Highlights

  • Resident Evil 9 could focus on horror elements, resembling classic Silent Hill games to heighten fear and tension.
  • A Resident Evil 5 remake may enhance action elements, offering a polished, no-frills adventure with tight gameplay.
  • By achieving a balance between horror and action, both RE9 and a RE5 remake can secure the future of the franchise.

The Resident Evil franchise could wind up achieving a great sense of synergy through the releases of Resident Evil 9 and a Resident Evil 5 remake. Although a remake for Resident Evil 5 hasn't been announced, it seems almost inevitable, given the success of the series' previous remakes; the same can be said for Resident Evil 9. Both of these games have a chance of continuing the franchise's excellence, though for different reasons.

Resident Evil has always straddled horror and blockbuster action, to varying degrees of success. The first game in the series was unabashedly horror-centric, with a slow, creeping pace and a focus on maintaining tension, atmosphere, and mystery. As the series progressed, it would eventually embrace evolving gaming technology by becoming more of an action-horror franchise. This focus on action culminated in Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, which many fans lamented for abandoning the series' horror roots. A few years later, Capcom would return to its roots with Resident Evil 7, which put scares back at the center of the experience. This back-and-forth may be reaching a solid equilibrium, thanks to Capcom's release strategy.

chris_redfield_golden_era_feature
Related
Resident Evil's Chris Redfield Could Be Entering a Golden Era

The future of the Resident Evil franchise is currently a mystery, but it's likely fans will be seeing a lot more of Chris Redfield.

Resident Evil 9 Can Be Full Horror, Resident Evil 5 Can Be Full Action

Resident Evil 9: Leaning Into Horror

Assuming Resident Evil 9 sticks to the design staples of RE7 and Village, there's a good chance that it will be more about the horror than the action; the first-person perspective adopted by this new generation of RE games elevates tension by increasing immersion and limiting the player's field of view, making it so they can only see what is directly in front of them. This perspective has a transformative effect on how horror is presented in these games, but the sense of terror is also buttressed by a slower pace, focus on exploration over combat, scarce resource economy, and the unsettling and intimate narrative of the Winters family saga.

If Resident Evil 9 evolves this horror emphasis, perhaps scaling back the encroaching action elements that pop up in Village, it could repeat or even surpass the fear-inspiring design of Resident Evil 7. In this way, RE9 could be a full-fledged, proper horror experience, resembling something like the classic Silent Hill games, with subdued combat, a less campy tone, and a narrative that is darker and more cerebral.

Resident Evil 5 Can Embrace Blockbuster Action

Though public opinion about the game is mixed due to its lack of horror, there's a lot about Resident Evil 5 that works, and a remake of the game could further polish these successful elements without tarnishing the identity of the 2009 release. A Resident Evil 5 remake could enhance the combat of the original, fully modernizing and upgrading the moment-to-moment gameplay similarly to the Resident Evil 4 remake while adding revamped visuals, cinematics, and quality-of-life features.

By embracing the original's action-movie-inspired design, a Resident Evil 5 remake can be a no-frills, no-filler adventure with tight gameplay and loads of replay value, following in the footsteps of the previous Resident Evil remakes.

Resident Evil 5 may have tipped the scales too far in the direction of action when it was first released. But for what it is trying to accomplish, the game is successful, offering a well-crafted and enjoyable experience, and it may have been better received by modern audiences if Resident Evil fans had an alternative: a more subtle and horror-focused game. If Resident Evil 9 presents psychological horror and serious narrative elements that are prioritized over intense action, then it could be this alternative, perfectly complementing an RE5 remake.