There are several bosses that you’ll have to fight throughout the Resident Evil 4 remake story. Some are unbelievably dangerous, able to take out Leon in just a few hits, while others are but pushovers owing to certain mechanics. Here’s our ranking list covering the easiest to the hardest bosses in the game, because why not.
Please be aware that this article contains spoilers, as you might expect.
Resident Evil 4 Remake Boss Difficulty Tier List
This list also includes encounters with special enemies that take just as much effort as some of the bosses, as you’ll soon find. For the sake of clarity, our rankings are primarily based on using regular firearms (not the one-hit kill Rocket Launcher) on Standard difficulty, and finding ways to cheese battles.
11. Pighead
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Pighead is a new special enemy type seen a few times in the game. His spinning hammer blows and bull rushes are easily avoided, and you only need a few shotgun blasts to kill this variant.
10. Doctor Salvador / Chainsaw Guy
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The iconic Doctor Salvador or Chainsaw Guy enemy shows up from time to time in the Resident Evil 4 remake. This fella isn’t really a boss, but an elite/special type of infected. You’ll first encounter this foe in the initial Village Square encounter. Avoid him if you want until the bell chimes or kill him for a gemstone. And, yes, it’s also possible to skip the whole thing entirely.
You’ll meet this opponent a few times throughout the campaign. In those instances, it’s possible to run back to the previous area, tricking its AI and allowing you to blast it before it can do anything.
9. Bella Sisters / Chainsaw Twins
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Speaking of running back to the previous area, you can do just that once you meet the Bella Sisters in the Checkpoint section of the Village. Once they show up, head to the ravine and wait for them to get close. Pelt them with a few shotgun blasts and run up to them when you’re able to do a melee/knife strike.
8. Salazar
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If we rank bosses in the RE remake solely based on normal mechanics, then Ramon Salazar will be right up there as one of the toughest foes you’ll face. After clearing the Clock Tower and subsequent lift, including the Capacity Compliance trophy if you’re up for it, you might be low on ammo. Shortly thereafter, this encounter will test your mettle, as Salazar likes to float around while taunting you.
Unfortunately for Salazar, there’s a hilarious cheese that makes this bout significantly easier, an Easter egg at that (pun intended). It involves tossing a Gold Chicken Egg at Salazar’s face, causing tremendous damage. This will stun him, and you can follow up with a couple of shots and a melee strike to end him for good.
7. Del Lago
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Del Lago is, technically, the first Resident Evil 4 remake boss fight, and we rank it as one of the easiest in the game. Basically, you’ll throw harpoons to damage it, all while moving your boat sideways to avoid getting hit. Whenever it submerges, wait for it to resurface and get ready to toss another harpoon at it. Soon enough, you should be able to clear this battle without taking any damage.
6. El Gigante (All Three Encounters)
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Similar to Del Lago, we rank the El Gigante boss battles as some of the easiest in Resident Evil 4 Remake. Here’s the gist:
- Solo El Gigante – The first encounter in the Quarry might be the toughest since this behemoth will get the jump on you. All it takes is a few well-placed headshots before hitting the exposed tentacle on its back, then jumping on it to slash it with your knife. Likewise, if you saved the dog upon leaving the Village Chief’s Manor earlier, it’ll show up to assist you.
- Armored Besieger Gigante – The second bout, which takes place in the Castle Ramparts, isn’t much of a boss fight at all. This monster will keep throwing boulders, which you can avoid by hiding behind obstacles. At the very end of the ramparts, you’ll use a cannon to blow it to smithereens.
- Twin Gigante – The third and final battle takes place in the Mines, and is also fairly manageable. Even though you’re fighting two El Gigante monsters, Luis is there to distract at least one of them. Just shoot the unarmored guy and follow the same mechanics as the first bout. Then, drop it in the lava pit or kill it normally. When only the armored variant is left, Luis will throw dynamite that sticks to its back, giving you a quick method of stunning it.
5. Mendez
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Mendez will hound you early on in the game, eventually you’ll have to tame him. The first phase involves parrying / dodging his bladed protrusions, then blasting the eye on his back and stabbing it with a knife.
As for the second phase, you’ll either dodge or blow up the projectiles he throws at you, as well as evade a few melee strikes. Some well-placed shotgun blasts will make this fight a breeze.
4. Lord Saddler
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Lord Saddler is the final boss in the Resident Evil 4 remake, so you know he means business. The first phase is all about shooting the eyes on his legs, allowing you to pounce on him with a knife stab. The most dangerous moments occur whenever he does a slam that causes parts of the arena to get destroyed, and those annoying Novistador bugs that he summons.
The second phase is simply about avoiding his tentacles and shooting the exposed core. Soon, Ada will toss a Rocket Launcher, which will turn this monstrosity into fried calamari.
3. Twin Garradors
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You’ll fight your first Garrador in the Castle’s Dungeon area (you might want to get the Never Heard It Coming trophy, too). A bit later, you’ll have to battle two of them as well as their other infected pals.
There are a lot of ways this fight can go wrong, which is why we rank this encounter quite high. Here’s the gist:
- Garradors are blind, but they can hear effectively. Shots ringing out and sprinting will cause them to turn and beeline for you. They do multiple melee hits, which will drop Leon’s HP significantly.
- You’ll want to put a few infected Ganados between you and the Garradors. Pop a shot to force the Garradors to rush and slash at everything, which can help whittle down the number of hostiles.
- You could use the bell to distract them and, if you’re lucky, they’d end up slicing each other, too.
- Once the tentacles burst from their backs, you’ll need to unload on them to bring them down quickly.
2. Verdugo
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To be clear, you’re not required to kill Verdugo once you face him in the Depths / Underground Lab. In some cases, you could just repeatedly avoid his tail swipe until the elevator arrives. But if you do want to kill him, then be prepared to use your best weapons (i.e., Broken Butterfly, Striker, or CQBR Assault Rifle).
The goal here is to bait Verdugo into advancing before using a liquid nitrogen pipe to freeze him. While he’s unable to move, blast him in the head until he leaves. Continue along the tunnel while dodging his tentacles and move to the next nitrogen pipe to freeze him once more. You should be able to bring him down, but you’ll use up a lot of ammo in the process.
1. Krauser
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And, finally, we’ve got Krauser, someone we consider as the hardest boss in our Resident Evil 4 remake boss ranking. To be fair, the first Krauser boss fight in the Mines isn’t anything to write home about. All you’ll be doing is parrying hits, dodging sweeps, and going in for strikes of your own before he runs off.
The challenge, however, ramps up when you battle him in the Temple Ruins. This is due to two reasons:
- The Gauntlet: Leon will be moving through the ruins, fending off Krauser’s surprise attacks, as well as watching out for traps. Any crucial mistakes you make here could mean fewer healing items later in the fight.
- Mutated Krauser: Krauser’s arm will mutate, making him impervious to bullets whenever he shields himself. There are also multiple hazards here, such as getting kicked off the ledge, powerful ground slams, and sudden grabs that will cause Leon’s head to burst.
As usual, be mindful of Krauser’s attacks so you can parry and open him up for a counterattack. It might take a few tries but, you’ll finish this epic rivalry between two old comrades.
And with that, we’ve finished our verdict on the easiest to hardest bosses in the Resident Evil 4 remake. We’re sure others might have a different idea owing to progression and preference, so we’ll leave you to it to decide as you advance further in the campaign. If you need some more help clearing the game’s encounters or getting through faster for higher rankings, check out some of our other RE4 guides.
Featured image by GameSkinny
