Credit: Capcom

Maybe this is my claustrophobia talking, but I’m not big on caves. They’re dank, they’re cramped, and you are very likely to slip in them and crack your skull. That said, if you live in close proximity to a cave, I guess it makes for a decent place to hide valuable stuff like money, weapons, or in the Resident Evil 4 remake, a weird stone head for unlocking a spooky mechanism. As one does. If you’re looking to get that weird stone head, then here’s how to solve the Large Cave Shrine puzzle in the Resident Evil 4 remake.

Resident Evil 4 Remake: Large Cave Shrine Puzzle Guide

After his punch-up in the lake with Del Lago in the Resident Evil 4 Remake, Leon comes across a strange shrine with two large, stone hands, which serve as a mechanism locking the key to the church in place. To get at that key, you’ll need to find two stone heads and place them in the hands. The good news is that the locations of the stone heads are marked on your map. The bad news is that they’re held inside a couple of cave shrines under lock and guard.

The Large Cave Shrine, located to the southwest of the stone hand shrine, houses one of the heads. It’s a spacious area with a lot of Ganados wandering about in the dark, though the passages are wide enough that they won’t be able to ambush you as easily. Mop ’em up the same way you usually would so you can focus on opening the locked door on the cave’s far side.

Opening the Lock

Credit: Capcom

Next to the door is a panel with a bunch of symbol-marked buttons. In order to open the door, you need to press three of these buttons. You don’t need to do it in any particular order, you just have to press the correct three. As for which buttons you need to push, you can find the correct patterns scrawled on the walls of the cave in bright yellow paint.

If you can’t be bothered to go find the correct patterns yourself, worry not. Just press the three buttons circled in the image below:

Credit: Capcom

Once you press the correct buttons, the door will open up, allowing you to claim the stone head. It’ll also bleed a little for some reason, but that’s probably not worth worrying about, especially since a fresh gaggle of Ganados will spawn after you take it. Don’t let them slow you down, you’ve got another stone head to track down at the Small Cave Shrine on the northeast corner of the lake.

Resident Evil 4 Remake Small Cave Shrine Puzzle

The other shrine is much smaller, mostly taken up by a wooden treehouse-type thing. Just like with the other puzzle, the stone head is behind a door locked with a button panel, and once again, the correct patterns are scrawled on the walls of the treehouse and cave. The only real difference to this puzzle is that some of the patterns utilize a bit of optical trickery, with parts of them drawn on one wall and the rest drawn on a wall behind them. It’s all a matter of adjusting your perspective.

Here are the three patterns you need to push:

Credit: Capcom

Credit: Capcom

Credit: Capcom

Push the three buttons corresponding to these patterns, and you can claim the other stone head. After that, just return to the stone hand shrine, slot the heads in, and you can claim the key to the church. Time to go rescue Ashley!