Could Resident Evil 5 be the next Resident Evil game after Resident Evil 9 (also known as Resident Evil Requiem)? In a gaming world where all numbers lose meaning and numbers get too big you get headaches, it certainly could be (numbersMason). As it turns out, the Resident Evil 4 remake surprised me almost as much in 2023 as the 2005 original. Resident Evil Requiem carries over ideas from that refresh, but there’s a good chance a “remake” of the series will continue.
But the real question is not so much It was done Resident Evil 5 will look like this should that? The original was released in 2009, which is worryingly close to 20 years ago, but the game has evolved. To find out, I enlisted the help of GamesRadar+ ally, TechRadar games editor, and my evil twin Dashiell Wood, and forced him to play the fifth entry in co-op with me to see what the series, which includes some of the best horror games of all time, could bring to the table in a multiplayer campaign. Based on our experience, we have mixed opinions on whether Resident Evil 5 should be remade (if at all). one Our thinking is clearly correct).
Should I move on?
Oscar Taylor-Kent: With the success of the Violence 4 remake, I forced Dash to go on the inevitable nostalgia tour. Capcom’s next big remake. The big problem we uncovered was a reminder of how little we have to offer outside of co-op play. That completely upsets Violence 4’s careful balance of action and horror, making it about as scary as an episode of Scooby-Doo (actually, it’s not that scary).
It only takes a few moments of async to start highlighting where something like that might work. For example, a section in which one player must jump from one building to another and maneuver their way through enemy gauntlets while another player assists from across the street. However, the attack is quickly weakened by Dash’s cackling laughter as the Chainsaw Man, confused between targets and trudging up and down the stairs, seems to have remembered the existence of aerobic exercise.
The chain saw man, confused, is trudging up and down the stairs, as if remembering the existence of aerobic exercise.
Thankfully, that situation is now reversed, with the Resident Evil 2 remake and Resident Evil 4 redo raising the bar for the series for me, and Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village remaining firm favorites. But like Albert Wesker’s treasured work Ouroboros (or Among Us, according to Dash), the series is poised to bounce back and reignite. I say stop, I can’t bear to do this again.
Please bring a rock
Dashiell Wood: In theory, this is a slam dunk, so unlike the Oscars, say bring on the remake. A logical successor to Resident Evil 4, all of that great game’s best moments and mechanics return here in expanded form. The annoying Ashley is gone for good, replaced by a sentient (but, in Oscar’s case, equally irritating) co-op partner, the tense inventory has gotten even tighter, and the action has been dialed up to eleven. There’s even a chainsaw-wielding guy wearing a bag that chases you during the campaign.
The problem is, unlike its predecessor, nothing really works. Resident Evil 4 felt revolutionary in 2005, but when it’s released 50 years later, you can’t help but feel like things have already evolved. The introduction of tedious cover-based shooting slows down the later sections considerably, and while it’s impressively cinematic at times, it’s never clear what you’re actually going to do during the puzzling boss battles.
Oscar has accidentally killed me many times with a laser beam using a large mirror.
Some of the puzzles are even worse, failing to take advantage of co-op mechanics and getting bogged down by awful checkpoints. In one memorable example, in a basic challenge that involved using a large mirror to shoot a laser beam, Oscar accidentally killed me in one hit multiple times, punishing me by sending me back to a long loading screen. In the end I had no choice but to wait in the corner.
The depiction of the fictional African nation in which it takes place is also mired in unpleasant racial stereotypes, making certain sections particularly difficult to bear. Judging by the success of recent remakes, it seems inevitable that Capcom will eventually return to 5, and frankly they probably should. There are a lot of things that need fixing here.
Who’s more right, Oscar or Dash? Or is this argument just punching rocks? If you’d like to see a Resident Evil 5 remake, let us know in the comments. Also, if you were to remake it, please let me know what you would like.
A version of this article originally appeared in PLAY Magazine – Final issue printed in 2024. Want more zombie fun? Check us out best biohazard games Ranking!