Resident Evil 4 VR cuts out the sleaziness around Ashley

(Image credit entry: Capcom)

House physician Evil 4 VR is now in the wild (we'll receive a review shortly), a port-remake of Capcom's endurance horror classic, improved past Facebook's Eye Studios and Armature Studios. First released in 2005 for the Nintendo Gamecube, Resident Evil 4 basically invented the modern style of third-individual action game, and its influence can be seen in everything from Resident Infernal Village to Supreme Being of War.

It was first rumoured a month ago that the left will remove reliable aspects of the original that, in 2021, don't hold up so well. Most of this revolves around Ashley, the United States President's daughter and the person that Leon has to protect for most of the game. Ashley is a young woman and the new game includes single moments where male characters express an attraction towards her or comment on her physique.

For exercise, upon confluence Ashley the bearing character Luis Sera says in a cutscene "I see the president has equipped his daughter with ballistics", where the context and camera angle makes it clear he's referring to Ashley's breasts. Or when Ashley is at a higher level in the environment, Leon potty try to aim up her skirt, which causes Ashley's character reference model to hide the area and scream the player a pervert (thither are different responses she has to this: all along standardised lines).

These elements take in been removed from Resident Malign 4 VR (thanks, IGN). As well as the Ashley elements, Leon's flirting with his US coach Ingrid Hunnigan is toned-down.

At the most obvious flush this is active the ever-changing attitudes to misogynistic tropes in games and the general objectification of women over the last decade-plus. It's non exactly core to Resident Evil 4 that the male characters would sometimes be slimeballs to Ashley, so it seems like an easy conclusion to snip it out. And when it comes to the 'upskirting' the cringe is surely squared by the idea of players existence able to love in VR.

"Oculus Studios, Armature, and Capcom partnered closely to remaster Resident Evil 4 from the soil up for VR," said a Facebook statement. "This includes immersive environments and high-resolution graphics. It also includes select changes to in-game dialogue and animations that we believe will update Resident Evil 4 for a modern audience."

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge powder magazine before working for a wide tramp of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Frailty. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the U.K. build up of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Little History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] moldiness-read for serious minded game historians and curious video courageous connoisseurs alike."