The Resident Evil video game franchise began with a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to Umbrella Corporation’s unwavering dedication to creating twisted bioweapons, this enduring franchise has delivered no shortage of eerie, stressful, and nightmarish creatures to torment players in their bid for survival.
Resident Evil 4′s monsters frequently stand out when reflecting on the franchise, but how do they hold up in Capcom’s brand new Resident Evil 4 remake (read our review here)?
The upgraded graphics and gameplay tweaks ensure Resident Evil 4 offers no shortage of intense encounters that’ll leave you scrambling for ammo. Here are ten of the most unsettling Resident Evil 4 monsters that you’ll encounter in the game, ranked by their fear factor.
10. Red Robed Priests
Of all the cultists attempting to thwart Leon, the Red Robed Priests are the most annoying. The red marks their higher ranking, and with it comes more power, making them an absolute nuisance. These Zealots hide from a distance and exert control over their flock through eerie chanting. It not only makes the horde attacking you more challenging to battle, but the remake gives these higher-ranked zealots the ability to get inside Leon’s head and interrupt the player’s combat.
9. El Gigante
Leon encounters a few El Gigantes in his quest, and the sheer size alone makes them an unsettling foe. Their rampaging attacks also make them formidable. They’re so tough that any encounter with one comes with an advantage for the player. The first battle gives Leon an ally in the form of a wild wolf that he freed from a trap, while subsequent battles use the environment to level out the playing field in various ways. It makes these gnarly giants a little less scary than they would be otherwise.
8. Del Lago
The monstrous lake beast, “Del Lago,” is one of the earliest boss fights in Resident Evil 4. That Leon must take it on aboard a tiny motorboat puts the player at a profound disadvantage as the lake creature jerks Leon around like a worm on a hook. But the remake diminishes the potency of Del Lago’s scare factor a bit by keeping Leon safe in the boat. The original saw players get knocked into the water, triggering thalassophobia as they scrambled to get back in the boat before Del Lago swallowed them. That doesn’t mean the remake doesn’t find other ways to introduce instant death during this sequence, however.
7. Chainsaw Sisters
Sure, the giant chainsaw menace that stalks you around the village is intimidating. But what about a pair of chainsaw-wielding sisters that pop up unexpectedly in what seemed to be an otherwise abandoned camp? As they slice through the wall to get to you, popping up like Jack Torrance with sacks over their heads, it heralds an intense fight as they bring a horde of friends, too.
6. Novistador
These insectoid creatures are squishy and easy to kill, all things considered. It’s not their threat level that makes them rank so high, but their namesake ability that translates to “unseen.” These monsters have a unique ability to camouflage so well you often only see them coming once they’re attacking. When wading through underground tunnels, it’s usually only the green glow of their eyes as they glide through the murky water that offers players mere seconds to aim their shot. Also unnerving is the incessant buzzing that signals you’ve entered their territory.
5. Bitores Méndez
Much like Mr. X, this village chief spends the early parts of the game silently stalking you. Displays of brute strength indicate a foe you don’t want to cross. Eventually, though, you must. Heading into this boss fight would be enough to get your palms sweaty, but then Bitores Méndez shows his inner Plaga by stretching into this half-centipede humanoid that can dangle from rafters and hurl flaming debris, leaving you with little room to fight back.
4. Armadura
The Plaga-possessed suits of armor within the castle don’t put up too much of a fight for Leon. However, the opposite holds true for the helpless Ashley. Chapter 9 sees Ashley forced to go alone, armed with only a lantern, to free Leon from a cage. That lantern is the only thing holding back the Armadura stalking her. One hit equals instant death. The longer Ashley tries to find her way around in the dark, playing red-light-green-light with the Armadura, the more stressful it becomes. And the remake piles on the intensity with puzzles that summon a crowd of them to evade.
3. Garrador
This berserker, Plaga-controlled beast is so aggressive that it’ll kill anything on sight. So much so that its masters sewed their eyes shut. It doesn’t matter; the Garrador’s heightened senses and lengthy claws mean an impressive range and devastating destruction to your health bar. That alone would earn their place high on this list, but their dungeon introduction makes for one of the creepiest stretches of the game.
2. Verdugo
Ramon Salazar’s right-hand man, Isidro Uriarte Talavera, first created the Novistadors and then used that process to transform himself. It resulted in a Xenomorph-like creature that first stalks Leon deep underground in Chapter 10. The predator’s POV, the sudden attacks from its long tail, and the constant growls indicate it’s watching you instill massive anxiety spikes. It bides its time until Leon finally restores power to his only exit: an elevator. You must choose your terror wisely: do you stay and attempt to take it out or hoof it as fast as possible to the elevator? Only sporadic liquid nitrogen showers give you the reprieve needed to escape.
1. Regenerador
The most terrifying foe of Resident Evil 4 becomes even scarier in the remake. These bioweapons move and vocalize in bone-chillingly eerie ways, and that scare factor amps up dramatically when their namesake reveals itself. The more you unload ammo into their grey flesh, the less effect it seems to have as they shuffle toward you. The only effective means of stopping them is to destroy the hidden parasites in their body. The thermal scope makes easier work of it, but it doesn’t make it any less nightmarish as they flash their toothy grins and hurl themselves at you. The upgraded version, the Iron Maiden, is even worse.
Which of the Resident Evil 4 monsters scared YOU the most?
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