Reliable leakers revealed the existence of a Resident Evil 4 remake last year, which split the Resident Evil community. Some fans are undoubtedly excited to play a Resident Evil 4 remake, but others have complained about Capcom seemingly skipping over Resident Evil Code: Veronica, an older game that's arguably in more dire need to be remade than the universally acclaimed RE4. Capcom has shown a tendency to release remakes and remasters on a regular basis, though, so one has to imagine that a Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake is an inevitability and will go into development at some point down the line.
If a Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake does eventually get made by Capcom, it will be years from now. The massive Capcom leak revealed the company's release plans for the next few years, and while it includes plenty of Resident Evil games, Code: Veronica isn't among them. But if a Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake ever is produced by Capcom, there are many different directions it could go to successfully bring the game to modern standards.
Here is what we want to see from a Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake.
Revamped Controls
The original Resident Evil Code: Veronica, like most classic Resident Evil games, uses tank controls for moving Claire Redfield through the game world. These controls were already a point of contention back when the game originally launched in 2000, and wouldn't fly at all in today's environment. There are a couple of different ways that Capcom can address Resident Evil Code: Veronica's divisive controls in a remake, based on what the company has done in the past.
If the Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake sticks to the fixed camera angles and general gameplay style of the Resident Evil 1 remake, then Capcom could simply copy the controls from that game's HD remaster. As Resident Evil fans may recall, the Resident Evil HD Remaster ditched the tank controls in favor of a new and easier to use control scheme. Capcom could also include an option to switch back to the tank controls in case diehard fans want to experience the game that way.
Alternatively, if Resident Evil Code: Veronica is a full-blown remake on the scale of Resident Evil 2 or 3, then it could use the over the shoulder camera as seen in those games. A remake on this scale would also open the door for some massive changes to Resident Evil Code: Veronica as a whole, which could be the most interesting route to go down.
Improved Pacing
A big problem with Resident Evil Code: Veronica is its pacing. There are chunks of the game that are much slower than they need to be, mainly due to some rather excessive backtracking when compared to previous games in the series. A full-blown Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake could cut out some of the more tedious elements of the game and offer a leaner, more streamlined experience that isn't bogged down by constant running back and forth.
More Serious Tone
The Resident Evil franchise has always been cheesy, though more recent entries in the series have been darker and more serious. Resident Evil Code: Veronica would be quite the departure from the tone that the series has been going for lately, as it's full of ridiculous moments. This includes a version of Albert Wesker that has Matrix-style abilities, as well as the incredibly annoying character Steve Burnside.
Steve Burnside is often one of the most common complaints about Resident Evil Code: Veronica. Steve has some of the most cringe-worthy dialogue in the entire franchise, which combined with some questionable voice acting and a grating personality, has easily made him one of the most detested characters by the Resident Evil fandom. A Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake would be Capcom's opportunity to redeem Steve by toning down his obnoxiousness and making him act more like a real human being.
Making players actually care about Steve would do wonders for some of the more dramatic moments that occur later in the game. As it stands, these parts of Resident Evil Code: Veronica sort of fall flat, despite their potential to be some of the franchise's most emotional and heartbreaking scenes.
Darkside Chronicles
The original Resident Evil Code: Veronica story ended with a cliffhanger that remained unresolved until the Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles Wii game. It seems unlikely that Capcom will be remaking or re-releasing Darkside Chronicles, but it would be a shame for those who only play the Code: Veronica remake to not know what happens next in the story. For this reason, these story elements should be incorporated in a potential Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake. Or alternatively, the cliffhanger should be removed from the game since it didn't really have that big of an impact on the franchise's overarching story anyway. It would just be an unnecessary loose thread in a hypothetical Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake game.
HD Remaster
In lieu of a proper Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake, Capcom could satiate some fans by making the Code: Veronica HD remaster more readily available on current-generation consoles. It's playable on Xbox Series X through the backward compatibility program, but a proper Xbox One/Xbox Series X version of the game doesn't exist, and it's completely unavailable on some other consoles.
It would be a shame for the Resident Evil Code: Veronica experience to remain trapped on older consoles, as the game's story is hugely important to the Resident Evil franchise narrative. As it stands, Resident Evil fans can relive most of the games in the series on current consoles, but Code: Veronica leaves a big void. A full-blown remake would be preferable, but a new release for the HD remaster would be great to have in the meantime.