New Resident Evil 4 VR Details Tease Dual-Wielding Weapons And Improved Visuals

Resident Evil 4 will get its long-awaited rebirth later this year, not as a remake, but as a virtual reality affair.

Currently in development at Armature Studio in conjunction with Facebook and Capcom, the iconic fourth installment in gaming’s most successful survival horror franchise is slated for release this fall and will provide fans old and new a fresh way to experience Leon’s quest to rescue the US President’s daughter from a parasite-worshipping cult. At its core, this is very much the same game that longtime followers of the series will be familiar with, but that certainly doesn’t mean the experience has been left untouched (besides the obvious perspective change) for this port.

In addition to a complete control scheme revamp, Armature has taken the opportunity to touch up environmental assets and textures, making them overall sharper. This is likely a result of players being able to inspect scene decoration to a much closer degree than the original third-person format, an adjustment that has also necessitated a tweaking of enemy behavior and animations.

Arguably the most important change, however, is the introduction of all-new gameplay mechanics. As Leon, you’ll not only be able to manually pick up weapons found throughout the world and immediately wield them without navigating the inventory, but you can even dual-wield smaller firearms such as handguns. Likewise, movement has received some alterations. While free walking is possible, Armature has made sure to include several locomotive options, including a short distance teleport.

All of these quality of life features will be available when Resident Evil 4 arrives on Oculus Quest 2 later this year, making it only the second entry in the series – behind 2017’s Resident Evil 7 – to feature full VR support. And you can check out some early gameplay via the trailer above.