The future of Resident Evil, from Resident Evil 4 Remake to the Village finale

The future of Resident Evil

The Resident Evil Showcase of 20 October was an event full of information and above all decidedly practical, focused on products arriving in the next period with precise release dates and in some cases also practicable immediately. This is a very different approach from what we often see in events of this type, where we usually limit ourselves to publishing vague trailers with release dates to be defined and above all proposing general ideas on what will come in the years to come: Capcom has basically talked about release dates and games that are practically ready, which in one way or another can also be tested immediately by the players. A very pleasant change of pace for both the public and the specialized press, who for once are faced with complete titles to try firsthand, rather than trailers to be analyzed in a desperate search for information.

No mention , therefore, to the remote future and to what could be a possible ninth chapter, but precise details on the ending of Resident Evil Village and on the continuation of the reworking of the historical chapters of the series with Resident Evil 4 Remake, in addition to the multiplayer digression provided by Resident Evil Re : Verse that should finally be ready.

In addition to the inevitable trailers, initiatives have also been launched that allow you to immediately experience two of these titles between demos and beta, so we are faced with a decidedly pragmatic and safe Capcom, fully launched in a dense roadmap of high level productions. So let's take a look at the news announced for the immediate future of the Resident Evil series.

Resident Evil Village: the end of the Winters

Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose, the daughter of the Winters is now the protagonist With the launch of Resident Evil Village: Gold Edition the saga started with Resident Evil 7, showing the ending of the Winters family story with the daughter-focused expansion, "Shadows of Rose". The tormented story of Ethan Winters finally ends with the passing of the baton to his daughter Rose, who unfortunately cannot totally escape the nightmares from which her father has tried to protect her but will find herself having to conclude the family mission, finding finally, a conclusion to the tragic and epic story of a family that found itself taking charge of the fight against evil. In this case, we find ourselves controlling Rose, daughter of Ethan and Mia Winters, who decides to return to the place of origin of her fears and face them face to face, also thanks to her supernatural abilities that place her as a sort of antidote to dark powers the parents fought against.

This is an expansion of fundamental importance, not only from a narrative point of view but also as regards perhaps the future of the series. On the first front, it represents the definitive conclusion of the new narrative arc on the Winters started in Resident Evil 7 and shows a piece of history that is not at all secondary: continuing with the tradition of the DLC of the series, also The Shadows of Rose provides a fundamental piece for complete the overall story, with another 4 hours of gameplay produced directly by Masachika Kawata and directed by Kento Kinoshita, with the intention of building almost a separate mini-chapter.

Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose introduces the third person view On the gameplay front, the expansion reintroduces the third person view and this could represent a major node for the future of Resident Evil, considering the possibility that this can finally be used as a standard setting also for the next chapter. It is no coincidence that the Gold Edition introduces the third-person mode also applicable to the rest of Resident Evil Village, providing the impression that Capcom intends to focus particularly on this. The expansion will be available on October 28th and was shown in a trailer at last night's event, but the best part is that you can already try it with a 60-minute demo available on PlayStation Store, Xbox Store and Steam.

Resident Evil Re: Verse, the multiplayer platform

Resident Evil Re: Verse, an image of the multiplayer game Resident Evil multiplayer titles have always been considered very minor additions to the main chapters, yet in the mechanics of the series there is considerable potential for interpretations of this kind, as has emerged from the co-op of Resident Evil 5 onwards. Starting from the old and pioneering Outbreak, passing from The Mercenaries and up to Resistance, Capcom's attempts have been many and generous, but they have never managed to capture the attention of the public, as demonstrated also by the sad parable of Umbrella Corps . The hope of providing a worthy multiplayer platform to a series that, for the rest, continues to grind successes, is fueled by Resident Evil Re: Verse, which has so far had a decidedly troubled history: announced as an additional element of Village and planned to be released. with this in 2021, the obvious difficulties encountered have prompted developers and publishers to continue working on it until the release date that should be final: October 28, 2022.

Resident Evil Re: Verse brings together protagonists and various creatures Yesterday's presentation did not properly dispel all doubts about the quality and the actual need for such a game, but at least it seems that Capcom intends to get serious with this umpteenth multiplayer attempt, complete with a plan of support already defined for the first 3 progressive updates and an early access that will allow you to try Re: Verse from 23 to 25 October, a few days from the LAN that is.

This test will also introduce cross-play for the first time, a feature that once again demonstrates the desire to build a broad and long-lasting multiplayer platform for a community that, so far, seems to have focused above all on experiences in single. It must be said that the company has not stopped experimenting in this area: after various attempts between co-op, multiplayer PvE, PvP and asymmetrical, Re: Verse stages a rather classic team deathmatch but with the possibility of using the historical characters of the series, in a real royal rumble among the protagonists of Resident Evil.

Resident Evil 4 Remake, the next major event

Resident Evil 4, Ashley and Leon in a scene The "KING" of yesterday evening, in every sense, was definitely Resident Evil 4 Remake, the new chapter in the reworkings of Capcom that really shone in a new and spectacular trailer that showed further improvements in a series that he really found the best way to reinvent himself. This is also a different case from the others, as the original already had a similar setting and it is indeed from this that Capcom was inspired to start the remake series, yet the remake is still very different and significantly enriched. We could spend hours talking about the historical importance of Resident Evil 4 not only for the series as for the entire video game landscape, but here we simply point out how it is basically a fundamental hub of the entire series, which has influenced everything that has come. after. Curiously, the arrival of the remake coincides precisely with the introduction of the iconic third person behind the protagonist also in the series of new chapters, as if to demonstrate once again the seminal importance of Shinji Mikami's idea.

Resident Evil 4 Remake is definitely the next major event in the Capcom series and beyond: the new trailer showed what is definitely a new but also incredibly familiar game, demonstrating another reworking that succeeds in the complicated intent of evolve while remaining faithful to the origins.

Resident Evil 4, the good old merchant It so happens that, while we are amazed by the wonders of the RE Engine on the new generation platforms, the emotions of the first contacts with Los Ganados also return precisely, and the feeling of truth horror in the historical sequence of the siege on the square of El Pueblo. It's not just about impressive new graphics, but also years of reworking and refinements applied to gameplay that should have led to a substantial evolution. All this while also managing to evoke, intact, the ecstatic sensations experienced in 2005 on Gamecube, in those first steps in a completely new Resident Evil.

The new gameplay trailer shows the very first and iconic phases of the game, from he arrival of Leon S. Kennedy in the mysterious village of El Pueblo in search of Ashley, the president's daughter, up to the classic scene of the siege in the square, showing many nostalgic references but also several novelties.

Resident Evil 4 Remake, Leon against one of the first bosses The combat system appears evolved, with the Ganados attacking in different ways and helping each other, while Leon can count on additional evasive maneuvers and new melee attacks body, for example. For the rest, we note the recovery of some well-established ideas such as the management of the block inventory that was typical of the original and new crafting possibilities, with a refinement also of the trading system with the mythical merchant. Resident Evil 4 Remake will be available from March 24, 2023 on PS5, Xbox Series X | S, PC and even PS4.

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