Resident Evil 4: Tips and Tricks

Capcom's latest big remake is here, so no doubt many of you are raring to dive in and to begin the journey of saving the President's daughter from the tormented Los Iluminados cult as the fearless Leon S. Kennedy. With that remake debuting today, we've looked back at our time with the game to gather a few tips and tricks to help conquer the trials and tribulations of the Spanish wilderness.

Upgrade your health as soon as possible

Now this might seem like a given in pretty much any video game, but in Resident Evil 4 this is an absolute necessity to have focused on all before you reach the latter portions of the game. As the story progresses, you'll find that enemies are appearing in greater numbers, are equipped with more deadly weapons, and hit harder, so having a chunky health bar to play around with will mean the difference between getting killed in three attacks and getting killed in two. When you find yourself cornered by a gang of Ganados, a big health bar will be your best ally.

Stockpile gems for treasures

Throughout the course of the story, you'll loot all kinds of goodies that can be flogged to the Merchant for a boatload of Pesetas. While certain treasures and relics can be sold without much of a hassle, some feature ways for you to slot in gems to massively increase their worth, and to ensure you have a steady supply of Pesetas, the best thing you can do is save your gems specifically to slot them in these treasures. At the end of the day, why sell three Sapphires for 12,000 Pesetas when you can sell a golden goblet embedded with three of the same gems for three times that.

Case upgrades are king

Inventory management has always been one of Resident Evil's biggest and most interesting mechanics, and this remake uses the more modern suite that allows you to fiddle with the position and rotation of an item so you can maximise your carried selection of goodies. But there comes a time when the available space simply isn't enough, and when that time comes you are going to wish you blew your hard-earned Pesetas on a bigger Attaché Case instead of that TMP you've been eyeing up. Buy cases, carry more guns, take down more Ganados. Easy.

RPGs are a free ticket to beating a frustrating boss

There will come a time when you meet the Merchant and you realise that he is selling an actual rocket launcher. First of all, you'll likely notice the enormous price tag of 80,000 Pesetas, but let us just tell you that there's a very good reason these things are so expensive. RPGs do absurd amounts of damage, and are ideal for almost instantly taking down that boss enemy that has been causing you grief. Bar the price, the second catch with these weapons is that they are single use, so don't miss out. Else you'll be down 80 grand.

Don't be afraid to sell your guns

You might be wondering, 'how on earth am I supposed to afford an RPG or some of these expensive weapon upgrades? I've strategically saved and sold my gems and I'm still broke.' Well, the simple solution is to stop stockpiling weapons. Leon doesn't need three unique pistols or a couple of shotguns - one will do. Once you have a better option on the table, sell your older one and replace it with the latest tool. If you have a few upgrades on your weapons, you'll probably even notice that some are worth absolute fortunes, so think of them as investments that you can cash in on later in the game.

Don't waste your money on bad weapon upgrades

Talking about weapon upgrades, as you don't have an unlimited supply of Pesetas, don't waste your cash on bad weapon upgrades. While it might seem like an idea to max out reload speed, or to improve magazine capacity, you're better off focusing on damage and at a stretch, rate of fire. At the end of the day, with resources being scarce, why fire two shots when one will do the trick? Upgrade damage, ignore the rest.

Use your resources

Again, it may seem silly to say, but as we're all hoarders it needs to be mentioned. Your resources are meant to be used, not stockpiled. So instead of saving that gunpowder or perhaps even that fish you've been holding for three chapters, just make some ammo or restore some health. While the Merchant only cares about your cash, his motto can be implied here as well. Your resources won't do you any good if you're dead.

There's no harm in running for your life

You're staring down a gang of Ganados, you have Leon's trusty sidearm in your hands, and you're feeling like an action hero. Don't. Fire. A. Bullet. Save your ammo and run, and save those bullets for when you actually need them. Resident Evil 4's enemies will keep respawning on some occasions so the last thing you want is to be hurling lead down range wheely-neely. Just save your ammo, use your legs, and run to safety. There's no harm in that.

Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you master and overcome the Los Iluminados threat in Resident Evil 4. If you're interested in reading our full thoughts on the game, you can find our review right here, and you can also start your adventure today, with Resident Evil 4 launching on PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, and Xbox Series consoles on March 24.