Do you need a Chapter 1 walkthrough for Resident Evil 4? This is the first of 16 Chapters in the game, which form the Main Story. As part of our Resident Evil 4 Remake guide, we're going to share our in-depth Chapter 1 walkthrough. It will cover every enemy encounter, puzzle solutions, highlight Collectibles, mention Blue Request Notes, and touch on any other points of interest. The walkthrough is broken down into the main objectives the game tells you to complete.
After the president's daughter is kidnapped, US agent Leon S. Kennedy follows eyewitness reports leading him to a small European village. With the weight of that fateful night in Raccoon City on his shoulders, he sets out on his mission.
Resident Evil 4 Remake: Chapter 1 Walkthrough
Upon starting a New Game via the Main Story tab, you'll be introduced to the main character Leon S. Kennedy as part of a cutscene. Please note this walkthrough is based on the Standard difficulty setting. You are being driven to a remote village in order to rescue the US president's daughter, Ashley Graham. Two police officers transport you to its outskirts, but when one fails to return to the vehicle upon needing a toilet break, it's time to investigate for yourself.
See What's Taking So Long
Once you've exited the car, you'll have full control of Leon. Feel free to get used to the controls and work out what does what before making your way down the dark path ahead. You can either duck under the barbed wire or go around it, then go through the open gates to find a dead deer to the side. This is just one example of many scenes and objects you can interact with and take a closer look at.
Through the clearing and under some more barbed wire, you'll spot a house with a light on inside. Go through the door and enter the first room on your right. Inside you'll find a Crude Charm to interact with. Return to the corridor and follow it past the locked door to the building's main living quarters. Inside is a man who Leon quizzes on the whereabouts of the police officer, but he attacks you. This is a Villager, and the walkthrough will refer to this type of enemy using that term henceforth.
After Leon kills the Villager, pick up the Hunter's Lodge Key next to the body. You can also look at the Officer's Badge whilst you're in here and interact with a few other items, but now you must return to the corridor and unlock the door you passed. Head down into the basement and pull back the curtain to reveal a dead police officer. It's the same one you've been searching for, so something's quite clearly going wrong in this village.
Escape from the Hunter's Lodge
Once you regain control, head towards the basement exit, only to be confronted by the same Villager from upstairs. It's come back to life, so use your SG-09 R handgun to kill it once again. Return to the main corridor to notice another Villager enter the building; you need to leave via the door it used to get inside. We recommend crouching to keep noise and visibility to a minimum. When you reach the staircase, open the side table next to it to get a Green Herb.
Go through the door at the top and a cutscene will reveal where you need to head first to find Ashley: the Lake. Some Villagers will interrupt your call with Hunnigan, but Leon stylishly escapes through the window. That man really can do anything.
Head for the Lake
Back outside, follow the linear path until you come to a ruined house. To the left is a barrel with yellow paint on it, which you can break either by kicking it or using your Combat Knife. Either way, you'll get some Handgun Ammo out of it. Reload your weapon, then head through the door ahead and pick up the Gunpowder and save your game if needs be at the Typewriter.
In the next area are two Vilagers you'll need to kill. We recommend aiming for the head, and then getting up close and personal when the prompt appears to perform a melee attack. This may not always immediately kill a Villager, but it deals damage without wasting bullets. If you need more ammo, there's extra Handgun Ammo in the shack to your left, and you can also find Pesetas inside a breakable box opposite the car.
Continue along the path — beware of the bear trap on the floor — and get ready for another quick fight against a Villager in the hut on the left. Once it's dead, pick up the Handgun Ammo, Flash Grenade, and Red Herb inside. When you come to a large gate with severed heads on top, push it open and proceed along the main part of the village, then using the binoculars icon to investigate.
Fight Them Off
This next part of the Chapter is more about staying alive than anything else. You'll be able to freely explore the village up ahead, but before too long, you're going to get caught. What follows is a very intense combat encounter where you'll need to survive for roughly five minutes. The sequence ends when the church bell rings, and a cutscene interrupts gameplay. Between now and then, though, you simply need to stay alive. Always stay on the move, never sticking to one spot for too long. The Villagers will always overwhelm you with their sheer numbers, and then there's the Chainsaw Villager, equipped with exactly what its name suggests. They're incredibly dangerous and have the capability to kill you with one attack.
We strongly recommend taking the W-870 shotgun off the wall on the second floor of the house just to the left of the tall tower in the village to give yourself a better fighting chance. If you can find one, a Hand Grenade is also incredibly useful if you can round up some Villagers in a tight space. However, as long as you stay on the move and don't let any Villagers get too close, the church bell will ring before too long and the encounter will be over.
Head for the Lake
Once the fight is over, Hunnigan will call in to tell you how to get to the Lake. Before heading there, make sure to do a thorough sweep of the Village Square. There'll almost certainly be items you didn't pick up or even notice during the commotion of the previous encounter, so do a sweep of every building to make sure you've got everything. Once you're confident you've picked everything up, head north past the tower to continue the search for the Lake.
You'll spot the windmill you're searching for up ahead, but first, you'll need to cross the Farm. You can save your game using the Typewriter in the first small building you come to as well as pick up some Resources (S) for crafting. More Villagers await in the following area, but so too does your first Blue Request Note, named Destroy the Blue Medallions.