Passionately stupid, passionately wacky
Louis and Ada dancing – the new DLC is as passionately stupid as it is passionately twisted.
Resident Evil 4 Remake turned the nerve-wracking tank-control original into an addictive high-speed John Wick game. Now, that radioactive fuel cell has been applied to Separate Ways as well. The result is a gameplay experience that’s more like a cascading sprint than a simple walkthrough.
To be able to keep up with a plain, illustrated text at all, I also have to shift up a gear. So use the time to download the DLC while I’m talking (or letting you read). Note: The expansion includes (only) four to five hours of gameplay. That’s why I’ll only show you a few selected impressions and leave the rest in the mist of spoiler space.
An example: The DLC begins with Leon’s compadre Louis – long before they became compadres – dancing in his cell as a prisoner of the Ganados. This moment alone, this crazy little dance, reflects the entire tone of the expansion.
Absolutely passionate, as passionately bonkers as it is passionately wacky. In Separate Ways, you experience the eponymous “different ways,” namely, in this case, the way Ada Wong (Femme Fatale, Leon’s love-hate, Albert Wesker’s sidekick) goes about getting to the goal of her mission: To steal the amber that houses the source of the parasite that has plunged the entire region into hell.
Resident Evil 4 Remake: Separate Ways – Have it Adas way
New: the grappling hook. It’s perfect for reaching high places or pulling yourself up to dazed enemies.
Ada’s adventure turns out to be a medley and reinterpretation of all locations and highlights from the original game – from the Lord of the Rings catapult battles in the castle to the Call of Duty shootouts on the island. Why there is no recycling feeling: First, Capcom seems to have saved many missing passages from the main game (zipline, laser room, a boss monster) for Separate Ways, which are now used skillfully.
Secondly, each passage was tailored specifically for Ada. The new character makes a big difference in the gameplay, especially since she brings her own unique fighting style. Thanks to her Unhooked Pistol, she flies from rooftop to rooftop or crashes into dazed opponents while kicking. It’s like Resi 4, only very different. No longer leon-esque, but ada-esque.
An explosive encore
The speed is high, the difficulty crisp. All in all, a new experience.
The chapters are short, the pace is fast, the difficulty is crisp. The new weapons (such as a crossbow) are fun, bonus hunters can also enjoy new side quests.
You enjoy every new element – just the fact that Ada has her own piece of music when saving. Likewise, you enthusiastically embrace every break with anticipation when old sections are suddenly played backwards and old locations are suddenly transformed into boss arenas.
You can tell that someone is celebrating their game and – despite the success with Resi 4 – doesn’t want to put their feet up at the end, but rather deliver once more.
Separate Ways presents not only a cool miniature game, but also a nostalgic trip, where you run through the actual original game – as in the main game – but which has been converted into a new original at the same time.
New sequences also provide new insights into Ada and Wesker’s personalities, which are now more complicated and multi-layered than in the main game after all. It’s a hell of a lot of content for ten euros, especially since the difficulty levels invite you to run through again and again.