Highlights
- The Resident Evil franchise is currently thriving after successful remakes and the possibility of future installments.
- Still, fans are concerned about the franchise veering too far into action and away from survival horror.
- The inclusion of giant infected animals, specifically spiders, would add to the horror elements and nostalgia of the older Resident Evil games.
Resident Evil is on top of its game right now. After wrapping up a new story arc with Resident Evil 7 and 8, the franchise resumed its old practice of remaking past games. While the Resident Evil 3 remake was undercooked in a couple areas, Resident Evil 2 and the recent Resident Evil 4 both garnered similar acclaim to their original selves decades prior. With rumors that a CODE:Veronica remake might be next and the doors wide open for Resident Evil 9 to do whatever it wants, the Resident Evil franchise is still standing strong.
Some fans are becoming worried by a familiar trend, however. After the runaway success of the original Resident Evil 4, the franchise focused on its action elements to the detriment of survival horror, resulting in a lot of AAA action trend-chasing. Capcom doesn't want another Resident Evil 6 on its hands, let alone that era of Resident Evil’s mixed spin-offs, so it may want to grab some pure horror elements that stood out in older entries. It may be a risky maneuver, but a certain skittering type of giant, infected animal from classic Resident Evil would inspire a scarier tone.
Resident Evil Used To Have A Thing For Giant Animals
The T-Virus deployed in the original Resident Evil trilogy is notable for its high versatility. It animates just about any human corpse into a zombie, but can also elevate those zombies to advanced states like Crimson Heads or Lickers. However, it doesn't stop there. Animals, and even plants, can be infected by the T-Virus. Resident Evil 1 players no doubt remember the fountain plant and later Plant 42’s puzzle-oriented encounters, and, in the latter’s case, a boss fight and major turning point for the game’s tension.
However, they pale in comparison to the animals exposed to the T-Virus. Some, like crows and dogs, don't change much beyond heightened aggression. Others, like RE1's Yawn the snake and the sewer alligator from RE2, grow to gigantic sizes when exposed to the virus. Plenty of memorable monsters result from this trend, including the Neptune sharks from RE1 and the Grave Digger arthropods from Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Unfortunately for arachnophobes, among the cast of giant animals are some equally huge spiders.
Giant Spiders Are Evergreen Horror Game Enemies
In the older T-Virus oriented Resident Evil games, giant spiders were surprisingly common. They appeared in all three of the numbered Resident Evil titles set in the Spencer Mansion and Raccoon City, and returned for Resident Evil Survivor, Outbreak, and even CODE:Veronica, among other titles. These spiders are typically associated with poison, sometimes came with boss variants like the Black Tiger, and many had the disgusting trait of releasing smaller baby spiders on death. Considering humans’ widespread dislike of spiders, it's no wonder these creatures were largely retired once RE4 rolled around.
Still, keeping them out of the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes feels like doing the T-Virus dirty. The interplay of zombies, mutants, and mutant animals made the original Resident Evil games' seemingly simple enemy rosters quite memorable, and giant spiders will always be a strong addition to any horror game. Newer Resident Evil titles may need to include arachnophobia settings if they commit to bringing the beasts back, but they'd barely need to change anything about how the spiders work from their classic RE trilogy portrayals. Spiders, and the webs they spin, are staples of the horror genre, and any Resident Evil game unearthing its survival horror roots will benefit from their presence.