Resident Evil has the creative fortune of being able to bridge gameplay design and narrative design in imaginative ways. The Resident Evil franchise began with fixed camera angles and tank controls, for example, before making the leap into over-the-shoulder third-person action, and finally a first-person perspective. Likewise, the game has shifted between a wide assortment of playable characters, generational or otherwise, with narratives set in widespread landscapes that are distinguishable between Resident Evil’s legacy era and its newer era.
One of the most memorable locations in Resident Evil is the urban Raccoon City, established as the setting in multiple entries, such as Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3. The franchise has its roots in a remote landscape as well, with the Arklay Mountains’ Spencer Mansion in the original Resident Evil. The location of each Resident Evil game is perhaps one the most defining features of each installment, and while the franchise has found its footing in rural landscapes, there may be merit to Resident Evil returning to an urban area in the future.
The Case for Resident Evil Returning to an Urban Setting
Resident Evil has long been away from an urban setting, and now could be the perfect time to make a return. If a new installment introduced fans to new characters again like Resident Evil did with the Winters family, these characters could potentially live in an urban area. The biggest hurdle with an urban setting, however, is enveloping that entire environment in whatever narrative is established. It is much easier to have the Baker family’s gruesome acts play out in a remote Louisiana bayou, for example, where nobody will be around to witness what ensues.
In a city or suburban neighborhood, these events would become public quickly and seemingly have to include everyone in on it. This challenges what Resident Evil could do with its newly refurbished survival-horror atmosphere, but it would certainly demonstrate how fantastic Capcom’s graphical fidelity has become. A new installment could create a dense city soaked in neon, or a quiet neighborhood with children playing in a park nearby. It may be advantageous to return to a location with a higher population, but again it would be nearly impossible to perpetuate Resident Evil’s intimate and isolated horror.
If a city was abandoned or evacuated, for example, Resident Evil could have the best of both worlds with an urban setting and the same tense atmosphere of a remote location with fewer neighboring pedestrians to account for. But the only overwhelming benefit that an urban setting would provide is the fidelity with which Capcom could render a city, and having a downtown metropolis area be fully explorable as an open world could be fantastic.
The Case for Resident Evil Staying in a Rural Setting
Resident Evil has found tremendous success in remote settings lately. Its newest mainline installments, Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village, take place in completely unique landscapes, though they share a theme of remote, sequestered horror that reinvigorated the franchise.
This ushered Resident Evil into a haunted house era, transitioning from a filthy bayou estate to a mountainous, snowy village. Further, the Resident Evil 4 remake continues this rural trend, reflecting back with incredible fidelity and faithful nostalgia at what made the original game special in its own rural environment.
Resident Evil was smart to transition to rural settings because of how remote they are, allowing for many more fantastical events to occur. These moments do not impact other parts of the world, nor does anyone bear witness to them because of their rural locale. There is also something inherently more eerie about an unfamiliar, quiet, rural location than a city, which naturally lends itself to an action-packed atmosphere.
Only time will tell if this change is eventually made again, but in the meantime fans should anticipate future installments to have a remote setting as well due to how favorable they have been recently. Therefore, it may be awhile before Resident Evil does make the return to an urban setting, seeing as the cons outweigh the pros.