From Resident Evil 6 to Requiem, How Capcom’s Golden Era Came to Be

Resident Evil is back in full force with Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth entry in the main storyline that, unsurprisingly, has landed to a buzzing reception. But it wasn’t so long ago that something like Resident Evil Requiem would have been a considerable surprise, so tarnished was the series’ brand identity.

Make no mistake, Resident Evil never had a full-blown “dark age,” but it’s safe to say that the IP’s prestige and cultural standing were in steady decline following the original Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil underwent something of an identity crisis during this time, prompting longtime fans to scoff at the newer, action-oriented titles or simply avoid them altogether. Indeed, it seemed for a moment that the excellent track record that Resident Evil had built in the late 90s and early 2000s had been washed away, only for the franchise to make one of the most thrilling and decisive comebacks in gaming history.

Resident Evil 6 Is the Worst “True” Resident Evil Game

I, along with many other fans, wouldn’t call 2012’s Resident Evil 6 the worst game in the franchise. Looking at it in isolation, it definitely has its merits: combat is a satisfying evolution from RE4‘s, its action setpieces are fun, and its story, while not great, perfectly encapsulates the campy charm the franchise is so well known for. But as a Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 6 is not very good at all.

The biggest issue with RE6 is that it departs from the fundamentals of the genre Resident Evil itself helped create—there is no “survival horror” to be found in this title. Rather than pushing boundaries and plowing ahead with innovation like previous entries did, Resident Evil 6 fell prey to the most pedestrian sins of the 7th console generation. It lacked nuance, creativity, and originality, devolving the RE formula into a basic, unfocused third-person shooter. This would prompt Capcom to go back to the drawing board with Resident Evil, but not before pushing out two bafflingly bad entries.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Umbrella Corps Are the Series’ Actual Worst Games

Operation Raccoon City and Umbrella Corps are often overlooked, and for good reason. Resident Evil 6 might be a bad Resident Evil game, but these multiplayer experiments are bad games, full stop. Operation Raccoon City has serviceable shooting mechanics, though its squad-based, cover-shooter gameplay was derivative and tired even by 2012 standards. And with an even less compelling, less horror-oriented narrative than RE6, the game failed to attract a wide audience.

Then came Umbrella Corps in 2016, marking a new low for the franchise. Unlike Operation Raccoon City, Umbrella Corps was unable to even be successfully derivative, with a dreadfully boring single-player campaign and a shallow, pointless multiplayer mode; it is perhaps the worst-received Resident Evil game of all time. Thankfully, Capcom’s redemption was right around the corner.

In 2017, Capcom released what would be the most important Resident Evil game since Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was precisely what the franchise needed in the wake of Resident Evil 6: it was bold, scary, and innovative. With a first-person perspective and new protagonist in Ethan Winters, Resident Evil 7 felt like a fresh start, while also being a return to the series’ tense, atmospheric survival horror gameplay, with a greater balance of exploration, combat, and puzzles.

But Capcom wasn’t content to simply rest on its laurels in the wake of RE7’s success, and Resident Evil Village is evidence of that. The game still features Ethan Winters and an FPS template, but with a radical shift to a Gothic European setting and a greater focus on action, Village proved that Resident Evil could still surprise after RE7.

Resident Evil Emerged as a Leader in the Remake Space

Between Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village, Capcom released the Resident Evil 2 remake. Despite seeming like an odd about-face from the outset, it turned out to be an incredibly polished reimagining of the 1998 original, and essentially set the gold standard for what an ambitious, full-blown video game remake should be.

Resident Evil 3’s remake was a little underwhelming for some, but the Resident Evil 4 remake rectified that swiftly, being arguably one of the best third-person shooters ever made. With RE4R, Capcom re-established the series’ superiority in the third-person action space, much like how the original RE4 was instrumental in pushing third-person action forward during its time. Crucially, RE4R and its predecessors helped reintroduce legacy characters like Leon Kennedy, which set the franchise up to move beyond Ethan Winters’ story and consolidate the timeline.

Resident Evil Requiem Brings Everything Together

All of this brings us to Resident Evil Requiem, which represents the fullest evolution of the franchise so far. Not only does the game literally combine the first-person, rat-in-a-cage survival horror of the Ethan Winters games with the intense combat of the remakes, it also reprises several aspects from the pre-RE7 games, including Leon Kennedy and Raccoon City.

Through Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom has reconciled the series’ two distinct modern gameplay formulas. More than RE7 and Village, Requiem embraces Resident Evil’s campy identity while still prioritizing smart horror setpieces. Resident Evil got its groove back years ago, and Requiem feels like a victory lap. But more than that, it represents the series of hardships and transformations that the series had to go through to get to this point.