey the whole way through.
Gameplay feel
Again, DS wins here. Being built upon the Frostbite engine is almost cheating for this comparison given the Battlefield roots, but DS just feels so great everytime I hop back into it. The weapons, aiming, firing and movement all feel so crisp and fluid. RE4R isn’t far off DS, but feels a bit sluggish at times. Cronos feels good too, but aiming can be a bit cumbersome without weapon upgrades. What did impress me is that it didn’t feel like your typical UE game, which was an nice change,
Gameplay loop
The more I played RE4R, the more this game stood out above the rest. I pride Dead Space on its level of differing strategy between weapon and gameplay choices, but RE4R takes this to the next step. Between pistol headshots and melees, to knife attacks, parrying, sniping etc etc. Criticals are super satisfying and addictive. I’m not the first and I definitely won’t be the last to praise RE4R on its addictive gameplay loop. Cronos felt a bit more linear in this regard compared to the other two, where most engagements see the player typically aim and shoot for headshots. The charge up shots is a nice mechanic but it’s certainly not new or massively innovative, and although the game tries to push you to burn corpses, I almost never did. Merging enemies is also a cool addition but again, this doesn’t really offer any interesting gameplay loop other than hitting more headshots on a stronger enemy.
Replay (NG+)
Moving off the last category, it’s pretty much the same ranking here in regards to replay-ability. RE4R is miles ahead of the others here. The gameplay loop goes hand in hand with the challenges and unlocks. I easily did 5 playthroughs each of both the man story and SW within a week. DS and Cronos are a lot close here, and I’d of ranked Cronos higher given NG+ offers incentives in the form of alternate story endings. However, I haven’t felt myself wanting to really go back as much as the other two.
Resource management
Cronos is easily the winner here. Although I was fortunate in the sense I researched the game prior to my first playthrough, and went into prioritising inventory slot upgrades, I still had to really manage my resources. I couldn’t carry more than half a stack of ammo per gun, and although the game gives you the ability to run 4 weapons, I really only ran 2 for my first playthrough. Backtracking can be commonplace if you’re not strict on your resources. Dead Space can be similarly restrictive, but if you’re smart with your credits and buy suit upgrades early, plus keep your loadout to 1-2 weapons, it’s rarely an issue. RE4R is similar to DS, but a lot less restrictive. I could easily run 6 weapons towards the end of my play-through, and rarely maxed out my inventory.
Fear Factor
I left this for last as although it’s arguably one of the most important aspects of any horror games, I’m probably one of the worst critics to judge this. Unfortunately, nothing really scares me these days so all games basically felt the same to me. If I’m being objective about it and using feedback from other people, then DS would have to be number 1. It’s surprising to me that this game is so scary that some people can’t even make it through the whole thing. I haven’t heard any similar feedback about the other 2 so DS is number 1 here. I ranked RE4R last as there was not a single part of the game that I found even remotely scary. I’d say the same about Cronos but there was one part in the Steelworks where I had a genuine jumpscare by one of the souls communicating with you abruptly. For that, it takes number 2.
Overall
I find myself slowly loving RE4R as much as I love the Dead Space Remake. As for which one is objectively better, it’s VERY hard to say. Both have their strengths, and very few flaws. I feel like it comes down to personal preference. RE4R feels more inciting to replay but equally, DS feels so smooth and natural. Both are equally satisfying when you’ve mastered the mechanics. Cronos is a solid game, the resource management and story probably elevate as the more ‘true horror game’ out of the 3. Unfortunately, I find its ‘unique’ gameplay aspects fall a bit short, and replay-ability only comes if you truly fall in love with the game.
Interested to hear your thoughts and why you love a particular game over the others!
What generally sets apart great weapon balancing from bad is the fact you can look up reviews/ discussions and opinion wildly varies.
With that being said, I know that this topic has been discussed to death but now that it’s been a few years, what do you guys definitively claim as the best handgun??
A lot of people prefer the SG-09 for its critical hit rate. Some lean towards the Blacktail for its compact size and versatility. Others like the Red 9 owing to its damage output.
Personally, I found the best handgun depends on your play-style and more importantly, the difficulty you’re playing on.
On Standard/Hardcore, I stuck to the SG-09 and later the Sentinel Nine. After purchasing the DLC and using the latter, I wouldn’t touch the SG-09 again, as to me the Sentinel Nine is basically the same pistol but better.
On Professional however, I actually found myself gravitating towards the Punisher. I’m not sure if this is true but I found getting critical hits on Professional to be quite rare, and the need for reliable follow up shots was greater. The Punisher was awesome for this.
I personally do not like the Red 9 whatsoever. The recoil is great (w/ stock) but the increased damage output doesn’t justify the abysmal fire rate, which is punishing if you miss.
The Blacktail for me was… ok. The fact it takes 4 slots instead of 6 is nice, but inventory space is rarely an issue in this game. I find it’s a jack-of-all trades and master of none. Some people prefer that, but it wasn’t for me.
Lastly (I didn’t forget), shout out the Matilda. Absolutely useless on normal play-throughs, but man if you run it with a stock, exclusive upgrade and cat ears does it feel so busted. Absolute blick machine. I know people rate the CQBR as the best cat ears weapon but I honestly think it’s the Matilda. The fire rate is just nuts and it’s so fun to use.