Treat the Series with Respect, but Be Less Self-Serious
There’s only so much End-Times porn the series can endure without falling into parody, which a few-to-plenty in the enthusiast crowd would argue happened ages ago. However, it could both take a step back from its own image and take itself seriously. Resident Evil — the brand — needs a person (or an entire team) to develop a statement of purpose or something for the direction of the series, because it has become a soap opera unto itself.
Curation seems only to occur to the extent that someone at Capcom is (probably) drawing lines between events and situations to maintain a faltering sense of continuity. Someone assigned to series integrity might help, but it’s going to take more than just some thoughtful maintenance to get back on track.
Stamping the name Resident Evil on a game doesn’t ensure success anymore, but take solace in the fact that it took quite a long time for the brand’s erosion to occur. There was a time when anything to do with the franchise was a near-guaranteed hit. Sadly, too many games have been released over the years, and it has diluted the purpose and meaning of Resident Evil. The sobering reality is that Capcom needs to reassess before any sort of true announcement for Resident Evil 7 proper. Is this a horror series? An action series? Something that attempts to be bigger than both?
Even if they decide, ultimately, not to return to “horror roots” or whatever and to continue on an action-oriented path, they still need a mission, vision, and goals. I think plenty of people in the community will be crossing their fingers in the meantime. Until then, let’s hope the remake can recapture some of that old Resident Evil magic.
