It’s time to return to sunny and plagas infected Spain. So, suit up and arm yourself with the best weapons available! Separate Ways is a ten-euro DLC/expansion for Resident Evil 4, and honestly, for that price, I thought it was going to be a cheap cash grab, but boy, I was entirely wrong. Positively surprised by AAA gaming in these apocalyptic days? Yes, apparently, it is still possible.
Simultaneous zombie killing
In Separate Ways, you get to play as the sexy femme fatale Ada Wong, and what is interesting here is that it’s not a new campaign. It’s Leon’s adventure through the Spanish countryside filled with angry ganados but from the perspective of Ada. What is cool as hell is that the campaign of Separate Ways follows the main story really well, with only a few quirks, like how both Ada and Leon had access to the same secret reward somehow at certain places. That’s a very minor gameplay thing, considering how awesome this campaign plays out otherwise.
You will get to know what Ada was up to while Leon was battling crazed chainsaw-wielding infected villagers, but I have to say, Ada’s journey was no casual stroll through the flower garden. While the campaign is shorter and feels a bit like a speedrun version of the main mission, Ada still has to battle hordes of monsters, and a few unique ones on top of that. What his expansion also adds to the narrative and lore, is a lot more interactions with Luis (my favorite sidekick) and expands on the general background for both Ada and him. It paints them both in a much more sympathetic light, and you will get to understand their motivations better, especially Adas.
Since the campaign has been concluded, you will know what will happen, but I think the additional perspective to the story, and the expanded characterizations make this expansion well worth it. It’s just more of the fun gameplay, and overall, the DLC doesn’t feel cheaply made either. It seems the same kind of care went into it, as Leon’s adventure. From a story viewpoint, it is definitively worth the ten bucks.
Grapplehook to victory
The general gameplay remains the same as Resident Evil 4 but with one main difference. Ada comes equipped with a grapplehook that proves to be pretty useful. She can use the grapplehook to quickly escape to higher positions or use it to close the distance with zombies for a fast melee attack. It does change how you play (if the locations allow for it), but I wouldn’t say this is a big game-changer. However, it’s a nice addition that switches things up when battling ganados, and it also explains how Ada gets around the map without her having to take the same path as Leon.
On the level of difficulty, it feels like Ada is a bit weaker than Leon when it comes to taking damage, which forces a more cautious approach to the encounters. I was sneaking around and shanking people that much more in Separate Ways than I did in the main campaign. However, I wouldn’t say it was very difficult on the standard setting if you know your way around a survival horror. The combat was great nonetheless, and now that it’s over, I feel a bit sad.
The mysterious stranger, quests, and the hunt for secrets return. While it is a much shorter game, than Resident Evil 4, there is still plenty of rewards to find and quests to do. With the spinals this time around, I bought two dolls for my suitcase exclusive to Ada – one that made her melee criticals better, and one that allowed her to rip the shields out of the infected hands with the grapplehook. So, there are uniques for Ada to buy too, which honestly surprised me a bit. Other than that the same rules apply for upgrades and selling stuff.
Sound & looks
The visuals are principally the same since the expansion takes place in the same location as the main game. However, there are a few additions, or side paths that Leon didn’t get to experience that look just as good as the original. There are also a few new big mutant bosses that also look creative in the typical mutated Resident Evil way.
If we go by sound and music, it’s all good too, I especially liked the theme song for Ada. The music overall had a flavor of 007 agent music, which I found fitting and pretty cool. Unfortunately, the same bad voice actress for Ada returns. While I think she did a better job, she still sounds very bored, and not that in tune with the character she is supposed to play. The presentation otherwise is fabulous. How Capcom dropped the ball that hard here is difficult to fathom.
In conclusion
This is a great DLC for Resident Evil 4, and pretty cheap too, considering what you get. This is a no-brainer purchase if you liked the main game since you will get more of the same, and an expanded story, and lore-bits. Highly recommended!
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
| System: | PC (Steam) |
| Played with: | Mouse & keyboard |
| Mods/fixes: | None |
| Enjoyment rating: |  |
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