The new version of Resident Evil 4 is an excellent remake of Capcom’s 2004 survival horror action game, a revision that modernizes the original with new graphics, new controls, and refinements to the story and events. Capcom isn’t afraid to remix – and cut – things that no longer work in a modern context, while also winking and nodding to fans of the franchise with a few key changes.
One of the bigger changes Capcom revealed in previews of the resident evil 4 remake was a twist on the dog encounter in the game’s early game village. In the original RE4, Leon Kennedy encounters a helpless dog who has become entangled in one of the many bear traps set up in the village. After coming to the rescue of the pup, the dog runs away, but later returns to help Leon in a memorable boss fight.
In the remake, that encounter is very different. Early gameplay footage hinted at a twist for Resident Evil 4‘s beloved canine friend – that apparently Leon would show up late, and that the dog (or is it a wolf?) has been trapped for some time and is now dead.
Of course people were shocked.
But is that the whole story? This is what happens to the dog Resident Evil 4.
[Warning: The following contains early game spoilers for the Resident Evil 4 remake.]
The footage Capcom showed of the dead (and horribly disemboweled!) dog in that early look Resident Evil 4 remake is, as many fans suspected, a red herring. The real “Hey, it’s that dog” dog appears later in Chapter 3 and is trapped in a different bear trap. It’s hard to miss his painful howl when you hear that he gets caught in one of the bear traps scattered around the village.
What happens to the dog afterwards…
[Second warning: The following contains early-to-midgame game spoilers for the Resident Evil 4 remake.]
The dog will return to help Leon in his fight against El Gigante, similar to how things go in the original Resident Evil 4. Leon delivers the classic “Hey, it’s that dog” line and our furry friend serves as a great distraction as our hero tries to take down the giant Las Plagas-infected monster man.
Don’t worry, the dog will fine.