What do you mean I talk about Resident Evil too much on this blog? I resent that accusation upon my name, good sir. Also; I'm about to talk Resident Evil right now so just can it, 'kay? And yeah, it's true, I just can't talk about anything else these days and it might just be from the way that a game based on an incredibly contagious fast spreading pandemic is strangely apropos right now. That and the fact that every time I look at my recommended stories I see Capcom plastered in my face; way to dominate the news, guys. Although this isn't exactly a brand new story and is in fact something of an update upon rumours we had previously; namely that next year we RE fans may be lucky enough to have another mainline Resident Evil entry headed our way. (That's three in three years, how is this even possible?)
Of course, every scrap of 'news' to this regard can just as confidently be discarded as being mere rumour and conjecture; but I need some good news so I'm going to lean into this, don't mind me. In truth, this story really first saw the light of day after the release of Resident Evil 2 last year when people started begging Capcom for a Resident Evil 3 DLC. (Still wish this game was a DLC, that would have been perfect.) Dribbled out rumours insisted that RE3 was being worked on (which, evidently it was) and that it was being handled by a smaller team whilst the guys behind RE2 would move onto putting together the fabled Resident Evil 8. Now personally, I couldn't really care much about the Resident Evil 8, and that's not because 7 wasn't any good (I hear it was great) but simply because Capcom have made such a pig's ear of the narrative of this series that I have nothing to look forward to. What questions are there left to answer? Who's tales are yet to be told? Which characters are we looking forward to seeing reimagined? Will Chris Redfield continue to morph face between entries? (There is literally no two games where that man has the same face)
However, as the year went on the stories that we were hearing started to morph and change until people started to forget that Resident Evil 8 was ever on the table. The RE3 remake had already been successfully teased by Capcom, but 'leakers' were saying that the next game in the lineup would be yet another remake only not of a Resident Evil title. Even today there's still reports of that floating around, with apparent double confirmation that we won't be seeing a 'Code Veronica: X' revival but instead a potential remake of Dino Crisis. Now, I'd imagine a fair few folk out there don't actually remember Dino Crisis all that well so let me explain as succinctly as possible; Resident Evil controls, Space, Dinosaurs. That's everything, you're up to date. Now If there's one series that could use a shiny new lick of Capcom paint it would be DC, those games never really got their due and even when they were around people didn't latch onto the characters and settings as strongly. (That could be due to characters themselves. Who's going to remember a character called 'Regina'?)
Most of that chatter went quiet once RE3 entered it's marketing cycle but now that's all out for everyone, it's all fired up again with an interesting new edition; Not only is that remake still happening, it's not being made in replacement of Resident Evil 8, but apparently in conjunction with it. RE 8 is due 2021 allegedly. (Wow, I'm running out of synonyms for "This could be total bull") But if this is all 'on the level' as far as sources go, then fans have something interesting to chew on because this news was heralded be a couple of interesting tidbits. Firstly that the game would be first person (Which I'm guessing means to Capcom: "We can't be bothered to think of a new likeable Resident Evil protagonist so you're basically just playing yourself") and secondly that this game would be, and I quote; "The biggest departure that the series has ever taken." Uh oh.
Now seeing as how I'm literally playing the four person asymmetric multiplayer 'Resident Evil: Resistance' as I'm writing this, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Capcom have never done experimental things with their licence before; but if this is set to be the 'biggest departure' and it's a main title game, I feel it's fair to inject a healthy degree of worry into this prognosis. Afterall, whenever Capcom has felt the need to 'shake things up' when it comes to Resident evil the results have always been... odd. 'Resident Evil Gun Survivor' was a truly dire light gun game that failed on every single possible level to live up to the series name; Resident Evil 4 changed the very fabric of the game in a good way for the title in question, but as a result the series was thrown a path of self destruction; and Resident Evil 6 was such a huge departure from the franchise that the higher ups asked to turn it into a series to rival 'Call of Duty'. I mean sure, Resident Evil has come back in a big way but do we need to set it on fire and watch it burn already? (Can't we just enjoy a good thing for a while?)
Luckily there have been some other details that paint a slightly more comforting picture. Apparently Resident Evil 8 started life as the third entry in the largely okay 'Revelations' side series, and the concept was apparently so compelling that the project got upgraded to a full series main title. This is encouraging for me as the Resident Evil Revelations games have mostly focused on the tried and true main series protagonists, (even throwing in a few characters of their own every now and then) and they served as comfort food for the Resident Evil fanbase when it felt like everything else from this franchise was just disaster after disaster. Don't get me wrong, neither of those first two games were a patch on the original Resident Evil's, but at least they remembered to be horror titles.
Of course, there's always the chance that all of this is just lip service that amounts to precious little in the grand scheme of things. Like when Capcom teased that the Resident Evil 3 remake would be "Not what (we were) expecting", only for the game to come out and be exactly what people though it would be. Now maybe this was a subtle hint to the Resident Evil Survivors game that was tacked onto the main product, but I think it was just creative advertising to keep people guessing at what they could expect. Perhaps the same is happening here with RE8; strategic leaks to drum up interest in something wild and unexpected. Or maybe this is all hinting at some sort of integration between this upcoming title and the developing Resident Evil Netflix series that we've been hearing about. Maybe an episodic affair where each episode reflects on actions taken in the game? Okay, I'm getting wild with my speculating here, I should probably wrap up before I start foaming at the mouth about chem trails.
I find it a little strange that the marketing machine has already moved on barely a week after RE3's launch, but I will admit that I am morbid curious about the direction things are moving. Should this information be accurate, it could be evidence that Capcom are willing to take a concerted effort at making Resident Evil their flagship franchise once again. Does that mean the future for this series is yearly entries? I certainly hope not, as that would cheapen the special feeling one gets from a good RE (and also make it harder for the team to create those titles) but perhaps it means that Resident Evil 8 will end up being something special. (Fingers crossed, I guess.)
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