Modder Uncovers Cut Intro Featuring Ashley in Resident Evil 4 Remake, Sparking Nostalgia Among Fans

A modder has unearthed a cut intro for the Resident Evil 4 remake, originally intended to let players control Ashley in scenes that fans might recognize, even though they didn’t make it into the final version of the game.

If you followed the 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4 from its announcement to launch, you might recall a moment in the reveal trailer where Ashley Graham is seen wandering through the forest at the game’s start, only to be captured by the Ganados and Lord Saddler. There was also a chilling scene in a later trailer depicting a cult performing a human sacrifice. However, when the game was released, these sequences were absent, suggesting they were either created solely for promotional purposes or remnants of content that was ultimately cut.

Fast forward three years, and modder Michael “Thekempy” Kemphas has restored parts of the Chapter 0 intro that would have kicked off the remake. This segment features Ashley walking along a path, where she witnesses the sacrifice shown in the trailer. This encounter would then lead her down a different route toward the village introduced in the game.

The gameplay that follows has Ashley sneaking through the village, evading enemies, and culminating in a scene where she witnesses Luis’ capture, which then transitions into a chase sequence with a Ganado. This chase would eventually bring her to the opening area of Leon’s campaign, which was highlighted in the original trailer.

While there’s no official word on why this content was cut, Thekempy speculates that it may have disrupted the game’s otherwise smooth pacing. A slow, stealth-oriented chapter at the beginning could have felt tedious during subsequent playthroughs, similar to the intros seen in the Resident Evil 3 Remake and Village.