Summary
Resident Evilis continuing the current leg of a successful path forged by 2017’sResident Evil 7and entries since. As one of the progenitors and longest lasting survival horror series,Resident Evilhas produced seminal titles not just in the genre, but the industry overall. Rumors and buzz have been circulating about what will be in store next after last year’s acclaimedRE 4 Remake, and if some information that has come to light holds up, developer Capcom has some big and somewhat unexpected plans forRE.
According to a prominent figure and various other sources,remakes ofResident Evil 0andCode Veronicaare reportedly currently in the works. This is perhaps a bit surprising, as it breaks from Capcom’s previous pattern and the general assumption that the two next projects would be a remake ofResident Evil 5and the ninth major installment. If the news is true, though, it’s also highly likely these remakes will be in the third-person linear style as seen in those ofRE 2through4. This makes sense given the prior precedent and style of the original games. However, there is another directionREcould attempt in a forthcoming entry, one that it has danced around before: that of embracing an entirely open-world design. The moment might be just right for it to finally go this route.
TheoriginalResident Evilwas recently made available for PC on GOG, with plans stated forRE 2andRE 3: Nemesisto follow.
The Time is Right for Resident Evil to Try an Open-World Title
Resident Evil Has Already Flirted With Open-World Designs
Resident Evilis, of course, responsible and duly credited for its early innovations in the use offixed camera angle level design. This approach to its action and horror was an effective one that became inextricably associated with its identity and gameplay. Then, in 2005,Resident Evil 4changed the gaming landscape when it switched to the famous over-the-shoulder view, which has become basically a standard ever since.RE 4was also something of an early draft in terms of an open-world, having larger spaces and connected areas than any previousRE,and the remake leaned more into this aspect as well.
2021’sResident Evil Villagesaw the series follow along similar lines.Villagecould be classified as semi-open-world, providing an interconnected hub leading to various areas lorded over byVillage’s four demented denizens, with some progression locked off by puzzles and plot points, but still not strictly linear in the traditional sense. Both entries show how Capcom has dabbled in what an open-worldREmight look like, and it seems at this point it’s only a matter of when, not if, fans will get a truly open-world entry.
Resident Evil Finally Going Fully Open-World Could Be its Next Great Evolution
Capcom has never been too shy about experimenting withResident Evilby introducing and playing with elements outside its core tenets, whether these were well-received or not.RE7heralded the franchise’s first use of a first-person perspective, something once thought to be anathema to its principles, but was highly acclaimed. Speculation has been persistent that one of the next obvious steps would be for theassumedResident Evil 9to be entirely open-world.This would mark another first for the series, and in many ways feels like it has been surreptitiously creeping towards it for a good while.
Assuming theResident Evil 0andCode Veronicaremakes are indeed happening, they would serve the section of the fanbase that prefers the older design style with modern quality of life updates. An open-worldREcould thus satisfy the part of it that has been hankering for and expecting just such an experience.The nextResident Evilbeing open-worldcould continue Capcom’s streak of reinvigorating and innovating the series, bringing it to new areas and heights in the process, and keeping the positive momentum it has accumulated going well into the future.
Resident Evil 4
WHERE TO PLAY
Survival is just the beginning.Six years have passed since the biological disaster in Raccoon City.Agent Leon S. Kennedy, one of the survivors of the incident, has been sent to rescue the president’s kidnapped daughter. He tracks her to a secluded European village, where there is something terribly wrong with the locals.And the curtain rises on this story of daring rescue and grueling horror where life and death, terror and catharsis intersect.Featuring modernized gameplay, a reimagined storyline, and vividly detailed graphics, Resident Evil 4 marks the rebirth of an industry juggernaut.Relive the nightmare that revolutionized survival horror.
