{"id":35605,"date":"2023-09-21T22:44:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T21:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.xtremeservers.com\/blog\/resident-evil-4-separate-ways-dlc-review\/"},"modified":"2023-09-21T22:44:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T21:44:11","slug":"resident-evil-4-separate-ways-dlc-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xtremeservers.com\/blog\/resident-evil-4-separate-ways-dlc-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways DLC Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Resident Evil 4 sure knows how to set the tone: the remake\u2019s intro sees Leon slowly advancing through creepy woods and rotting, ominous houses, culminating in the horrifying crescendo that is the infamous village attack. But with that groundwork already laid, The Separate Ways DLC has no need for such a slow build-up, and smartly wastes very little time shifting into high gear: we\u2019re put up against an extremely imposing boss mere minutes after taking control of Ada Wong, the star of this show. In fact, though it only took me just over four hours to complete this side story\u2019s seven chapters, Separate Ways rarely wastes a moment of your time, and proves to be a highly entertaining roller coaster that includes some very satisfying new takes on ideas from its original 2005 inspiration.<\/p>\n

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The story of our cool and competent covert operative runs basically parallel to that of Leon Kennedy\u2019s quest to find the President\u2019s daughter in a remote Spanish village, and while their paths often intersect in interesting ways, it\u2019s the objectives that Ada follows on behalf of a familiar shadowy figure \u2013 and some revelations that should surprise even those who know the original\u2019s story inside and out \u2013 that make her adventure worth playing. <\/p>\n

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Where the original included more than a few \u201cGo help Leon before he dies a nasty death\u201d tasks, the remake\u2019s Separate Ways feel more like a believable arc of Ada having to choose between leaving emotions at the door and putting the mission first, all while lending her own brand of assistance (but still looking for a way to use the situation to her advantage later). Ada\u2019s story in Separate Ways also has more room to breathe than it did in the 2005 version, with less focus on retelling Leon\u2019s story from a different angle, and more about her growing reluctance to put her client before her allies. <\/p>\n

The fights stand out from what Leon has to deal with.<\/section>\n

Rather than having Ada largely follow Leon\u2019s familiar story path and events as the original Separate Ways did, this particular version does an exemplary job of giving Ada her own adversaries to contend with in a variety of ways. Right from the get-go, Ada\u2019s own private antagonist in the form of a relentless, black-robed monstrosity that stalks her for a good portion of the story. The fights you have stand out from what Leon has to deal with, even as you find yourself in familiar locations. There\u2019s a wonderful range of encounters \u2014 from zipping between rooftops to avoid an El Gigante\u2019s attacks, to panicked escapes from unstoppable killing machines. With Ada\u2019s story being as condensed as it is compared to what Leon goes through, every encounter remains fast and fresh, repeat performances feel exceedingly rare, and every boss fight has a new surprise.<\/p>\n

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You\u2019ll revisit a lot of the same locations seen by Leon during Separate Ways, and while that may not sound exciting, Capcom makes smart use of familiar terrain by changing the context \u2014 often having you fight through enemies going a different direction than Leon did \u2014 which provides new ambush points, enemy surprises, and new pathways to learn that weren\u2019t there before. I especially liked how some places that were mostly a lull in the action for Leon, like the old factory and village chief\u2019s house, had different foes waiting for Ada this time around.<\/p>\n