Resident Evil 4 - Separate Ways (DLC)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil 4 (2023)

In May 2023, Resident Evil 4 (2023) (RE4R), the modern remake of Resident Evil 4 (2005) (RE4), released to critical and commercial success, though with some criticism aimed at some of the cut content, including the lack of the original Separate Ways campaign. After nearly six months with no official word on any additional content apart from the free The Mercenaries DLC, Capcom would finally announce, and subsequently release, RE4R’s version of Separate Ways as DLC in late September 2023 for $10. While one could reasonably question the idea of holding this content back for later, I nonetheless bought the DLC on release and ended up loving the experience.

While Leon S. Kennedy is busy saving the President’s daughter, Ashley Graham, Ada Wong is on a mission of her own. This time, she has been sent by Albert Wesker to retrieve the Amber, the key to Los Illuminados’ power, and strikes a deal with Luis Serra to help locate it. During her adventure, however, she not only ends up helping Leon, she’s being pursued by a creature known as the Black Robe and, worst of all, becomes infected by Las Plagas herself.

Much like the original Separate Ways campaign, this Separate Ways largely tells the story of RE4R from Ada Wong’s perspective while intersecting with Leon’s story at a few key points. Although both versions line up well with their respective main campaigns, their approach in writing comes off different; the original now feels like they wrote within the constraints of the 2005 game (it wasn’t originally on the GameCube version after all) while the new one really feels like they wrote it alongside the scenario of the 2023 game. Certain things that went unexplained in the base game, like where Salazar’s “Left Hand” went, or otherwise felt comparatively abrupt, like the countdown to the Island’s explosion, are perfectly explained within Separate Ways. Even the signposting present in the base game gets at least partially explained in a clever and natural way.

The game acknowledges its own signposting.

Naturally, there are some noticeable changes to the story and structure, including the removal of the original tunnel section and the battleship sequence, but the new interpretation works very well and even restores plenty of previously cut content in a more meaningful context (plus the battleship sequence is reimagined in a more grounded fashion). The gondola fight is back and just as brutal as before with the addition of a sniper, Ada’s El Gigante fight is more action-packed than before and the U-III fight, while not 100% the same, feels more natural within the context of the new storyline. The (in)famous “Laser Hallway” sequence also returns, but is also now given new context that suits the setting while also expanding the worldbuilding by introducing a new threat to Ada’s safety. Other restored sequences include, but aren’t necessarily limited to, the drill trap, the underground waterway and the comms tower. Ada can also still find Leon’s jacket, but under a slightly different context.

Changes also extend to the characters and their interactions with one another. Just like in the base game, Luis is now more important to the story and his interactions with Ada neatly fill in some otherwise noticeable story gaps. Although Ada wasn’t infected in the original, having her be infected here gives her a more personal stake in the narrative apart from doing a job for Wesker while also showing off the power of the Amber. Wesker himself also now makes a physical appearance during the campaign instead of sitting in a control room, which concludes with foreshadowing the events of Resident Evil 5. Taking everything into account, Separate Ways provides a good sense of closure to the story, which now feels more complete.

Naturally, gameplay is very similar to the base RE4R, but with some changes apart from Separate Ways appearing as a Main Menu option and the campaign having its own exclusive Challenges. Ada starts with her own inventory apart from Leon, including access to the exclusive Blast Crossbow and its ammo, but she now has full access to all of the Merchant’s services, which includes Tunes Ups for every weapon, a feature noticeably missing from the original version. Since Ada can’t access the Shooting Range, she can instead buy certain Charms off of the Merchant, including more desirable ones like the Striker, which increases running speed by 8%, or the Cute Bear, which reduces the amount of Gunpowder used in Crafting by one. Completing Requests isn’t the only way Ada can earn Spinels now, as she can also find them in certain breakable objects or by killing Armaduras, though completing all seven Requests grants access to the Elite Knife, which has a fixed attack speed but infinite durability (you don’t even need to beat Separate Ways before obtaining it from the Extra Content Shop).

While Ada can still use a Grappling Hook to traverse parts of the map, it now has expanded combat applications, allowing her to melee stunned enemies from a distance. If you trade five Spinels for the Ada Wong (Special) Charm, her Grappling Hook can also rip shields away from enemies, which personally made me ditch the Punisher since it lost its (admittedly niche) purpose. At certain points in the story, Ada can activate the I.R.I.S. program in her glasses to search for relevant clues, like a stripped-down Detective Mode. As with the original version, she also has fewer, different Treasures that she can find after buying a map from the Merchant, though some require Small Keys that she can only get by trading Spinels and some Treasures otherwise feel easier to miss. Interestingly, where the base game lacked QTEs, there are two points during the Laser Hallway sequence that use them, likely out of necessity, but they are handled pretty well. Naturally, players can also unlock Professional difficulty after beating Separate Ways once, which helps give it additional replay value.

There's pretty much no reason not to use this.

If you’ve played the base RE4R, you know exactly what to expect from Separate Ways, both audibly and visually. That said, there are some new tracks that still sound great and although Lily Gao sounded a little better in her role as Ada Wong, particularly during her internal monologues, she won’t really change anyone’s minds about how she stacks up to the other characters (or even Jolene Andersen’s take from Resident Evil 2 (2019)).

At the same time that Separate Ways dropped, the free The Mercenaries DLC also received an update that makes it also feel more complete. This update consists of one new stage (Docks) and four new characters (Leon (Pinstripe), Ada, Ada (Dress), Wesker) with new unlock requirements; Ada is unlocked at the start. This update not only brings The Mercenaries more on par with its original counterpart, it also gives it even more replayability and probably the most powerful playable Wesker yet, enough to give some form of catharsis while racking up a huge score. In other words, an already fun extra mode got even better.

If you’ve already played Resident Evil 4 (2023), there’s really no reason not to get Separate Ways, as it provides a great sense of closure to the main story while hinting at what’s to come. It probably says something about either Capcom or the current state of the industry that this crucial piece of the story was put behind an arguably unnecessary $10 paywall, but the content itself is at least of great quality. If you don’t feel comfortable with the price tag, then consider holding out for a sale (or the potential “Gold Edition” that would include it).