Enhancing Resident Evil Remakes with a Feature from a Survival Horror Peer

I’m walking down memory lane, and bam, E3 2018 hits me like a chilly breeze. Capcom drops the Resident Evil 2 remake bombshell – reactions? Oh, they flew everywhere. But skepticism? Nah, not much of that. People, myself included, were pretty pumped, probably riding high on Resident Evil 7’s glory train from the previous year. Did we expect a hit? Yeah, kinda. But who honestly could predict it would catapult into superstardom? It steamrolled the original’s sales in less than a year. And by the time 2023 rolled around, it was the franchise’s crown jewel. Wild.

This success story had Capcom in overdrive – they decided to sprinkle some of that remake magic dust on Resident Evil 3 and 4 as well. Okay, maybe they didn’t smash RE2’s records, but they still soared. And somehow, I can’t shake this idea: what if Capcom borrowed a page from The Last of Us Part 2’s playbook? Just hear me out. That game’s crafty new Chronological Mode – it jazzed up narratives in a totally fresh way.

Resident Evil’s plots – they’re not exactly on TLOU’s rocky terrain. Still, they could do with a splash of innovation. The timelines are all over the place: RE2 and RE3 are semi-twin tales, and RE4 with its Ada Wong DLC? A prelude that unfolds before the main gig. Hoo boy.

Anyway, interesting bit: RE2’s remake has dual campaigns – Claire’s tale and Leon’s saga. But here’s the kicker – they don’t quite match up. A timeline puzzle, if you will.

We’re probably daydreaming here, but wouldn’t it be something if Capcom went wild and cooked up a Chronological Mode for these remakes? It’d mean piecing RE2 and RE3 together, maybe even sticking Separate Ways into RE4, giving players a smooth narrative ride without all the mental gymnastics. Yeah, it’s a logistical mountain, but you know what? It’d be the ultimate fix for narrative junkies like me. Who knows, perhaps it’ll add another layer of magic to these already beloved games. But hey, a girl can dream, right?