[TGS2023] Resident Evil 4 Remake Separate Ways DLC Hands-On Preview – Ada Wong’s Clandestine Mission Filled with Hookshot Actions

After continuous requests by many fans since the launch of Resident Evil 4 Remake, the Separate Ways campaign is finally releasing in the form of a DLC.

Originally, Separate Ways was an unlockable side campaign in the original releases of Resident Evil 4 after the Nintendo GameCube version. Like the original incarnation, the DLC has you play as Ada Wong and experience the story of Resident Evil 4 Remake from her point of view.

To summarize the story, Ada Wong, a spy with an affinity for red clothing, is on a secret mission to retrieve a sample of the parasitic Las Plagas known as the “Amber” for her employer, series villain Albert Wesker.

During our time at the Tokyo Game Show 2023, we got a chance to play parts of Separate Ways, and here are our impressions.

Mission Commences

The demo opens up with a cutscene that sees the character Luis Sera locked up in a prison cell dancing before zealots walk into the room and attempt to execute him. Turns out, Ada Wong was disguised as one of them and quickly disposed of the zealots.

As revealed, Ada is meeting Luis to retrieve critical information and the gameplay segment quickly opens up, introducing players to her unique contact lens that provides information regarding points to use her signature Hookshot, a grappling hook to allows her to get around. A tool that is inaccessible by Leon S. Kennedy in the main game.

Since we experience the story from Ada’s perspective, we are taken back into familiar places from the main game and as such, the demo starts at the Salazar Castle gate, a notoriously challenge area due to the many catapults raining down explosives.

In terms of combat, Ada retains most of the mechanics from the main game such as sneaking, backstabbing, and parrying.

In the demo, the only accessible guns are a handgun and the Tactical Machine Pistol (TMP), and like the main game, staggering an enemy by accurately shooting their head, hands, or knees enables Ada to perform various melee attacks. This is where we get to see many of her acrobatic flourishes, somersaults, and the return of her iconic Fan Kick from the original game.

A thing to note is that you can utilize her Hookshot in combat, allowing her to zip toward a staggered enemy to deliver a powerful kick, making her a more agile fighter than Leon.

The Creature in Cloak 

Utilizing the Hookshot, Ada can grapple hook herself into various points of the castle and take down enemies up close, which was previously unachievable by Leon in the main game. After destroying the catapults, Ada makes her way to the village and starts the next chapter.

However, before that, she is met with one of Castellan Ramón Salazar’s personal bodyguards, a tall monster in a cloak that looks similar to the Verdugo boss in the main game. Serving as the boss, the creature unleashes swift attacks and utilizes the Las Plagas infection to alter Ada’s perceptions as it is revealed that she is indeed infected by the parasite.

As the battle goes on, the creature is able to create illusions of itself and vanishes into thin air to reappear in other places, messing with Ada as it fights.

Lady in Red

Separate Ways will be expanding what has already been established in Resident Evil 4 Remake, but instead of following Leon, we watch the horror of the Las Plagas unfold from Ada Wong’s Perspective.

Adding in an expanded grappling hook mechanic that can be used in both combat and traversal, Ada increases the combat speed greatly with her mobility. As such, fans who already enjoy the main game can expect a similar experience albeit, with added acrobatic flair.

The Separate Ways DLC is currently available to download for Resident Evil 4 Remake, alongside a free update for the Mercenaries mode that adds both Ada Wong and Albert Wesker as playable characters.

We have also previously been invited by Capcom for a hands-off preview of the DLC with other additional details, which you can read here.

Resident Evil 4 (2023)

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom

Release Date: 2023-03-24

Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

Survival is just the beginning. Six years have passed since the biological disaster in Raccoon City. Leon S. Kennedy, one of the survivors, tracks the president's kidnapped daughter to a secluded European village, where there is something terribly wrong with the locals.

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