Resident Evil 4 Remake Players Warned of "Critical" Game-Breaking Bug
Resident Evil 4 players were warned this week of a game-breaking bug that's making it so that the game's main story can't be finished. The issue in question is one that's specific to one certain chapter, and if players don't follow Capcom's instructions, they run the risk of ruining their story progress at worst, or at best, running into a situation in the future where they have to reload a much older save file and erase hours of progress. Capcom said that it's working on a solution for this bug and will follow up with players soon once a fix has been worked out.
In its announcement post about the issue, Capcom clarified that it's something that happens in Chapter 12, so you're either in the clear or may be out of luck depending on if you're not quite at that chapter or are already past it. When obtaining a key item in that chapter, some players apparently found that if they use their knife right after a certain cutscene, they don't obtain the key item in question (or perhaps they obtain it but can't use it – Capcom didn't clarify).
"A cutscene will play at the beginning of Chapter 12, after which the player will receive a key item," Capcom said. "Please refrain from attacking with the knife until the notification for obtaining this item is displayed in the upper right of the screen. After obtaining the key item, it will appear in the Key Items & Treasures menu in the attache case. If it has not appeared, please reload saved data from before the start of Chapter 12."
⚠️ Resident Evil 4 players ⚠️
— Resident Evil (@RE_Games) March 31, 2023
Please be aware of a rare but critical progress bug. This issue will only occur under very specific circumstances, as detailed below. We're working on a fix and apologize for any inconvenience. pic.twitter.com/rcJaFXE1jG
Capcom remained intentionally vague on the topic so as to spare players from spoilers if they haven't gotten to that part of the game just yet. For those who aren't worried about spoilers, you can find specifics below based on our own experiences playing through the game. We haven't encountered the bug in question, but it's evident what part of the game this warning refers to.
Right as Chapter 11 ends, players enter a cutscene where Leon comforts Luis after the latter has been fatally wounded. Once the cutscene ends, it seems there's a very brief window of time where players regain control over Leon before a pop-up appears that says you've obtained "Luis's Key." If players use their knife in that window of time, it apparently breaks the game.
It's not something players would ever probably think to do during a time like that anyway – there are no enemies around, and pulling out a knife and slashing it about ruins a somber moment. But if you were thinking of doing that, don't, because it'll apparently make break your game several hours down the line whenever you actually need that key.