This game finds itself in between the original 3 Resident Evil games and 5 and 6 mechanically. You don't get to move while aiming, but enemies aren't bullet sponges either.
In the original games I find myself shooting once and running past them and in 5 and 6 I end up playing a worse version of Max Payne. In 4 I'm playing something I can't really get anywhere else,
The combat feels incredibly smooth despite being stationary while aiming. It adds a level of intensity and commitment to shooting someone without making me feel like I'm rolling dice to see if I get to kill it in 3 shots or 15 shots like in RE2's Remake. There's a lot of satisfying weight to the melee actions that give you i-frames in order to make some space in a crowd. You constantly find yourself in new encounters with enemies that feel different from the last which is great, without that variety this game wouldn't really go far past the first few areas.
Boss fights are great. There's a few that I would call my favorite in the franchise and they really are satisfying. They all feature great set pieces and have the variety needed to keep each encounter unique. Some are better than others, but you'll walk away from them all feeling accomplished
The inventory management leads to some satisfaction in sorting items around to tightly fit a rocket launcher you just picked up, and the upgrades lead to a sigh of relief. Rebind your sorting controls if you can, they can be a little awkward, but they're nothing worth bringing the game down over.
You end up getting a lot of ammo from encounters, but there's still a need for precision and resource management. You don't get an infinite amount of ammunition to plow through enemies, but you're not gonna have to knife every enemy to try and conserve bullets. Melee actions after stunning an enemy is where the combat goes from engaging to enthralling.
The story is about what you'd expect from Resident Evil, it's nothing profound, but it's not bad either. It's actually quite good and fun. The characters are quiet like-able and there's game play sections that make them feel more personal than other entries. The game overall has really good pacing and never leaves me desiring something more.
The puzzle solving in this game is really fun. It's a nice way to break up the pace of the action encounters without resulting in mediocre gameplay. That's really all I have to say about it as they pretty much speak for themselves.
Lastly, this game doesn't ditch horror entirely. It's quite chilling at times. Some enemies move incredibly fast and the audio queues for them can be nerve wracking when exploring certain areas. The ambiance adds to that experience as well as some great art direction and enemy design.
This is one of the most refreshing gaming experiences I've had in recent memories. If you want a solid action campaign with enthralling combat, climactic boss fights and likeable characters, I can't think of a title more deserving of that recommendation.
