Resident Evil 4joins the recent surge of studios remaking some of the industry’s biggest games as Capcom works towards the release of its latest game in an ever-growing list ofResident Evilremakes. Built from the renewed legacy ofResident Evil 2and3,Resident Evil 4will be a modern rendition of one ofResident Evil’smost beloved entries, causing many to believe that Capcom is reworking the lengthy canon ofResident Evilas it prepares for future games.
Most poignantly, Capcom has cryptically been referring toResident Evil 4’sremake as a “reawakening"of the original title, which has led many to theorize on just what this could mean for the game and the series it belongs to.Resident Evil 4possibly leading to something more could suggest that Capcom is taking inspiration fromFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeand this could be the beginning of something completely brand new fromResident Evil.
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Remakes Aplenty in the Game Industry
Remakes have been commonplace within the gaming industry for a considerable time. Particularly, games that were once fan favorites or cult classics are often updated for the next generation of consoles and adapted where necessary to fit a more modern gaming rubric. However, with the gaming market becoming increasingly saturated with old favorites, it would seem remakes are struggling to either stand out from the crowd. AsResident Evilcircles back to its most recent titles, with justResident Evil 5and6to go beforeResident Evil 7: BiohazardandVillageare caught up, this could be something Capcom is attempting to consider and navigate.
Final Fantasy 7 Remakedidn’t outright face these issues, as not only could Square Enixcompletely reinvent how the game played compared to its 1997 counterpart, butFinal Fantasy 7was beloved by fans and just one entry in an exhaustive series of games. Withthe addition of “Whispers” and Cloud’s visions around Aerith’s death, and the ultimate suggestion that theFinal Fantasy 7canon may be broken,Final Fantasy 7 Remakebecame less a remake and more a reimagining that is leading to a whole new story unfolding. Now thatFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthhas been announced, it’s clear that Square Enix is going above and beyond the idea of a simple “remake”.
Resident Evil Is Being Reawakened
ThoughResident Evilis more entrenched in sci-fi than fantasy, it wouldn’t be beyond Capcom’s capability to reimagineResident Evil’sstory in a way that could help either lay the groundwork for future entries or establish a brand-new canon with multiple different “universes”. If it were to follow inFinal Fantasy 7 Remake’sfootsteps, thenResident Evil 4could move away from the original game and steer the series towards something new. AlreadyResident Evil 4features several changesthat may hint towards Capcom’s intentions, including Leon Kennedy’s outfit being different and enemies having updated behaviors to fit new gameplay mechanics. Moreover, in line with the preceding remakes, many fans are expecting further additions or improvements to various characters or storylines within the game, just as Carlos Oliveira fromResident Evil 3or Marvin Branagh fromResident Evil 2were given better characterization and more screen time.
However, it’s clear that the remakes going off-script is a dangerous balancing act for Capcom.Resident Evil 3received criticism for its reimagined storylinethat felt too short and cut out important content from the original. Thankfully, there is still potential forResident Evil 4’sremake to forge ahead and create a new narrative. In order to bring the distinct experiences of Ethan and Rose together with Leon, Claire, Ada, and others, Capcom will need to get creative in aligning the events of each game to fit a “reawakened” canon. Perhaps capitalizing onResident Evil’sstrange, inhuman viruses from earlyResident Evilgames could be the key; the Plagas from the upcomingResident Evil 4remake could bring all these games under one expansive Umbrella Corp.
Resident Evil 4 Remakeis set to release on Jun 28, 2025 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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