There's little doubt that the Resident Evil franchise is among the most popular in horror. The only name that really comes close is Silent Hill, and until recent rumors came up the Silent Hill franchise has long been dormant. Meanwhile, Capcom seems to be working overtime in order to keep its horror games going strong. One way the company has accomplished that is to branch out of video games entirely. There have been a number of Resident Evil movies and television shows over the years, and the company is even working to capture a new market with tabletop gaming.
Board games are the next wave of home entertainment for Resident Evil. It makes sense, as over the last few years there has been an explosion of board game adaptations for some of the most popular adventure and horror games. People are looking to find new ways to recreate the stories they loved, but also want to do so while they and their friends or family are gathered around the living room table. These kinds of games allow users to control the story more and either cooperate or go up against those friends and family in a way they sometimes can't when playing video games. While there is currently only one Resident Evil board game on the market, Capcom appears to have tapped into something considering what else is on the way.
Resident Evil 2: The Board Game
The only board game that bears the Resident Evil name and is currently on the market is one that allows players to take on the characters in Resident Evil 2. One to four players can sit around the table and work together in order to follow the events of the popular video game, trying to get everyone out of Raccoon City as all hell breaks loose.
Using both cards and dice, players take on the role of characters like Claire Redfield in order to try and escape the hordes of monsters coming their way. The Steamforged Games board game includes several miniatures to provide the same kind horror feeling that players get when they're actually playing the video game and come across a terrifying creature or zombie. While the Resident Evil 2 board game is currently the only one on the market, it's about to be joined by a couple of others.
Resident Evil Board Game Franchise About To Expand
By the end of this month, Steamforged Games' Resident Evil 3: The Board Game will be available on the market. At the same time, late last month the same board game developer announced another Resident Evil board game based on the original title is set to release a Kickstarter this autumn.
When it comes to the original Resident Evil game, fans are always looking for different ways to pay homage. The Kickstarter for the board game version of that story kicks off sometime soon, and while that game is busy raising money and backers, a video game depicting the characters and events in Resident Evil 3 will officially hit store shelves on October 21. That's just in time for the Holiday buying season, perfect for Resident Evil fans to open later this winter.