When it comes to survival horror franchises, few other games hold as much dominance over the genre likeResident Evil. Ever since the original game launched in 1996, new installments have introduced players to all kinds of unspeakable terrors over the years. From the relentlessGanados inResident Evil 4to Lady Dimitrescu inResident Evil: Village, the franchise has been packed with thrills from the beginning. This also rings true for the numerous spin-offs, including theResident Evil: Revelationsgames.
This side series found its start as a 3DS exclusive, but both it and the sequel have since made their way to numerous other platforms in recent years.Resident Evil: Revelations2hit shelves in early 2015, which means that it will soon be 7 years without a proper follow-up. With upcoming entries likeResident Evil 9and the rumoredResident Evil 4remake likely to still be years away, it may be worthwhile for Capcom to revisit this fan-favorite spin-off in the meantime.
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Resident Evil’s Renewed Popularity
While not necessarily bad by any means, theResident Evilfranchise was on somewhat rocky waters during the time whenResident Evil: Revelationsand its sequel were first released. The games were polished and showed high production values, but many critics and fans felt that the series had strayed too far from its roots.Resident Evil 6is often criticizedfor emphasizing action over horror, something which the developers clearly took note of and went back to the drawing board.
Resident Evil: Revelationsand its sequel both made a stronger effort to delve back into the atmosphere and dread that theResident Evilserieswas known for, but it was 2017’sResident Evil 7: Biohazardthat truly put the franchise back on the map. Since then, the franchise has been riding high with a number of hugely successful new entries and remakes of older games.
To capitalize on this, Capcom should revisit the smaller scale, yet equally enjoyable thrills in a third entry to theResident Evil: Revelationsseries. Fans have embraced the side franchise just as strongly as the main series, so there is an interest within the community to see what’s next for Jill Valentine and company in future adventures.
Revelations 3 Can Hold Fans Over Until The “Bigger” Games
Resident Evil 9and therumoredResident Evil 4remakehave yet to be officially confirmed by Capcom, yet have already created a great deal of excitement and interest within the gaming community. These two projects are likely to be hugely ambitious and take a significant amount of time to produce, making it worth Capcom’s while to fast-trackResident Evil: Revelations 3. These games were smaller projects, but no less engaging as gameplay experiences.
Furthermore, the past two titles serve as side stories to themainResident Eviltimeline, and often reference and fill in the gaps of certain plot threads. This interwoven storytelling can be pushed even further in a potential third game, as there remains so much mystery forResident Evil 9to wrap up all on its own.Resident Evil: Revelations 3could be used to bridge the gap between titles and fill add crucial context for information setup in prior games, such as who the mysterious organization was that Lucas Baker was in contact with.
Another factor that would make anewResident Evil: Revelationsgameappealing is the episodic nature of the series. The plot of each game is split up into self-contained episodes.Resident Evil: Revelations 2specifically spread out each episode into a different release, keeping fans eager for new information just like waiting for the latest episode of a TV show.
A similar technique could be used forResident Evil: Revelations3, but this time, with the episodes leading into thelaunch ofResident Evil 9. This can help build hype for that game while gauging interest in each respective chapter as players try to piece together the larger mystery at hand.
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