Sorry, Resident Evil 4 remake won’t let you save the dog

Last night Capcom gave us our best look yet at the upcoming remake of Resident Evil 4. As uncertain as I am about the need to meddle with what is already a genuinely perfect video game, seeing the overhauled horror in action has piqued my interest.

Much in the same way that the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 opted to completely overhaul the original experiences and add new features and gameplay beats, Resident Evil 4 won’t be exactly as you remember it. Certainly, the trailer seems to confirm one change that has not gone down well with the fans.

First, take a look at the trailer below!

If you’ve played the original Resident Evil 4, you’ll remember that early on in the game Leon comes across a dog stuck in a bear trap. If you’re completely devoid of a soul you can ignore this dog, carry on with your adventure, and ultimately condemn yourself to an eternity of burning in hell. Alternatively, you can rescue the dog like a normal person. The good boy will even come back later on in the game to help you with a boss fight. Although I should stress the act of saving the dog should be all the incentive you ever needed.

Unfortunately, as spotted by IGN, it looks like we don’t even get the choice in the remake. A brief shot of Leon walking through the woods sees him come across the bloodied corpse of a dog stuck in a bear trap. It’s entirely possible that this is just one outcome, and that the player can still somehow reach the dog in time, but this change has not gone down well with fans so far.

“What the f***k?” demanded popular video game Twitter account Can You Pet The Dog. It’s a sentiment echoed by many fans, who feel that not being able to rescue the pupper is a huge oversight on Capcom’s part.

“Man, who’s supposed to distract el gigante for me now man?” asked one Twitter user.

“Capcom! You had one job!” raged another.

“This game is ruined,” a third simply said.

While I can’t imagine the game is ruined at all - and maintain it’s likely that we can still save the dog (who I am just learning today is called Hewie, apparently) - this does feel like a pretty grim choice. We’ve reached out to Capcom to see what’s what, but here’s hoping we can still rescue our canine friend when Resident Evil 4 launches 24 March, 2023.