Highlights
- Resident Evil 0 and Code Veronica remakes are reportedly in development.
- Resident Evil may finally embrace an open-world design in the next main entry.
- The open-world approach could satisfy various fan preferences and continue Capcom’s innovation streak.
Resident Evil is continuing the current leg of a successful path forged by 2017’s Resident Evil 7 and entries since. As one of the progenitors and longest lasting survival horror series, Resident Evil has 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 acclaimed RE 4 Remake, and if some information that has come to light holds up, developer Capcom has some big and somewhat unexpected plans for RE.
According to a prominent figure and various other sources, remakes of Resident Evil 0 and Code Veronica are 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 of Resident Evil 5 and 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 of RE 2 through 4. This makes sense given the prior precedent and style of the original games. However, there is another direction RE could 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.
Related
Resident Evil 4 Remake is All The Proof Needed That an Open-World Approach Can Work
It’s been heavily rumored that Resident Evil 9 will be adopting an open-world structure, and Resident Evil 4 Remake laid some nice foundations.
The Time is Right for Resident Evil to Try an Open-World Title
Resident Evil Has Already Flirted With Open-World Designs
Resident Evil is, of course, responsible and duly credited for its early innovations in the use of fixed 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 4 changed the gaming landscape when it switched to the famous over-the-shoulder view, which has become basically a standard ever since. RE 4 was also something of an early draft in terms of an open-world, having larger spaces and connected areas than any previous RE, and the remake leaned more into this aspect as well.
2021’s Resident Evil Village saw the series follow along similar lines. Village could be classified as semi-open-world, providing an interconnected hub leading to various areas lorded over by Village‘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-world RE might 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 with Resident Evil by introducing and playing with elements outside its core tenets, whether these were well-received or not. RE 7 heralded 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 the assumed Resident Evil 9 to 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 the Resident Evil 0 and Code Veronica remakes 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-world RE could thus satisfy the part of it that has been hankering for and expecting just such an experience. The next Resident Evil being open-world could 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 Remake
A remake of 2005’s Resident Evil 4, Capcom’s game follows Leon S. Kennedy as he heads on a mission to save the President of the United States’ daughter from the Los Illuminados cult. Blending survival horror and third-person shooter gameplay, Resident Evil 4 (2023) will build on the success of 2019’s Resident Evil 2 and 2020’s Resident Evil 3 remakes.
- Released
- March 24, 2023
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- ESRB
- M for Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- How Long To Beat
- 16 Hours
- Metascore
- 93
