Resident Evil 4 HD Project vs Original Graphics Comparison

Capcom's Resident Evil 4 gets a free HD mod on PC. This mod updates thousands of in-game textures and adds features like a debug mode and FOV slider. Check out our comparison of the 2014 release VS the fan-funded HD upgrade. You can download this mod made by Albert Marin for free at www.re4hd.com
The fan-made Resident Evil 4 HD project launches with enhanced lighting, graphical fidelity and improved visuals for both in-game and UI. This comparison video shows off differences in gameplay between the original 2014 PC release and the fan-made HD mod, where over 1,000 textures and models have been updated.
Time has been kind to Capcom’s Resident Evil 4. Originally released in 2005 as an exclusive for the Nintendo GameCube, the game has seen it’s number of ports and versions on just about every modern platform. Today, while you’re able to revisit RE4 on your phone or in virtual reality, little has been done to upgrade the 17-year-old graphics and textures. Even with the release of the 2014 PC port, the beloved entry is beginning to show its age. Fortunately, a fan-funded HD mod has been created to overhaul textures and provide the sharpest experience to date. The Resident Evil 4 HD mod by Albert Marin is available now on steam.

[@ResidentEvil4HDProject]

Hi Gamespot! This is Cris (from the HD project). Thanks for taking the time to create this comparison video. It looks like the video is compressed, though, to the point that it's difficult to see the actual differences. I'm not sure if you'll make another comparison video (perhaps for a later section of the game?), but if you do, would it be possible to reduce the compression when you export it? Thanks again!

[@GuyOnAChair]

I fear they just do not know what they are doing. I am sad dislikes dont show as at a glance people wont know somethings off. And as for GameSpot they will not care enough to fix it, this was rushed out for the clicks. :/

[@TylerHNothing]

I am playing this mod. This video doesn't quite do it justice. The game is just so beautiful. So far all of the environments have gotten so much love and feel like a big step up

[@GainingDespair]

Yall had a blast with that AI upscaler on the texture packs didn't you. In many ways it looks very nice, in others there seems to be a lot of artifacts from an upscaler. It does look nice, I'm sure yall spent a lot of time on it, but why does everyone look so sickly now?

[@xxxguarnicion2.051]

@@GainingDespair gonna cry?

[@GuyOnAChair]

@@xxxguarnicion2.051 The one time someone is not batch upscaling and someone complains about the practice. 😩

[@Shauddi]

Just installed this today - the video doesn’t do it justice. This is an incredible HD remaster…a true work of art

[@JohnSmith-hs1hn]

In the video, it's doesn't look better to me.

[@Shauddi]

@@JohnSmith-hs1hn Lol they picked the most basic shots to compare, plus the video loses clarity in YT. Video doesn't do it justice, and if you haven't played RE4 exhaustively, it probably doesn't jump out at you as you watch.

[@distantthunder12ck55]

@@JohnSmith-hs1hn It is far, far superior. The detail, time and effort they have gone to is stunning quite frankly and I am replaying it now simply to enjoy it anew. It is way superior experience now to one of the greatest games ever made just got better.

[@tonyx6523]

can u give me a link?

[@tonyx6523]

@@Shauddi Resident Evil 4 HD project 2022 right?

[@srkango]

The mod is great but this video didn't do it any justice. They chose the worst scenes to show. They should have shown the details in the textures of the church especially the paintings on the walls.

[@matthewjuarbe5826]

i agree they choose the wrong scenes the buildings are what really stand out the church the village the scenary

[@BlueA]

Yeah, indeed, characters do look better of course but with hd packs that really shine are buildings structures, paintings and textures from the environment which is what usually looks worse on old games

[@spookyuncle3243]

That’s all I could think about. Bad way to show this comparison

[@mysticboar1237]

RE4 had awesome graphics for its time

[@elz1074]

Capcom has always nailed it. RE5 is from 2009 and also looks insane to this day

[@umarkoyom]

so true

[@nickhouse9591]

The game had great art direction as well, which is why it still looks good today.

[@kazoopower5841]

This is exactly what an HD Texture pack should be, where it feels like something officially made.

[@sean8102]

Yea that is def the trickiest part of a "HD Texture pack" staying true to style/atmosphere while improving it.

[@kylelochner5686]

How can some people not see a difference? I can clearly see better textures. People need to stop watching in 240p .

[@Swapaneezy]

Its noticeable when its side by side, but im guessing people wouldnt of even noticed a difference if they didnt show with and without the mod, I know I wouldnt of since its not exactly a big improvement imo

[@FalcoMerc]

Yeah it's not a significant difference, it's barely noticeable even watching it side by side.

[@mrturret01]

@@Swapaneezy that's kinda the point. The mod is designed to be as faithful as possible to the original. Many of the mod's textures are higher resolution versions of the same stock photos used to make the original textures. Some others were taken on location in Spain.

[@Valanway]

@@Swapaneezy It also helps to have it displayed properly in-game on one's own monitor. From the preview images a few years ago when I last played it I could see a difference, but it didn't seem massive at that moment, but playing with those differences at native resolution is an entirely different experience. It doesn't look as big a difference in this video or in screenshots as it is playing in motion. It's a lot of "feel." A lot people who refute or say that they don't "see" that there are any real changes have either terrible monitors or genuinely bad eyes, sort of like those who refuse to believe that 30FPS for games should be the absolute minimum, and that 60FPS should be the gold standard for, well, the standard, and shouldn't be some exceptional feature point but the norm. Or worst of all: claim that there isn't a much or any difference. That being said, there's only so much that can be done with texture changes, upscaling, and minor model and color tweaks on an 18 year old Gamecube game that's already gone through a remaster. Can't really change or mod it like you can with modern x86 games. It could be even better, but at that point there's a ton of diminishing returns

[@oasisbeyond]

og had 8bit gamecube textures, they never really improved it. This one is better, but Remake is coming.

[@HeloisGevit]

You couldn't have uploaded this in 4k to do it justice? Why would you upload a graphics comparison video at just 1080p knowing how KZbin compression butchers fine details?

[@orchid9]

It's so authentic you might not even notice it. It's "RE4 how I remember it" vs "RE4 how it really was" comparison. You see the vanilla game and like "whoa, my memory fails me". And it's not just textures, tons of environmental details, models and lighting got changed. But yet you play it and it's "good old RE4", which is a statement in how high quality the mod is.

[@evolancer211]

I'm downloading this now, can't wait to try it out. I mean, I'm not going to see any difference. This is going to be my first play of RE4 lol

[@evolancer211]

@SharkTank i only played first gen mw2 lol. I've been on a console for years, so I'm coming to light to all the advancing PC games haha

[@ffmortal1330]

This is also my first time to play re 4 .i played all r.e like 2 3 5 6 7 8 but not played re4 because of graphic now I ma gona try to

[@benzzodude]

If you play without the mod, you’d be forgiven for thinking the textures were all broken

[@TheRhalf]

@@ffmortal1330 1?

[@ffmortal1330]

@@TheRhalf no bro because rv 1 has very low graphic and also there is no remakes virsion so I not played that I started with re 2 remake and so on

[@LeonDrummer]

Que bueno que le sigan dando difusión a este proyecto. Yo ya lo ando jugando en stream y es una pasada revisitarlo de este modo.

[@markhoo0ooo123123]

Así es, en ocasiones me quedo mirando mientras juego y pienso: "Esto parece un verdadero juego de ps3/4". Unos cuantos chicos hicieron lo que a Capcom le dio pereza.

[@Punisher6791]

crazy, the mod is over 30 plus Gigs of texture improvements.

[@tunit20]

Not just textures, but lighting, shadows and other ambiance additions

[@PKGangsta18]

And audio too

[@SHVRWK]

It also runs smoothly on a potato laptop.

[@cayniner]

@@SHVRWK Really? I want to try it out on my MX250 laptop but I am afraid it won't handle it smoothly (don't want to waste 30+ gigs of storage either)

[@SHVRWK]

@@cayniner I have a Vaio laptop from early 2010s, 4GB RAM, i5, 1GB GPU. It runs pretty well. I was at first intimidated by the +30GB storage requirement but it turned out one my best downloads.

[@MeowMeow-my4fl]

It's incredible that Albert Marin is still modding this game. I remember him contributing a lot to the community over a decade ago...

[@bluwolf9357]

This just shows how lazy Capcom went with the remastered version released for last gen. Congratulations to the people behind this project!!! Passion always makes the difference.

[@game.garden]

the textures are sharper but it doesn't matter when you remove the ambience that the original had. the hd project just looks more sharpened but the white balance and brightness overall look way more dull. I also saw the creators comment on this and said compression ruined the video however even with the compression you can see how much more sickly leon looks in the intro scene, as well as how much darker some of the environments look. overall great job! just giving some fair criticism.

[@KasumiRINA]

RE4_Tweaks raadme says the orange tint was a bug when some shader was ported over to XBox, and it fixes it, so it's not even HD project's thing but the tweak program.

[@twistedinnocence8617]

This just goes to show that alot of these companies doing so called Hd remasters really aren't doing that much to remaster it. They are just doing the minimum to get by to sell the game again.

[@thegamewin100]

Please capcom hire these guys 😭

[@msanchez1680d]

They not only mod the texture to HD but the illumination as well, it looks more spooky now.

[@vesselinkrastev]

Perhaps some people are right that the video doesn't do it justice. I'm about halfay through the game and I'm really impressed. The textures alone make a huge difference. But it's not just that. Extra geometry has been added in many places. Notice the torch on Leon's belt for instance (2:35). It's hexagonal in the original while in the modded version there are no visible edges. Also, stuff like the glow of the candles in 3:18, which I think adds a lot to the scene. There are many things related to the controls, rendering and gameplay that you can tweak. It's probably the best way to experience the original game right now. Highly recommended.

[@CookeeMonstrGaming]

this KZbin Compressed 1080p video does not justify it

[@Write-Stuff]

Come on, GameSpot. His name is Albert, not Alfred, as you incorrectly called him in the opening. That and the poor compression as pointed out by Cris makes this incredibly amateurish.

[@EdwarioERS]

Haven't played RE4 HD (PC) in a few years. While playing with this mod I maxed out the FOV and by doing so made it much more difficult to notice most of the texture upgrades. I have rose tinted glasses for RE4 as if the modded version is how it's always looked. I can't tell the difference while playing, only when they're side-by-side does it resonate.

[@trblemayker5157]

This mod makes the GTA trilogy remake look like an asset flip cash grab

[@finnrogue9435]

thanks for covering such an amazing project ! I love to see the fans dedication and love to this game after almost 2 decades since it came out

[@justivanintifadhahafif1027]

ver 1.0.2 is what version? ps2 or pc? and what the diffrent between this and the other ver in steam, sorry i still new in pc game and my broken english ;)

[@morbius195]

Ive honestly never played re4 until recently, and the first thing i did was install the hd project. Looks like a fresh game honestly. Well done!

[@billyskittles1036]

Maybe it’s just this video, but it is hard to notice a difference between the two.

[@TOMLEE64]

Compressed 1080p are you serious.

[@thecasualreviewer2148]

The side-by-side does it no justice.

[@Gokuishim69]

I can never tell the difference with these things

[@fireaza]

Aw man, if they could put this mod in the VR edition of RE4, that would be the ULTIMATE RE4 experience!

[@matrix9452]

is not compatible, because the VR edition is using an different engine, also the graphics of RE4 in VR was reworked to the best they could to run on the Quest 2.

[@MisterLCY]

3:54 first time in my life I see 8 cuts

[@eeliastv]

People: if capcom approved this and sell it would be awesome Also people: sotp selling the same game over and over

[@dinellisgonzalez1824]

Reselling a game that improve and respect the original is welcome...

[@MAntos-xw6iu]

its even better than the official HD Remaster!

[@MattC78]

Can i still get the Steam achievements if I install this?

[@dreemurchara]

Yep, totally. I tested it.

[@ricardolima9411]

NOW we can say that the GameCube Version was surpassed. Not textures, obviously, but many light and particle effects that were GameCube/Wii exclusive are now on PC.

[@georgesaviour6974]

This is the only game that I've played more than 10 times and still not bored

[@erickgabriel3603]

its soooooooooo satisfaying in so many simple things, even organizing the case, its so fresh iv played it loke 30 times lol

[@TheOthersparktank]

KZbin compression hurts a lot of the fidelity that the project aims for. The blur is very preferential, I prefer no blur in the game. With the various types of blur, it's way too smudgey and takes away from the textures.

[@flamingbird09]

I wonder Capcom has to say about this? 👀 Anyways its a good thing that they don't turn down this HD Project 💀

[@felipez3115]

Best RE ever.

[@carol3235]

parabéns aos desenvolvedores que fizeram essa maravilha mesmo com TANTO trabalho.

[@Phatsnake]

There are much better videos that show the amazing work done on this mod.

[@Tranzisto]

I dunno about the palette change to a more greyed out look, though. When the game was ported to more modern consoles it was already made to have even more muted colors than on GC, and here the characters' skin tones are way too grey, in my opinion. It's like the whole game has a dust layer over it.

[@claytonroyston4846]

I remember playing this game on ps2 it was a marvel I really enjoyed this game

[@T2DARLANTANAH]

Anyone else download this and have a problem with all light sources having too much bloom and able to see them through walls and solid objects?

[@tplink]

Is this PC port based on the Gamecube or PS2 version?

[@chongtak]

Does it take a huge amount of ressources more than the original or is it still reasonable?

[@MrBustedUp]

FINALLY.. Got a selection of good things on sale, stranger !

[@antoniologiudice5499]

the hd version looks like the game looked in my mind from the memories before replaying the game 2 weeks ago lol

[@Super360Mario]

I've downloaded and played this mod. SO far I have to say it is so amazing that I'm going back to play it instead of playing my Oculus Quest 2 Version

[@geeknproud321]

It's too bad the 2014 Steam release is kind of becoming forgotten because it was a massive upgrade over the original 2007 release and was kind of a big deal at the time. They righted a wrong with this release. Too bad RE5 has gotten very poor treatment. I liked that game and my friends and I liked to give it a run-through maybe once a year because it was just dumb fun and felt good to play. Until the last few years it booted right up and ran great and even looked pretty nice for its age.

[@FreeFishNipples]

re5 is super fun co-op, solo not as much. Loved spamming the shout every time i hit a 2 person lever or door.

[@geeknproud321]

@@FreeFishNipples The AI wasn't nearly as bad as some people say if you knew how to use it and treat it. It generally expected you to follow the level scripting, and if you did it generally did an okay job helping you. I never had a problem with switches or doors. Usually the AI would be waiting for me to catch up. My big issue was that it loved to waste ammo and grenades. This made it decent at combat but not efficient. I had fun in single player.

[@El_tio_Kenny_McCormick]

8 years of hard work only one person do all this

[@ResidentEvil4HDProject]

Primarily 2 people (Albert, who has put in about 10,000 hours, and me (Cris), who put in only about 3,700), with additional help from others in the modding and programming community. :-)

[@BaronZTUKHH]

Does this work with RE4 Ultimate hd edition or do you need vanilla pc RE4?

[@zorn2017]

ultimate HD only

[@nicobandelli7925]

deberias mostrarlo in game, no las cinematicas

[@harshitology3498]

the game was too good with hd project mod , want to play it 100 more times

[@BillykOTW]

Homie really did an amazing job. But we need that remake from the ground up, big dog

[@KillThad]

Why does RE4 "need" a remake? Nothing really about it has aged all that poorly.

[@BillykOTW]

@@KillThad most of us have played it countless times. I would like to see the new engine they used for RE 2 on this game.

[@doremi4531]

Ik you're going to be happy in 4 days

[@Negius]

Why would you compress the video like this when you're doing a texture comparison? Awful

[@ProsecutorValentine]

Why does Ashley looks so souless? There's a gleam missing on the eye texture.

[@Ikilledhomer69]

Am I able to use this mod if I purchase the game on steam? If so has anyone tried it on steam deck?

[@ramonzaions7522]

You should make a vídeo on Castle!!!

[@foaduk9118]

how do i revert to original graphics? this makes my pc lag too much

[@donavan.]

@TenAte108 that's the entire point though

[@jojotoofor9eight766]

The visual difference is more striking and honestly, 100% better if you actually play the game than watch this video.

[@fenen_sh]

Does it have better controls for pc now?

[@StarJumper01]

Ultra Ultimate HD now

[@anyclipwithmrraven1030]

I downloaded the HD version, but I won't play it. I'm waiting for the remake In the year 2023 in March

[@thedawapenjor]

now that's some crispy graphics

[@oblivionlord1242]

F*** Gamespot for this compression , this project is spectacular

[@murilo9771]

It has more detailed textures than the low resolution original version, so it's a good work.

[@raulmartinez3484]

Capcom should pay the modders and release it for consoles.

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

idk hd mod looks way to sharp and uncanny, frankly i rather just play the official release on max settings

[@sirrus6666]

i strongly recommend fixing this jacket. its looks like rubber in hd mod

[@TheGrades90]

I prefer the warmer look of the original.

[@bazikkazoya4528]

Nothing will change

[@Altair122122332345]

I would pay good for money for this to be on console

[@joaoaraujo9629]

So 35 Gb more for almost no improvement.... awkward!

[@lunaaria2092]

This how i remember gamecube version

[@diswazzi1683]

I urge people to go to Albert Martin's youtube page and donate to him on his website

[@kellyhernandez9635]

They both look the same?

[@lassmirandadennsiewillja3943]

amazingly little difference:-)

[@WraithDeath]

Had this downloaded and the game launches , but immediately crashes . Damm shame too because I was looking forward to playing this 😕

[@SycoticForeverNeverAF]

you have to run the 4gb patch that you can download from the website. Afterwords restart your computer and you’ll be good

[@WraithDeath]

@@SycoticForeverNeverAF What patch is that ? Never saw such a thing . I downloaded the mod files as per instructions on the website , copy/pasted the bin32 files etc . Done everything it mentions in the instructions

[@SycoticForeverNeverAF]

It’s on the download page at the bottom. Also make sure that when you copy and paste the bin32 files, the BIO4 folder has to be completely erased. Dont just copy the new BIO4 folder onto it. If it is still crashing, revalidate all the files using steam, and then retry the process. Restart your computer as well.

[@edux_iss]

Como se desgarga el original?

[@m4sherman182]

The original looks like a PS1 game compared with HD Project.

[@Tlaudag]

Para mi un "remaster" creo que debería ser mas importante las luces y colores, está bien el trabajo de texturas, pero empeora el aspecto de la luz, se siente un sombreado raro

[@dakrath]

Torrent has no peers

[@matty92k]

Please make a version of this for the modern consoles I'd paying 80 dollars canadain to play it no problem

[@donavan.]

it’s not possible to do that

[@Mr.Donkeypoo]

did they fix the unbearable controls with it?

[@mattruth8763]

Good but still not good enough They better not pick this over a real remake . I'd buy the HD copy for $19 the remake there making after 3s remake I'll buy for $100

[@George-mr6fy]

Why didn't you compare it with the hd ultimate edition that was released back in 2014?.

[@George-mr6fy]

@@yourmommasuqsdik918 I appreciate this mod ,but the hd remaster is a visual upgrade by a big margin. I agree that it didn't nail all graphical aspects to give the game the visuals it deserves. I hope the upcoming remake would be an improvement over the already epic original in every way.

[@MaxBraver555]

The HD seems disaturated

[@zorn2017]

actually the PC Port is OVERSATURATED, and the HD project just changes it back to the original Gamecube saturation

[@anthonygutierrez8933]

I'd pay $60 for someone to port this to my PS5.

[@svinjadebela6893]

this is awesome. i just wish they kept that warm color temperature.

[@Labib-dw1lk]

I believe the mod has multiple color filter options to make it look more warm or cold

[@Spillow-C]

@@Labib-dw1lk no there isnt, you need reshades to do that

[@Labib-dw1lk]

@@Spillow-C “Color Filter: We’ve included a few new gradient files (they are optional - see installation instructions for more details) that replace the original color filters. You can change color filters value in the Video Settings menu” I literally just copied that off their site , so..

[@Spillow-C]

@@Labib-dw1lk In the video settings there are 4 new color filters, right, but none of them resemble the original warm color temperature

[@Gokuishim69]

I would like too see ps5 compared to this

[@Simplystimulating]

Awesome

[@flyingplantwhale545]

They already released their own HD version. The lazy kind

[@enditakamweneshe6428]

This is excellent, would be nice to have a total remake of this from the devs though.

[@Octragon]

It’s coming

[@TheKidDoc81]

@@Octragon It's here

[@moonsimps3268]

The ganados is way scarier in hd project

[@MantasKi]

Shame its not on consoles

[@lactate]

I don't want to be THAT guy but imo it doesn't look that much better

[@LightsJusticeZ]

Video does not do this mod justice.

[@Valanway]

The mod really has to be played on your own system to get the full benefit. This video isn't even the best mod showcase, either.

[@richardbaker308]

So I gotta wonder did capcom commission this to get hype up for a remake 4

[@aneen0502]

Capcom should learn from this guy He could do on his own what an entire company could not do

[@poloviskyholanda7793]

Eu Amooooooo esse mod!!!!