With Resident Evil: Requiem coming out a month from tomorrow, I thought I'd reflect on my hopes for the series in the future. Note that there will be spoilers, so keep that in mind.
I'm looking forward to the new game! In particular, I'm interested in learning more about Grace and seeing how Capcom chooses to conclude Leon's story. I've known about his inclusion in Requiem for a while now and it seems that they want to retire Leon for good (the rumors suggest that this will be his last mainline appearance, at least chronologically).
I would honestly welcome this. While I do enjoy Leon, I don't have the same devotion towards him that so many in the fanbase seem to have. Some people would rather see Capcom just reuse the same couple of characters every single time and I think that would be exhausting. Will they kill him off? Will he finally get his well-deserved retirement? I don't particularly care how they choose to finish his story as long as it's well-written and feels earned.
On the topic of characters, I'm extremely excited to see more of Grace and to play her sections. I initially discovered Resident Evil in the 90s (when I was too young to play the earliest games and saw RE1-3 in stores/read snippets from strategy guides for Code Veronica) and REmake was my first game back in 2002. I have ALWAYS been a fan of RE as a survival horror series first and foremost, and hate what RE5 and RE6 did to the series. I did enjoy the action sections in the RE4 remake (more than the original) and Village, but that's probably my limit as far as action goes. Because of this, I am far more interested in Grace's gameplay and can't wait for more horror/limited ammo/puzzle solving!
I'm hoping we'll get a LOT of playable locations in Raccoon City. I'd love to see more returning characters as well. Really hoping Claire and Sherry appear somewhere in this game! It would be nice to have a couple other Outbreak characters as well. I'm trying not to have too many expectations for this one, but I hope the horror is effective, the action restrained, and Leon's conclusion feels satisfying.
Code Veronica (Remake)
After Requiem, this will likely be the next entry in the series (estimated for an announcement later this year and a release in early 2027). Of all the Resident Evil games Capcom could choose to remake, this one was always at the very top of my list. I have been a huge fan of CV for ages and have wanted a remake since 2002. I am beyond ecstatic for this one and am actually more stoked for the Code Veronica remake than I am for Requiem!
Here are some things I'd like to see in the upcoming remake:
-A stronger focus on horror and atmosphere (imagine an updated version of the creepy carousel room in the Ashford Residence attic or exploring the Antarctic base in darkness!!)
-Music! Code Veronica has one of my favorite soundtracks in the series, so I really hope they keep much of the original music intact (especially the save room theme, Lachrymal/Love, and Theme of Alexia Type 2 – I don't really want ANY dramatic changes to those songs and want to hear them sound just like they did in the original, but with updated instrumentation)
-A new and improved Steve. While he is unintentionally hilarious in the OG, it would be great to see him reimagined as a more genuinely likable character
-A more unhinged Alfred. One of my favorite anime/manga series is Naoki Urasawa's Monster (upcoming spoilers for Monster!!!). Monster follows a Japanese neurosurgeon living in Germany who, ignoring hospital politics, decides to save the life of a young boy over that of the local mayor. When the doctor discovers a decade later that the boy grew up to become a serial killer, he resolves to hunt him down to atone for his choice. The boy in this series, Johan Liebert, has a twin sister (Nina) who is also a main character, and I've always noticed parallels between the twins in Monster and the Ashford siblings: both series feature blonde twins with Nazi/eugenics-based experimentation backgrounds, both sets of siblings are known for their exceptional intelligence, and both series feature a section where the male twin (Johan, Alfred) suffers from an identity crisis and crossdresses as his twin sister (Nina, Alexia). I would be thrilled if Capcom pulled more from this/created an updated version of Alfred that is more reminiscent of Johan – unsettling, manipulative, and charismatic.
-An updated Alexia. It's been a while since I last played CV and there's a lot that I forget about her. I hope she's an incredibly memorable main/final antagonist.
-Stronger focus on Claire (while I definitely want to see Chris, I've always felt like Code Veronica was really Claire's game and I'd like to see her role expanded, especially in the latter half of the game – maybe she could have the final battle with Alexia this time?)
-A better epilogue that hopefully details the fall of Umbrella better
Zero (Remake)
This remake will likely come in 2028. REmake and Zero were my two favorite RE games for the longest time and I'm so excited we'll finally get an update. While there are a few things I definitely don't want to see changed, I'm actually pretty open to revisions for this one.
Things I want to see:
-No significant appearance changes for the main characters. I do not want ANY major alterations to Billy or Rebecca. I don't want them to make Billy's hair shorter or give him facial hair. I don't want changes with Rebecca's appearance either. I want them to look identical – or as close as possible – to their appearances in the original. I am also REALLY hoping that the young long-haired James Marcus/Queen Leech design returns. I know that this is likely the first thing they would change but, as a guy with long hair, can I just say how nice it is to have a male character in RE with really long hair? REPRESENTATION. I will not be happy if this is cut entirely. They can scrap the Final Fantasy styled gown and put him in a white lab coat instead, but I hope the character won't be altered beyond recognition (or at least include this younger version in a flashback). In many ways, Young Marcus reminds me a lot of Eveline in RE: Biohazard. Both serve as the antagonist in a "beginning" chapter of the series – Marcus/Queen Leech in Zero as the narrative beginning of the series and Eveline in Biohazard as the beginning of the modern storyline/revival after RE6. Both are also pale, creepy characters with long, dark hair who usually appear young, but have a surprise older version revealed late in their respective games. It would be a seriously wasted opportunity to NOT keep the Young Marcus/Queen Leech design in some capacity.
-An increase in survival horror (while Zero was always a survival horror game, I hope they'll lean into this even more)
-More Bravo Team (I'd love to see them play a much more active role this time around, interacting with both Rebecca and Billy)
-Billy needs to survive (NO KILLING HIM OFF. I'd like to see a similar ending where he escapes and maybe reunites with Rebecca later on, perhaps after the end credits or after a hypothetical RE1 re-REmake?)
-A playable Billy flashback for his marines framing story would be excellent!
-Significantly extended train section
-I don't have strong feelings about the scorpion and bat bosses and don't care if they appear or not, but I'd love to see the giant centipede (Centurion) again! Of course, it goes without saying that the Tyrant and Queen Leech should return.
-I really, really want to see the church area turned into a full actual area rather than a single room (imagine a multi-story/room gothic cathedral and how amazing that could be!)
-I'm open to new and completely changed locations
-Music! I loved the original save room theme and hope it, or a better song, appears in the remake (also, please give us lots of atmospheric music throughout the game too)
-Like I said earlier, while there are a few things I don't want changed (mostly character designs), I'm pretty open to gameplay changes/additions!
Future Remakes
Beyond Code Veronica and Zero, I'm really hoping for another remake of RE1. While I love Zero and can't wait to play the remake, it will feel jarring to marathon the games going from the Zero remake (2028) to REmake (2002) to the RE2 remake (2019). I'd like to see another RE1 remake, even if the 2002 one was nearly perfect. It would be a difficult task, but continuity is important and they could do great things if they don't cut out the music and atmosphere of the first remake. Imagine the Spencer Mansion with an additional floor or two and new, separate locations for Chris and Jill! (like the RE2 remake had the extra sewer section in Leon's campaign and Claire's featured Sherry in the orphanage, but longer – perhaps Chris and Jill get separated at the beginning after a playable opening in the forest and start at different locations, Jill with Barry at the mansion entrance and Chris with Wesker somewhere else)
Concerning RE5 and a hypothetical remake... I have NEVER been a fan of RE5 and do not want to see a remake before CV, Zero, and RE1. If they did remake RE5, I hope there's a much stronger emphasis on horror (maybe make Lost in Nightmares a significant part of the actual game, focus more on Spencer and the Wesker Children, and drastically reimagine the whole story – and treat Jill with more respect/make her a playable character too).
Beyond Requiem
I'm not entirely sure where they'll go after Requiem, but I hope we get more new characters and stories in the near future! Regarding returning characters, I still want a Rose Winters game so we can finally have a proper Winters Family Trilogy™ at last. As Chris is still active in 2037, I'd love to see him in a surrogate father/mentor role to Rose. And there's a strong likelihood that Rose knows about Claire and Jill too, so it could be a great opportunity to give Rose a full game while also including playable sections for Chris/Claire/Jill. We need a conclusion to the Connections/mold storylines and this would be the perfect way to do it! (also, we can find out what happened to Mia and potentially have more Rose/Eveline interactions and Megamycete sections – who knows, maybe this is the way we could finally get more of Donna Beneviento!)
Anyways, these are my thoughts on the future of Resident Evil. Feel free to comment and share what you'd like to see!
