If you love Resident Evil as much as we do, you’re probably over the moon about Veronica and the rumoured remake of Zero that’s apparently in the developer’s future pipeline. Remakes of the long-standing horror franchise have been a crucial part of the studio’s modern strategy, after all, and bringing its older titles to a modern audience has certainly worked in its favor. Hell, some of those remakes had us liking them even more than the original versions in many instances.
It’s only natural, then, to expect remakes of Resident Evil 5 and 6, which had a lot of Chris Redfield and other important cast members from the overarching narrative squished into their respective stories. Leon, Claire, and Jill have had their time to shine in remakes, but the leader of the BSAA’s Wolf Squad has been conspicuous by his absence. That reference to him in Requiem could even be seen as a sort of a secret that points to him getting a couple of remakes as well.
But recent reports suggest that this might not be the case, and we think that assuming that remakes of RE5 and RE6 are definitely on the way ignores some obvious roadblocks, the biggest one being that they are quite different from all the other games that have been modernized. They’re bigger, louder, more action-heavy, and co-op driven than their counterparts. That doesn’t make them unpopular, not in the slightest, but it does bring unique challenges to the table that would make them a tad more complicated to modernize in a way that makes sense for both the developer and players.
The developer would have to think long and hard about what it wants them to be in the years to come, and make hard choices that could backfire, making them risky candidates for remakes despite their narrative significance. It doesn’t make sense to assume that the studio is going to remake these two titles at some point. Allow us to explain why we think that’s the case.
Looking To The Future
The report that the developer isn’t committed to remaking the two titles in question is a good place to start. Notice that we said “not committed” instead of ” cancelled”, an important distinction. Of course, we have to consider the fact that although the news came from Insider Gaming which is quite reliable, it was still coming from an insider who’s been known to focus on Resident Evil, an understandable sentiment considering the franchise’s popularity.
But if we were to take the rumors up on face value, the suggestion that RE5 and 6 are not on the developer’s roadmap for the franchise is an indicator that it isn’t going to try remaking them at some point, but could be biding its time in a bid to ensure that it gets things right. The way we see it, the absence of a plan is a good thing, and a far better alternative to rushing into something simply because of the wishful thinking of fans, who might not understand a few key intricacies despite the completely acceptable enthusiasm to see their favorite games coming back to the spotlight.
Fear not, because we’ve come prepared to convince you that the developer is right in holding off on remaking these two games. It’s time to get to the meat of this one.
A Case of Misplaced Co-Op Identity
If your mind has already jumped to Resident Evil 5, you’re probably thinking along the same lines as we are. RE5’s gameplay loop is quite deeply tied to co-op play, with Chris and Sheva working as a team for a major part of it. On its own, it presents the developer with a dilemma.
Is it a good idea to retain the co-op experience, which was arguably a very enjoyable part of Chris’s time in Kijuju? Could it be made into a single-player experience with improvements to the AI that make Sheva work well enough to feel like a legit combatant? Does combat need to be redesigned to account for either one of these options, and will the story have to be reworked to take on a more horror-oriented tone instead of the action-oriented, cooperative structure that made the original experience as enjoyable as it was?
All of these are complex areas that will need a lot of thought and nuance if a remake is on the cards, and what the developer decides is a good direction for a modernized version of the game. It isn’t going to be enough to overhaul the visuals on this one, and Sheva would probably be an area that poses a real challenge.
She would need to feel like a real character and a competent partner to Chris on the adventure they go through. Her entire skill set might need a serious revamp, rebuilt from the ground up to give her more agency in fights, allowing her to go past a simple AI-controlled companion if the remake takes the single-player route. She’s probably a factor that could make or break the remake, and is probably as important as the change in tone that any alterations would have to bring.
We say that since RE5 was a horror title with a lot of action, military thriller, and co-op shooter elements thrown into a story that had a lot of significant character development for Chris and Jill with Wesker acting as a catalyst for their growth over its story. All of those elements worked together to make the game as good as it was, and we wouldn’t want to be in the position of having to pick a few over the others.
Too much focus on one would come at the cost of neglecting everything else, which would defeat the purpose of a remake in the first place. Make it too serious, and the game loses that chaotic energy that underlined the entirety of its campaign, while emphasizing the action risks exacerbating the few complaints that made this one a divisive title for the franchise. It’s a game that needs cautious tonal correction over rampant tonal erasure, and that’s a tricky balance even for a studio with the developer’s obvious talent.
And then there’s Resident Evil 6, which brings its own set of problems to the table.
The Devil In The Details
If RE5’s main problem is co-op and having a remake working around that design pillar, RE6 brings the challenge of balancing multiple protagonists, narrative storylines, and gameplay identities. That automatically makes remaking it a nightmare more daunting than even the most formidable BOWs, since it would not only be a massive, expensive undertaking, but one that would require a complete restructuring of it all.
Make it too small, and it carries the risk of major cuts that would dilute the story’s impact. Reimagining it entirely would certainly put off more than a few purists whose interest would be in replaying the original experience with fresh new perspectives added in, the original’s scale and chaos being non-negotiable aspects of any effort to modernize the title.
RE6’s identity is easily the biggest roadblock to a remake that makes sense, given that each of its protagonists brings a unique perspective to the table. A part of the story is about the franchise’s signature style of horror, while another takes that to its extreme with superhuman spectacle. Those fights with Simmons continue to be among our most memorable ones in the franchise, after all.
But it also brings in military action and spy-thriller energy, pitting Chris as false Ada against each other in a narrative thread that was quite intriguing when we didn’t know what was going on. That many disparate threads leaves the developer with little choice but to go for a mere visual overhaul, which defeats the purpose of a remake considering the ones that have preceded it, or to create a more focused experience that risks foregoing the intensity of the original experience.
That’s not a trivial creative choice, but a massive undertaking that would mean devoting time, energy, and crucial resources to those who could otherwise be a part of other projects in development. That’s not an easy call to make, and if it were to cut content, the developer would have to face the ire of fans who love RE6 specifically because of its scale and ambition, facets that even we’d miss if they weren’t a part of a remake. Its absurd action and chaotic ambition were very enjoyable undercurrents that helped sell the story it was trying to tell, after all.
It’s a trap that we’d definitely think twice about taking on, since RE6’s perceived flaws are a part of its identity. Speaking of identity, there’s something common between both the titles we’ve been talking about.
A Pragmatic Approach
Both RE5 and RE6 represent the franchise’s action-oriented era, taking them beyond numbered mainline entries and giving them a sort of historical significance to the franchise. But that very part of it could also be a hindrance that makes it difficult to usher them into the future.
It’s definitely tricky, since the developer can’t ignore them forever, but must ensure that any effort to recreate them takes what made them rather divisive into account, and find a middle ground that works within the context of current-gen titles. Keeping that in mind, we’re pretty confident that holding off on remaking them is not just a smart choice, but is one that could pay dividends if the studio takes the time it needs to get things right. Irrespective of whether they’re faithful remakes, heavy reimaginings, or a suitable middle ground, staying put is a way to ensure that it avoids franchise fatigue while also handling each title’s unique problems on its own terms.
Remaking both games simply because we can’t wait to see them isn’t a good choice. RE5 would need improvements to its AI for solo players while building on important aspects like Sheva’s characterization, combat pacing and repetitiveness, and a better balance between horror and action. RE6 would need a campaign that’s structured better, less tonal clashes, a trimming of its mechanical excess, and more focused character arcs, which all point to it needing to be reimagined rather than remade.
They’re probably going to come to the surface at some point, but they’re not going to be easy wins in the way that other titles that received remakes were. Even those took a lot of effort, and these two are going to be expensive, challenging undertakings with the possibility that a section of players are going to dislike them no matter how well they turn out.
The developer is sure to confront the franchise’s most divisive period. We’re saying that letting it do that on its own terms is the right way to go about things.
In short, let them cook, folks!
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
