Resident Evil Can’t Rely On Nostalgia Forever

Resident Evil has been on a bit of a hot streak as of late. Ever since the survival-horror series made a grand comeback with 2017’s Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Capcom has consistently and pretty regularly delivered on what fans love about the series. Whether that’s new entries that pay tribute to the past, such as Village, or full remakes of classic titles like Resident Evil 4, there’s absolutely no shortage of experiences for every type of Resident Evil fan. So why does it feel as though the series is in a bit of a creative rut as of late? Because of the series' refusal to let go of the past. It may sound blasphemous to say in light of success after success, but with the recent release of Resident Evil: Requiem and the announcement of Resident Evil Veronica, it's starting to feel as if the franchise is just going through the motions without pushing it forward in any meaningful way. If Resident Evil is going to continue thriving as a franchise, it can’t be afraid to let go of past baggage and nostalgic pandering. Resident Evil: Requiem, despite being what is arguably one of the best entries in the franchise, suffers from a case of nostalgia overload. While Grace Ashcroft’s segments provided players with a harrowing survival-horror experience that felt like a natural evolution from the Spencer Mansion and R.P.D. station, Leon S. Kennedy’s segments made the game come to a screeching halt. A great deal of his segments see him explore the bombed out ashes of a destroyed Raccoon City in an effort to evoke nostalgia from the player, having them navigate through locales such as the Stagla gas station, the city streets, and even the R.P.D. station itself. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with nostalgia, these segments often feel overlong and like they're treading ground that we’ve already covered in the franchise. Do we honestly need to see Leon explore the S.T.A.R.S. office to find the photo of Rebecca Chamber in Wesker’s desk once again? The refusal to leave the past behind also carries over to Requiem's story, which tells a tale of a sickness that infects Raccoon City survivors, a secret Umbrella Scientist, and a fight for the legacy of Umbrella founder Oswell Spencer--all topics and themes that have been explored in the series' past. While Requiem is polished to a bright sheen, offering some of the best moments in the entire series, one can’t shake the feeling of “been there, done that” while experiencing it. It’s not just Requiem that suffers from a refusal to move on from the past. When Capcom isn’t making new entries in the series, it's remaking beloved titles of the past. During this year's Summer Game Fest Live Capcom announced Resident Evil: Veronica, a remake of Code: Veronica and the most recent classic title to receive a modern makeover. While not a straightforward remake, Capcom has promised it will be a reimagining that will feature altered elements to fit more nicely in the Resident Evil timeline. While I’m all for making older titles more accessible, I can’t help but feel sort of exhausted by the sheer amount of remakes to exist in the franchise. There was a single remake up until 2019, but now with Veronica, there will be a grand total of five remakes. Out of the seven games released since the series’ comeback in 2017, over half of them are remakes of older titles. The point I’m trying to make is that Resident Evil needs a very big shake-up. A series doomed to repetition is a series that’s doomed to never grow. Some of the most notable entries in the franchise have taken huge risks that have paid off. The first entry arguably invented the survival-horror genre. Resident Evil 4 perfected the design of over-the-shoulder third-person action games. Resident Evil 5 expanded upon 4’s ideas by introducing a co-op element to the entire experience. 7 added an entirely new perspective to the franchise, and also was one of the first AAA titles playable entirely in VR. Resident Evil thrives and makes history when it takes risks in its titles. Resident Evil shouldn’t be afraid to let go of the past. The series can’t rely on nostalgia forever. It's hard to see the forest for the trees when Capcom is constantly pumping out quality installments and remakes, but we as fans should want more. There have been examples of franchises growing stagnant when they refuse to grow (cough Marvel Cinematic Universe cough), and it would be such a loss to horror gaming to see Resident Evil have another fall-off.