The Resident Evil series has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years ever since the release of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard in 2017. The seventh entry breathed new life into the franchise which was in desperate need of saving following the poorly received Resident Evil 6. While there are certainly merits to every game in the series, most Resident Evil fans are willing to admit that the level of quality greatly varies from game to game, but that Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village have done a lot to get the series back on track.
As fans look to the future of the franchise with the next mainline Resident Evil game, a sinking feeling has started to take over: It seems as if every third game in the franchise isn't received very well in comparison to the games preceding it, which would mean that Resident Evil 9 is potentially in for some trouble. This cycle of errors seen with Resident Evil 3 and 6 is avoidable, however, as long as Capcom can learn from its previous missteps and deliver a game worthy of the goodwill currently surrounding the Resident Evil franchise.
Where Resident Evil 6 Went Wrong
On paper, a Resident Evil game that brings back many of the series' most iconic characters for a crossover title seems like a great idea, but in practice, Resident Evil 6 had a lot of issues with the way that it handled many of its elements. The biggest misstep for the franchise was the way that RE6 handled its scale: Instead of keeping things small and focusing on the survival horror elements that the series was created with, the game was big and bombastic turning the franchise away from both survival and horror in favor of becoming an action shooter.
Although that isn't inherently a bad thing, as some of the best games in the franchise have their fair share of action moments. However, the frequency that Resident Evil 6 leaned on action made the game feel like Capcom didn't understand why people like the franchise. As each game goes on, things typically get bigger in scale with monsters and action set pieces. However, those elements only work if they've been earned by having smaller moments to really give them a sense of scale and meaning. It seems like Capcom took a look at where RE5 ended and thought that the only way for the next game to stand out is to continue scaling things up, resulting in poor reception.
How Resident Evil 9 Can Succeed
If Resident Evil 9 wants to avoid the missteps of Resident Evil 6, and to a lesser extent Resident Evil 3, it will need to avoid conflating a larger sense of scale with quality. For example, Resident Evil Village has a much larger scale than Resident Evil 7, however, RE8 has a lot more going for it than simply being "RE7 but bigger." It made sense for Village to have a larger sense of scale given the journey that Ethan Winters went on in RE7, and Village justifies its growth further by having a narrative that requires it while also feeling like a gradual escalation from the previous game.
It would be a mistake, then, for Resident Evil 9 to be even bigger than Village for the simple sake of trying to ramp up the scale without providing any reasons for doing so. Resident Evil 6 had far too many plates spinning to be seen as an accessible and cohesive story, paired with a sense of scale that didn't feel earned. With how RE7 and 8 have handled things, by keeping the story focused around the Winters family, it seems like Capcom might be learning.
The action scenes towards the end of Resident Evil Village has some fans worried that the franchise might ditch the horror and lean back into big, over-the-top action once more. Hopefully, Capcom takes its lessons learned to heart, and sticks to what makes the franchise great.
Resident Evil Village is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.