It’s Summer Game Fest time in the gaming world, which means announcements, news, updates, and a whole lot to look forward to in the near and long term futures in the gaming space. The first major event of the season is now behind us, with PlayStation airing its June State of Play earlier this month. We got plenty of news from third-party developers as well as what to expect to play on the PlayStation VR 2. While there is plenty to comb over, I’d like to take a look at what to expect from the announced lineup. While there was plenty to choose from, I think the most interesting title in terms of speculation to come from the event may just be the remake of Resident Evil 4.
Resident Evil as a franchise has gone through a massive transformation in recent years, and for good reason. What started as a benchmark zombie-horror franchise quickly rose to mainstream attention after the massive success of the original four games, even spawning multiple film adaptations. However, the franchise was in a slump following Resident Evil 5 & 6, the two games of the franchise that many argue are more action and less horror. When I first began paying critical attention to the games industry, I remember the sentiment towards the franchise being rather low. However, following the massive success and revitalization of the franchise with Resident Evil VIII, from my own experience, the games seem to be more popular than ever, which, of course, spawned re-releases and remakes of the first three games by fan demand. One game in the franchise has always had the attention of gamers more than any other, and that game is Resident Evil 4.
Resident Evil 4 went through a bit of a development hell of sorts, going through 4 massive iterations before finally releasing in 2005 (one of said iterations would become Devil May Cry, as a fun fact). I won’t go into specifics in this article (but you can read up on the development on Wikipedia) but due to the massive changes made to the game over the course of the development cycle, many fans argue that the game, while delivering a new and refreshed Resident Evil experience, the game could have been even better if it didn’t suffer such a struggle filled development. The remake of Resident Evil 4 could very well be the game’s second chance for an even bigger success.
Set to release on March 24, 2023, Resident Evil 4 Remake promises to reimagine the game’s storyline while modernizing the game world and gameplay in order to deliver a new experience suitable for the new generation of consoles it is arriving on. Complete with content available for PlayStation VR 2, the game is definitely promising to deliver an entirely new experience, and hopefully one that can learn from the amazing Resident Evil: Village, the newest entry in the franchise.
While news on the game is still a little sparse, we know that the game will see a change to the original game’s tone and story, but no further details on that have emerged. Based on the trailer, we can expect a darker atmosphere, which hopefully means a lean into the horror aspect that the Resident Evil games are known for, especially considering that while 4 was a massive hit, some fans still consider it to be the reason 5 and 6 fell flat on their face, starting the more actiony vibes and the move away from scary. I suspect we will likely be seeing this game a lot in the upcoming months. We can expect to see more of the game at the upcoming Capcom Showcase set to air on June 13th. Further out, I would bet on the game appearing at whatever is next for PlayStation, considering the strong partnership Sony and Capcom have had on Resident Evil as of late.
