Summary
WhenResident Evil 4 Remakereleased at the start of the year, both critics and fans were ecstatic with the final result. A classic that no one thought even needed a remake, Capcom somehow managed to elevate practically every facet ofResident Evil 4, and in the process created one of the greatest action survival horror games of all time, once again. But despite that heavy praise,Resident Evil 4 Remakewasn’t perfect.
One of the biggest criticisms surroundingResident Evil 4 Remakewas its cut content. Boss fights, enemy encounters, and several story beats were all missing from the remake, and while fans agree that most of these weren’t necessary forResident Evil 4 Remaketo be a great game, many fans did believe that the removal of the original’sSeparate Ways DLC campaignwas a big slight against the game. But after months of waiting,Resident Evil 4 Remakeis finally about to be complete, though its upcoming Separate Ways DLC might suffer one of the base game’s more glaring issues.
RELATED:Resident Evil 4’s Separate Ways DLC Could Just Be a Taste of What’s to Come
Resident Evil 4’s Separate Ways DLC May Still Suffer From Rough Voice Performances
Resident Evil 4 Remakewas widely beloved by both fans and critics, with some truly phenomenal gameplay, some great scares, and some excellent visuals and sound design. But there was one fairly obvious issue that plagued the remake, and that wasAda Wong’s voice performance. Though the remake’s version of Ada had been given a slightly new look, she still acted just like her original 2005Bondmovie-esque counterpart, but her voice didn’t really fit that portrayal.
While the original version ofResident Evil 4’s Ada Wong was a sassy or sultry action-hero spy, and the remake’s design retained that concept, her voice performance didn’t really capture that same energy at all. Instead of mysterious, aloof, or playful,Resident Evil 4 Remake’s Ada Wongsounded just a bit bored, which didn’t mesh well at all with the game’s often over-the-top action-horror tone.
While fair criticism is a natural part of media consumption, it’s never okay to harass anyone involved in the project, and that’s exactly what some people did toAda Wong’s voice actress, Lily Gaowhen the game first came out, causing her to deactivate her social media accounts and release a statement online. In the statement, Lily Gao expressed her disappointment that the first Asian woman to actually play Ada Wong was receiving death threats online for her portrayal. Gao also mentioned that she was trying to portray her Ada Wong as a survivor, as opposed to a “sexualized, mysterious” stereotype.
While this is a completely understandable direction to take the character in, it just may not be what fans want from the character of Ada Wong. Unfortunately, Ada Wong isn’t an original character, but one that’s been around sinceResident Evil 2in 1998, and in that time Capcom has firmly cemented her as this sassy action-hero-like character, and that’s simply what fans expect to see, especially in a remake. But that doesn’t mean that the character of Ada Wong needs to be two-dimensional, or that Lily Gao needs to be replaced. There’s room for Lily Gao’s Ada Wong to be both a toughened survivor, and a charismatic femme fatale, andResident Evil 4 Remake’s upcoming Separate Ways DLC could be the perfect place to show that subtle balance of the two.
Resident Evil 4Remake is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
