TheResident Evilseries is approaching a pivotal moment as it prepares for its next mainline entry with no clear protagonist in sight moving forward. Following the reinvention thatRE7brought which helped to bring the series back to mainstream success, Capcom has both continued this new vision inVillageand revisited classic entries to widely positive reception. Now that years have passed under both approaches, the risks associated with focusing on either route have made the future ofResident Evilless than certain.
While introducing a new protagonist could bring a refreshingsense of innovation intoResident Evil 9, it also has a chance of alienating the fans with deep-rooted connections to the established characters of the older entries. It’s undeniable that the reboot-like take thatRE7succeeded through was a bold departure of its own at the time, but it may no longer be worth honing in on a compelling new narrative when so many familiar faces are more readily available.
The Resident Evil Franchise is at a Crossroads with RE9’s Player Character
Expectations Around Finishing What Resident Evil 7 Started
What could be considered the Winters family arc began with Ethan’s time on the Baker property inRE7and concluded inResident Evill Villageand its Shadows of Rose DLC. There has been speculation aboutRE9featuring Rose Winters as its player character once again, but the closure to her story and strange placement so far ahead in the timeline have basically made Chris Redfield’s ongoing mission the only thread from the previous game with proper legs.
Capcom Hasn’t Been Able to Ignore the Desire to Return to a Classic Cast
During the time it was enjoying returns from its newer numbered titles, Capcom was also capitalizing on high fidelity remakes of theolder generationResident Eviltitles. The success of these games has only further complicated the matter of the next game’s characters, as they have brought the likes of Leon Kennedy and Jill Valentine back into prominent places of popularity in recent years. This matter hasn’t been helped by the fact that Ethan Winters served as more of a faceless self-insert thanRE’s other more developed protagonists, but he still somehow had an arc which came to an end.
A New Protagonist Would Make or Break Resident Evil 9
Leaving a Full-Circle Moment Behind in Favor of Innovation
There are several plot points associated with legacy characters that the nextREcould be based around, but it still might end up ignoring them to focus on its own unique story over long-established lore. With a title likeRE4having garnered so much praise despite its relatively disconnected nature, leaning into a more creative challenge for the decades-old franchise could continue its refreshing run that began in 2017. Now thatRE7director Koshi Nakanishi is working on the nextResident Evil, the project could be more inclined towards the inventive style that defined his previous effort. Since soft rebooting the series has been done before, however, there’s also a chance that taking a similar route will not have as much of the same novelty in the future.
Popular Characters Are Almost Guaranteed to Better Resonate with Players
Despite any best attempts at selling a new face to the audience, a new player character would undoubtedly struggle to make the same impact as previous protagonists making triumphant returns. Unless bringing them back causes a situation like thepoor reception toResident Evil 6, which felt overblown through losing its focus across action set pieces and fan service, then following up onRE’s cast for what might be the final time could transcend nostalgia bait alone.
Resident Evil 4
WHERE TO PLAY
Survival is just the beginning.Six years have passed since the biological disaster in Raccoon City.Agent Leon S. Kennedy, one of the survivors of the incident, has been sent to rescue the president’s kidnapped daughter. He tracks her to a secluded European village, where there is something terribly wrong with the locals.And the curtain rises on this story of daring rescue and grueling horror where life and death, terror and catharsis intersect.Featuring modernized gameplay, a reimagined storyline, and vividly detailed graphics, Resident Evil 4 marks the rebirth of an industry juggernaut.Relive the nightmare that revolutionized survival horror.
