Every Major Boss, Ranked By Design

As Leon makes his way through the village, castle, and island to rescue Ashley in the Resident Evil 4 Remake, he encounters a fair share of dangerous enemies, alongside the regular bloodthirsty Ganado. These are the bosses of the game who act as roadblocks in Leon’s journey, but before players even get to experience how powerful they are, the first thing that pops out to them is the design.

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For a boss to come across as truly intimidating and frightening, they need to have an appearance that goes above and beyond in terms of the scare factor, and thankfully, more than a few enemies in the Resident Evil 4 Remake fit this description. From oversized trolls to knife-wielding army mutants, the diversity of these enemies allows for there to be a ton of striking and memorable designs, so with that in mind, here is how they compare in terms of overall quality and attention to detail. Before jumping in, this list will only consider the major bosses in the game, so enemies who are more-so mini bosses, like Salvador and the Bella Twins, will not be counted.

7

Jack Krauser

Krauser’s Half-Man Half-Mutant Look Is Quite Creepy To Look At

Admittedly, Krauser’s design isn’t all that interesting at the beginning of his confrontation with Leon, though his army outfit and red marks covering his face do imply that he’s someone who takes great pride in being a warrior. It’s really when Krauser sprouts his mutated arm that his design is kicked up a notch. This kind of half-man half-mutant appearance was once seen with William Birkin back in the second game, but because Krauser has more control over his mutation, it makes him an extremely dangerous combatant, and one who certainly looks the part.

What also amplifies the design is the many weird and whacky shapes that his mutated arm can take on, turning from a giant spike one moment to a defensive shield the next. Krauser may not have the flashiest look in the game, but his mutated form is still pretty memorable.

6

El Gigante

A Humongous Troll Who Effortlessly Towers Over Leon

The most noticeable aspect of the dreaded El Gigante’s appearance is his size. This troll easily towers over Leon when standing upright, and it means that, though the boss itself isn’t full of detail from a design perspective, it still manages to feel genuinely terrifying from its impressive stature alone. With that being said, though, there are still a few small features added to his design that highlight what this mutant even is, and how it’s treated.

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The ropes that are firmly strung around its neck, for example, show how this mutant is treated like some kind of animal, being pushed and pulled by the Ganado to any area where an enemy needs to be dealt with. These guys would also show up later in the story donning iron armor to protect themselves, but this design for the El Gigante is by far the most recognizable.

5

Del Lago

Del Lago Is A Salamander Who Has Fused With Las Plaga, Resulting In A Haunting Yet Memorable Design

Though it can be difficult to get a full view of Del Lago, since the monster tends to prefer remaining underwater, this simply means that its appearance is all the more unnerving once players finally get to see it for themselves after it leaps out to bite Leon. Del Lago is a salamander who has been infected by the Las Plaga, meaning they have grown to massive proportions, and also possess a massive jaw packed full of spiky teeth that look more like piledrivers.

The tail of this boss is so huge that it could have easily knocked Leon off his small boat if Del Lago decided to use it, along with the tentacles sprouting from its back, showing just how far the mutation has spread. To put it simply, this is a great design that will stick with players long after they finish the game, and though it’s not the best of Capcom’s creativity capabilities, it’s nonetheless a haunting monster to look at, which is a testament to its effective design.

4

Ramon Salazar

The Annoying Head Of The Castle Becomes Much More Visually Unnerving When Fusing With The Plaga

Salazar doesn’t exactly come across as very scary or intimidating in his regular form, especially when also considering he tends to prefer letting his loyal servants do all the dirty work for him. However, when he does decide to take matters into his own hands after Leon is about to escape the castle, Salazar fuses with the Plaga to become a giant grotesque monstrosity which is pure nightmare fuel, in a good kind of way.

At the front of the design is a large three-way mouth where Salazar can be seen right at the center; his body now being completely disfigured to reflect the ongoing mutation. Additionally, he also grows huge tentacles that shoot out to each side of the room, almost resembling a spider wrapping itself in a web. As far as mutation forms go, this is one of the most creative in the entire game and one that is packed full of intriguing details for players to look out for.

3

Osmund Saddler

Saddler Puts His Immense Power On Full Display In His Stunning Final Form

Despite being the supreme leader of the Ganado army who tries to stop Leon in his tracks throughout the game, Saddler, aside from his mind control, doesn’t demonstrate all that much power or strength any time he shows up. In fact, it’s not until the very end of the game that he finally decides to unleash his spider-like final form, where he grows four large legs with tough scales covering his entire body.

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The only part of Saddler which is still recognizable is the menacing face seen as the front of the monster, which is a subtle way to indicate just how much the influence of the plaga has overtaken Saddler’s mind and soul. It’s also just a stunning design because of how wildly creative it is, though there are still a few elements here borrowed from previous villains too, such as the glowing eyes which act as weak points.

2

Bitores Mendez

Mendez’s Freakish Boss Design References His Loyalty To The Los Illuminados

Right off the bat, Mendez’s freakish boss design is a real beauty to behold for any fans of body horror out there. While the extension of his ribcage, which now contains small spiky claws, is already eerie enough, the long dangly limbs reaching out from Mendez’s back result in a very unique and disturbing look that alters much of the chief’s traditional appearance to create something much more horrifying.

However, by looking closely at the design of Mendez’s appearance, fans may notice it also closely resembles the Los Illumindos symbol, highlighting the chief’s unwavering loyalty to the group after he became corrupted by Saddler. At the same time, it also showcases the terrifying ways that the plaga can mutate the human body, with this being one of the most extreme, but memorable examples in the game of a person’s body becoming entirely different after succumbing to their underlying power.

1

Verdugo

Salazar’s Deadly Assassin Possesses A Dark, Mysterious, And Breathtaking Overall Design

Verdugo, the right-hand man of Salazar, already had a pretty chilling appearance in the original Resident Evil 4, but Capcom took this to a whole new level with the remake. The glowing red eyes, paired with his giant claws and tail, present Verdugo as a monster who is pretty well-equipped for tearing his enemies to shreds. At the same time, Verdugo’s design is a lot more practical than many of the other bosses, with his slimmer appearance allowing him to run, jump, and flip his way around the area even more than Leon can.

There are not many scarier sights in the Resident Evil series than seeing this large menacing creature barging down a hallway to get his hands on Leon, with a lot of the scare factor owing to his absurdly creative and devilish design. It also creates an aura of mystery for Verdugo, since he manages to still look vaguely human in his appearance, which adds even more intrigue to his character and backstory.

Released

March 24, 2023

ESRB

M for Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language