8.1. New Game+ Explained — Resident Evil 4 (Remake) Guide
Once you've conquered the horrors of Resident Evil 4 (Remake) for the first time, a new challenge and opportunity awaits: New Game+. This mode allows you to restart your journey with many of your hard-earned upgrades and weapons carried over, providing a significantly different and often more action-packed experience.
The primary benefit of New Game+ is the retention of your inventory, weapons, and upgrades from your previous playthrough. This means you'll start with all the firearms you've unlocked and fully upgraded, along with any attaché case expansions and treasures you've accumulated. This drastically alters the power dynamic, allowing you to breeze through early encounters and experiment with different combat strategies without the constant pressure of resource scarcity.
However, New Game+ is not simply a cakewalk. The game introduces new challenges and rewards to incentivize replayability. Enemies will be tougher, and new enemy placements or attack patterns may appear. The most significant addition is the introduction of the 'Bonus Weapons' and the ability to unlock their 'Exclusive Upgrades' much earlier, often with a special bonus like infinite ammo from the start if fully upgraded.
Key Features of New Game+:
- Carried Over Progress: All weapons, upgrades, inventory items, and treasures from your previous save are retained.
- New Enemy Behavior: Enemies may be more aggressive or appear in different configurations.
- Bonus Weapons: Access to powerful new weapons like the Infinite Rocket Launcher or Primal Sword.
- Exclusive Upgrade Access: Unlock exclusive upgrades for all weapons, often with unique benefits.
- New Challenges: New achievements or trophies may be tied to completing New Game+ or specific objectives within it.
To unlock New Game+, you must first complete the game on any difficulty. After the credits roll, you'll have the option to start a New Game+ from the main menu. When starting, you'll be prompted to load your completed save file, which will then enable the New Game+ options.
The ability to carry over your arsenal makes New Game+ ideal for tackling higher difficulties like Professional mode. With a fully upgraded arsenal, the daunting challenge of Professional becomes more manageable, allowing you to focus on mastering enemy patterns and precise execution rather than struggling with limited resources. Furthermore, the introduction of bonus weapons like the Infinite Rocket Launcher can trivialize certain boss encounters, offering a satisfying power fantasy.
When playing New Game+, you'll also notice that the merchant's shop will be expanded with new items and weapon modifications. The 'Exclusive' upgrades for all weapons become available for purchase, often at a significant cost in Pesetas and sometimes requiring Spinel. Prioritizing which weapons to fully upgrade and unlock their exclusives can significantly impact your experience. For instance, unlocking the infinite ammo exclusive for a powerful weapon like the Chicago Sweeper can make the rest of the playthrough incredibly efficient.