The Resident Evil 4 sword puzzle solution explained

resident evil 4 sword puzzle
(Image credit: Capcom)

The Resident Evil 4 sword puzzle in the castle has players put four swords in four images of a knight, but the fourth sword is missing. While it's not far away, finding the last sword - the Bloodied Sword - is a little bit of a puzzle, and placing them all in the right order is its own challenge. The Resident Evil 4 Remake is full of such puzzles, but if you're having trouble, we'll explain how to find the fourth sword and solve the Resident Evil 4 sword puzzle in the Remake for yourself.

How to solve the sword puzzle in Resident Evil 4 Remake

Resident Evil 4 sword puzzle

(Image credit: Capcom)

The key to solving the Resident Evil 4 sword puzzle is opening the gate with the three animal symbols on it. That will get you the fourth sword you need to solve the puzzle.  

If you examine the gate you'll see there are three animal symbols on its lock: 

resident evil 4 sword puzzle

(Image credit: Capcom)
  • Eagle
  • Deer 
  • Snake

These symbols correspond to the emblems you can see hanging from the walls - there's one in front of the gate and three behind it. However, you only need three to solve this part: 

resident evil 4 sword puzzle

(Image credit: Capcom)

The Deer symbol is to the left of the gate with a chain you can pull. Do that and you'll light a lantern and make the symbol on the gate lock glow. The other two symbols, the Eagle and Snake, are behind the gate on the right hand side. While you can't reach them to pull the chain, you can still shoot them to light the fires. 

With all three fires lit, and the three symbols on the gate glowing, the gate will open and you'll be able to get the Bloodied Sword, the missing piece of the puzzle. 

resident evil 4 sword puzzle

(Image credit: Capcom)

Resident Evil 4 sword puzzle order

Once you have all four Resident Evil 4 swords place them in the following order in four pictures:

  • Picture 1 (Standing to attention) - Iron Sword
  • Picture 2  (Being knighted by a king) - Golden Sword
  • Picture 3 (Fighting in battle) - Bloodied Sword
  • Picture 4 (The grave) - Rusted Sword

That obviously tells the story in the pictures - of a young solder starting in life, entering into the service of a king, fighting battles and eventually dying. Match all the swords with the stages of the character's life and the door will open and you can carry on through the castle. 

While you're in the castle, don't forget to look up how to deface Ramon's portrait in Resident Evil 4. Just to annoy him, he's totally earned it. 

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Leon Hurley
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.