Resident Evil 4 – All Sixteen Chapters Ranked

I’ve been biding my time for a Steam sale and a few free days in my schedule, and I can now finally say I’ve played the Resident Evil 4 Remake. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy my experience, I think it’s the best RE game yet!

There are sixteen fantastic chapters on offer, but some chapters were better than others. How would I rank them all? Oh, and beware of some major SPOILERS ahead … but that was kinda obvious.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Good

16 – Chapter 2

After the bombshell opening of Chapter 1, I was quite disappointed that Chapter 2 opened with a mandatory knife-only section.

It doesn’t last long, thankfully, and the rest of the gameplay up until you’re saved by Ada is decent. Even though this is the “worst” chapter, I still had a fun time – that’s when you know your game is awesome!

15 – Chapter 8

Chapter 8 was the one with the most wasted potential.

It starts strong with the Wine Cellar gauntlet and the meeting between Leon and Ada, but the Giant barrage and sun / moon “puzzles” felt really one-note and undercooked.

It also doesn’t help that you’re following a fairly limited stretch of narrow corridors throughout most of it … although the introduction of Plagas in these tight spaces was a great choice.

Great

14 – Chapter 10

There was a point when making this ranking when Chapter 10 was right at the bottom, but after some pondering I realised that was a bit harsh.

Let’s start with the more controversial topics – the dual Garrador fight and the Novistadors (or “the bugs”). The bugs were annoying at first but I came around to them, and the two Garradors seemed like a lazy design choice at the time but in hindsight I appreciated the challenging arena.

What isn’t controversial, however, is the final Verdugo fight. You have to fight a Xenomorph-like monstrosity in a chilly, tight space, and my heartrate had never been higher.

13 – Chapter 15

I’m currently in the middle of my second RE4 playthrough at the time of writing, and I have a feeling that Chapter 15 will fall down the rankings once I reach it again.

Fighting hordes of enemies with Chopper Mike’s help was so much fun, and slowly carrying Ashley was a super intense moment … but I imagine both of these sections will become boring on repeat playthroughs.

12 – Chapter 12

There are two distinct, fun parts to Chapter 12 – the Clocktower gauntlet and the Salazar boss fight.

The Clocktower was one of the best set pieces in the game (I especially liked the huge fire-breathing statue and the spiked balls), and it was satisfying to finally put Ramon in his place. Great stuff across the board.

11 – Chapter 5

Chapter 5 is the first part of the game where you have to escort Ashley, and I was immediately impressed with the dynamic that introduced – the game becomes a lot more intense once you have to start fearing for two people’s lives!

The chapter also ends with a great section where you have to defend a house from hordes of the infected, with the charismatic Luis in support.

10 – Chapter 3

It’s a case of “more of the same” for Chapter 3, but I wasn’t complaining in the slightest.

The Fish Farm is a really great location to battle through, and Del Lago is a solid first boss fight.

9 – Chapter 6

The final Village chapter sees you taking down the most fearsome enemy of all … psychotic chainsaw ladies!

There’s also a really intense escape sequence that leads to a fantastic boss fight against the formidable Chief Mendez.

Amazing

8 – Chapter 14

8 of the 16 chapters have made it to my “Amazing” tier – that’s half of the game!

Chapter 14 introduces us to the spiky “Iron Maiden” Regenerators, as well as the incredible Krauser fight – the preamble of navigating his death trap trials was a lot more fun than I was expecting.

Most people would have this chapter higher, but the two aspects holding it back are the crane defence and the boss fight itself – the crane section was a bit too long, and I was disappointed when a third of Krauser’s fight ended up being a simple knife battle again.

7 – Chapter 13

I went into the Island portion of RE4 with bated breath, as I’d heard that in the original this was where most players started to get bored. The remake has no such problem.

Navigating past the sentry turrets was great, but it’s the Regenerator Lab that will go down in legend as one of gaming’s scariest locations.

6 – Chapter 16

Three of the four Island chapters made it into my “Amazing” tier – granted, none of them reached the top five, but that’s a commendable level of consistency!

The boss fight against Osmund Saddler was just as over-the-top as I was expecting, and the jet ski escape was a pitch-perfect end to a masterpiece of a game. I only wish Chapter 16 had more going for it other than those two short set pieces.

5 – Chapter 11

Chapter 11 is one of the most action-packed parts of the whole game, and I’m amazed it didn’t get higher than fifth spot. This game is just too good across the board!

You fight two Giants with Luis, go on a crazy minecart ride, and tussle with Krauser for the first time – that knife fight, parries and dodging and all, was one of the coolest-looking set pieces of RE4.

4 – Chapter 1

It’s no exaggeration to say that RE4 had one of the best, most atmospheric openings to any game I’ve played.

The Town Square attack has gone down in videogame folklore as the epitome of videogame openings, and exploring the rest of the Village was fantastic too. The only thing holding Chapter 1 back is that later chapters go bigger and better.

3 – Chapter 7

The first Castle chapter wastes no time at all getting to the good bit.

The Castle Gate trebuchets were the perfect amount of chaos, the Dungeon Garrador mini boss was intense as hell, and the Water Hall gauntlet was a great challenge.

All-Time Great

2 – Chapter 4

If there was ever a chapter that showcased the immense leap in technology in the years since the original, it would be Chapter 4.

It blew my mind when I was allowed to roam freely on the open world lake, and I loved all the hidden alcoves to explore. There’s also an awesome fight versus El Gigante, and Leon finally meets Ashley for the first time.

1 – Chapter 9

I had a tough time picking between my two favourite RE4 chapters, but in the end I think Chapter 9 had more going for it.

The Courtyard hedge maze was super intense, the three-heads puzzle was fantastic across the board (the knights battle especially had me on the edge of my seat), and Ashley’s section was one of the scariest in the whole game. Those were three of my favourite parts in the whole game back-to-back, so I had to put this chapter at top spot!

Aaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: