If you’ve been with the series since 1996, you’ll have noticed that Resident Evil has a nasty habit of killing your favourite supporting characters. I won’t name names just yet, because I don’t want to spoil anything, but Resident Evil 4 especially seems to take pleasure in making you really like someone, then unceremoniously bumping them off when you least expect. As we approach the Resident Evil 4 remake release date, and the return of both the Capcom horror game and Leon Kennedy, the latest Resident Evil 4 Remake trailer seems to be hiding a subtle, but very troubling, easter egg.
Massive spoiler warning for Resident Evil 4. If you haven’t played the original game, or want to keep yourself in the dark for the remake, you may want to turn back now. Everyone else, follow me.
Okay, so we all remember what happens at the end of Chapter 3, Part 3 in the original Resident Evil 4. Luis Sera, our beloved and highly suave cop companion is killed by a tentacle in the back from arch Los Illuminado Osmund Saddler. Especially after the cabin fight, Luis feels like your bro – if Capcom’s objective here is to make you really, really hate Saddler, as soon as the spike pierces Luis’ chest, it’s mission accomplished.
The new Resident Evil 4 Remake trailer, however, suggests Luis lives way beyond Chapter 3. We see him alongside Leon in the minecart section. He’s there when we fight the two El Gigantes. On the surface, it looks like he’s going to make it – our number-one guy, besides maybe The Merchant, has been allowed to live. But it’s not quite that simple.
It’s a massive blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, on-screen for less than a second, but if you pause the new RE4 trailer at just the right time, you can see something troubling hidden at the very bottom of the frame. We’ve taken the liberty of highlighting it and brightening it up in the picture below.
See that? Just before Krauser jumps down to confront Leon, there seems to be a body lying on the ground with a knife in its back. Brown leather jacket. Grey trousers. Yeah…it looks like Luis might not make it after all. Personally, I’ll be glad just to spend a bit more time with the guy before he goes – that’s a welcome change in Resident Evil 4 Remake.
I can also follow Capcom’s thinking here. If Krauser is the one to kill Luis, it helps bolster the Krauser-Leon rivalry – just like it made you hate Saddler in the original game, if Krauser murders Luis in RE4 Remake, you’ve got extra motivation to take him down.
Still, I hope I’m wrong. I hope Luis survives. And Mike. And I hope somehow Mikael comes back. And Kendo. And Marvin. And Richard Aiken. And maybe Steve Burnsi- actually no, not Steve.
Get the full Resident Evil 4 system requirements so you’re ready for launch day. You might also want to try some other great survival games on PC, or maybe get a head start with the best upcoming games we can expect in 2023.