4 Evil Residents

Resident Evil 4 Walkthrough: Puzzle solutions, item locations and side quests

Help Leon S. Kennedy survive his toughest mission yet in Resident Evil 4 Remake!

Guide by James Billcliffe Guides Editor

Updated on March 27, 2023

The epic Resident Evil 4 is one of the most beloved entries in the iconic series, perfectly blending tense action, explosive set pieces and horrific monsters to create a memorable and exhilarating experience.

However, as well as the mechanical action, the Resident Evil series is also famous for its hidden secrets, esoteric item puzzles and deep level of replayability.

To help you get the most out of your time in Valdelobos with Leon S. Kennedy as he goes through hell to save the President’s daughter, Ashley, we’ve put together a full Resident Evil 4 walkthrough with a detailed run-down of each story chapter as well as pages for important item locations, optional puzzles and side quests.

We’re constantly updating these walkthrough pages as more secrets are revealed, but the walkthrough pages below will see you through the entirety of Resident Evil 4, if you dare!

Resident Evil 4 story beginner tips
Resident Evil 4 story walkthrough
Resident Evil 4 side quests
Resident Evil 4 item locations

Resident Evil 4 beginner tips

Resident Evil 4 is more of an action game than others in the series

Resident Evil 4 was long cited as the series' transition point from classic survival horror to action.

But while lessons from the modern Resident Evil games, 7 and Village, as well as from the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes, have influenced the direction Capcom has taken with this remake of Resident Evil 4, that fact is still true - to an extent.

This means that Resident Evil 4 Remake plays slightly differently to other Resident Evil games you might have enjoyed, whether you're an OG rediscovering the series after twenty years, are making your way through the remakes chronologically, or coming in off the back of Resident Evil: Village.

Ammo is less scarce for the majority of the game, so you can confront more enemies head on.

Leon is a more powerful protagonist compared to the nightmares he's fighting, so he can stab, shotgun and roundhouse his way through them more readily than you might expect.

This means you don't have to tiptoe around every corner, waiting to run away from whatever unassailable ghoul is waiting for you. In Resident Evil 4, you can take the fight to the monsters.

But it's still a Resident Evil game

However, with that said, this isn't a straight third-person-shooter like Gears of War or Uncharted.

There's a deliberate heft to Leon's movements and squirreliness to the aiming that serves to heighten the horror, so if you try to bite off more than you can chew, you're only going to get eaten yourself.

Resident Evil 4's increased focus on action is an invitation to be more proactive, not reckless.

If you're inefficient with how you attack enemies you're likely to get cornered, overwhelmed and die. So still aim for headshots and be precise as you would in any other Resident Evil game, but know that you can be more aggressive this time around.

Make healing last

Sticking with combat, one resource is does pay to be frugal with is healing items.

Let's face it, the enemies in Resident Evil 4 are very scary, so as you rack up damage through multiple tough encounters it can be tempting to preemptively top up your health to full even when you're only nursing a scratch.

But because healing items are relatively rare, overusing them and effectively "wasting" their full benefit can lead to you running out in boss fights or when you really need patching up.

Despite their terrifying appearance, on normal difficulty, most of the enemies don't actually deal that much damage. This means you can usually tank three or four hits before you need to reach into your inventory to heal up.

There are no brick walls, just environmental clues

The Resident Evil series is renowned for esoteric item puzzles that combine seemingly innocuous objects in sometimes strange ways.

But while some things might seem completely random at first, there is almost always an environmental clue hidden somewhere nearby that pretty much gives you the answer you're looking for.

So during your time with Resident Evil 4, if you ever feel completely stumped by a barred door or locked box make sure you have completely searched the immediate area for a nudge in the right direction.

At no point does the game expect you to have remembered something from hours earlier in the story or have learned an otherwise useless piece of trivia to understand one of its puzzles.

But if do end up needing a hand - there are more than a few tricky parts - there's always our full Resident Evil 4 walkthrough below!