Resident Evil 4 Remake: Is there a point of no return? Resident Evil 4 Remake - guide, tips
From our guide to Resident Evil 4 Remake, you will find out if there are points of no return - when you can't freely explore the Village and Castle.
Last update: 22 March 2023
For completing Resident Evil 4 Remake 100%, it might be helpful to know the so-called points of no return. We explain when the game allows you to explore locations in the village and the castle, and when the exploration gets blocked by story events or reaching the next region.
The page has spoilers about the 3 main regions and the circumstances of reaching them, i.e. what actions will advance you further. We tried to avoid plot spoilers for RE4.
- General rules of exploration and story progress
- Indicidual points of no return in the village
- The last point of no return in the village
- Point of no return in the castle
- The last point of no return on the island
General rules of exploration and story progress
Resident Evil 4 Remake encourages backtracking and revisiting locations. You may see icons for discovered collectibles and activities that you could not get or complete on your first visit. The main reasons are:
- lack of a key or other quest item to perform the interaction;
- Ashley is not with you - her help may be required to unlock the passage.
There are 3 main regions in the game - the village, the castle and the island. The game does not clearly signal when you advance to the next location, and if you cross the so-called point of no return then you will lose the opportunity to complete the region in 100%. This can also fail the Requests you have in your journal.
We recommend saving the game regularly, especially before approaching the points of no return described below.
Indicidual points of no return in the village
The Village region has minor points of no return that can restrict you from returning to selected areas from the village.
Explore the Abandoned Factory and Valley locations in Chapter 2 - you can find several collectibles in each. Only after searching the area head to Village Chief's Manor.
In later chapters, the road back to the Factory and Valley will be swamped, and you will be able to return to the Manor the furthest.
In Chapter 4, explore all the locations you reach by boat, primarily the lake with its adjacent cave and Quarry, Lakeside Settlement, and Fish Farm related to the main storyline.
The eastern part of the Village will become restricted after advancing to Chapter 5 after Ashley joins you. The path next to the church will then be destroyed.
The last point of no return in the village
The point of no return for the Village is Chapter 5. You will then get the objective of reaching Extraction Point - a building located north of the Farm.
We recommend saving the game at the typewriter at the Farm or in another location of the Village.
Map link: Luis's hut fight (chapter 5)
The drawbridge in the picture leads to the destination.
Villagers will appear on the bridge and attack the house which is the last battle of chapter 5.
Starting from chapter 6, Leon and Ashley will not be able to return to the Village. The heroes must head east, passing through Checkpoint and reaching Slaughterhouse.
After defeating the huge boss, you will reach the castle. The drawbridge will rise after the heroes cross it. This will completely block access to the Village.
Point of no return in the castle
When progressing through the Castle, you will reach locations that are visited only once, i.e. you can't return to them. These are primarily underground locations, one of them being the Hive. Try to carefully examine the hive and possibly complete its Request before leaving the location via the elevator.
The most important point of no return is chapter 12. Leon will reach the train traveling to the Clock Tower to find Ashley.
We recommend saving the game in the side room next to the railway, although you can also choose another save point of the castle.
Map link: Fast travel (to Clock Tower)
Once you start moving towards the Clock Tower, you have to climb to its top and then defeat a huge boss.
After the final battle of chapter 12, you will reach a boat moored in a small harbor. Leon will use it to sail to the island - the last main location of the game. Reaching the island completely blocks access to the Castle.
Map link: Boat to the Island
The last point of no return on the island
As you complete chapters on the island, explore the locations when you get to them immediately - the facilitation is that you don't have to worry about Small Keys or locked containers that require a specific key.
The last point of no return is the entrance to the elevator in Chapter 16, which takes you to the Loading Docks, where you fight the final boss. Before using the elevator, visit the last store and save the game at the last typewriter.