Resident Evil 4 has maintained a surprisingly vibrant modding community since its original PC release. Mods such as the Resident Evil 4 HD Project even gained traction for their mix of ambition and love for the source material.
The same remains true for this year’s Resident Evil 4 Remake, as Leon’s mission sparked another modding community to come buzzing to life. From bizarre costume replacements for the main cast to vast shifts in gameplay, Resident Evil 4 Remake‘s mods give its PC version even more personality than it already saw in its console counterparts.
El Chapulin Colorado – Leon
Many of Resident Evil 4 Remake‘s add or replace outfits for its core cast. Some range from cool to sexy, but the El Chapulin Colorado costume for Leon is a true gem. There’s even a version for Luis, so they can match!
El Chapulain Colorado is a bumbling superhero from Mexico who is best known for his 1973 comedy, where he causes more problems than he solves. Although less known now, he was internationally popular enough to have The Simpsons‘ Bumblebee Man based on him.
While it’s interesting knowing this mod’s background, it remains among my favorites because of how goofy Leon looks. He looks ridiculous running around wearing tight spandex with bobbling antennas, removing practically all tension. What I like most is how it harkens back to equally silly costumes from other horror games like Silent Hill 3. It’s a trend I think should return, and Leon’s El Chapulin Colorado costume affirms this belief.
First Person Perspective
As the title indicates, the First Person Perspective mod adds a first-person mode to Resident Evil 4 Remake. Bug encounters are unsurprising since it’s still in beta, but it appears to function quite well.
While the vanilla game is receiving official VR support, this mod resembles the later mainline Resident Evil entries. The concept alone is intriguing because while Resident Evil 4 Remake was built with third-person in mind, the new perspective radically changes the experience.
Nightmare
For those who played Resident Evil 4 Remake so much that even Professional difficulty was a cakewalk, the Nightmare mod is for you. The selling point for this mod is it increases the difficulty to a great degree and applies to most difficulties.
What helps it stand out is that the difficulty increases not only lies within buffing enemies but generally remixing the game. The vendor now has more items with many featuring increased prices. Repairs are also more expensive, and sold items offer less of a return. Merchant requests also reward more spinels with more items bought with them. It even features an Inferno mode where enemies’ speeds are increased, making the experience even more brutal.
The remixed gameplay based on high difficulty is something Capcom already toyed with. Although an overall disappointment, the Resident Evil 3 remake shines on greater difficulties because it remixes most item placements, forcing players to reframe their approach. Nightmare’s Inferno mode even takes its name from RE3R‘s difficulty of the same name. It’s a neat concept that is nice to see return in RE4 Remake, even as a mod.
REFramework
REFramework does what it describes. Its intent is adding powerful scripting tools for other modders to create more comprehensive mods within Resident Evil 4 Remake. Quite a lot rely on it, and the Resident Evil 4 mod scene wouldn’t be where it is today without it.
Its importance for the RE4R modding community makes it the most popular download, but it’s also a cool mod on its own. Alongside scripting features, it adds Ultrawide support and an FOV slider, which should have been in the base game. It also adds VR support, but this feature will soon be obsolete when official support rolls out.
Leon Kennedy’s Tramp Stamp
I wanted to save the best for last because the Leon Kennedy Tramp Stamp is the face of Resident Evil 4 modding community. It’s perfection, no notes — It’s what I think of any time RE4 mods come up. Of all the costume mods, no matter how good or ridiculous, none beat the tramp stamp.
Remake’s version is nothing new, either. The legacy of the tramp stamp mod goes back to the original RE4, and while the two versions have differing designs and creators, they share the same energy.
It also just fits Leon amazingly. Out of any Resident Evil lead, he’s definitely the one who would go for the lower back tat, and the mod only confirms he pulls the look off, no problem.
