Can you kill the Chainsaw Guy in Resident Evil 4 Remake?

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Can you beat Doctor Salvador, the enemy with the chainsaw in RE4 Remake's village square sequence?

Resident Evil 4 remake
(Image credit: Capcom)

Can you kill the Chainsaw guy in Resident Evil 4 Remake? Doctor Salvador, as he's known, as a tough enemy and it might be hard to know if you can beat him, as he seems to just swallow up ammo without notably being hurt by it. Don't worry - there is a way to beat him, and we'll cover how to kill the chainsaw guy below, an essential part of learning how to survive the village in Resident Evil 4.

Can you kill the chainsaw enemy in the Resident Evil 4 Remake?

Resident Evil 4 village remake

(Image credit: Capcom)

Yes, you can kill the Chainsaw Guy in the Resident Evil 4 Remake. Doctor Salvador, who wears a sack over his head and appears in the Village Square, is a far tougher enemy, but not immortal, and simply has a much larger health bar than the average enemy - not to mention a chainsaw attack that can kill the player in one go if you're not careful. Here's our best advice on how to kill him. While there's no exploit or cheese that we know of, there are some very useful tips you can use.

  • Focus on headshots. They'll do more damage and potentially stun Salvador, allowing you to do a kick to knock him back for even MORE damage.
  • Keep your distance. Salvador has no ranged attack, so back away! He's all melee, and can't hurt you if you don't get close.
  • Get ready to block the chainsaw. If you haven't broken your knife, you can block his attacks with L1/LB, but it'll really chew through durability. Use this as a last resort.
  • The chainsaw itself can block bullets. When he holds it up defensively, target his unprotected legs to stagger him, or back away until he lowers it again.
  • Head into the house and get the shotgun. One of the best Resident Evil 4 weapons, the Northeast house has a shotgun upstairs, hanging on the wall.
  • And the grenade! Oh, and next to the shotgun is a glass cabinet with a grenade inside. That'll do big damage to Salvador and any nearby villagers.
  • Try burning the barn. The barn in the Southwest corner has a lantern hanging from the ceiling - shooting that will cause it to drop and set fire to the building. Doing that to Salvador while he's inside will roast him badly.

Once killed, Salvador will drop an Emerald, which you can use later to sell to the Merchant for money. If the village assault isn't over by that point, it will be soon - just keep holding out and it won't be long before the villagers wander off.

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Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.