Resident Evil 2’s upcoming remake is more of a reimagining of the story in a completely new game than it is a remake, and Capcom certainly feels it has grown beyond its initial remake pitch as well. Speaking to IGN Japan, producers Yoshiaki Hirabayashi and Tsuyoshi Kanda said that for Capcom, the upcoming game is a brand new entry in the series, in more ways than one.
That said, they said that the game will retain the DNA of Capcom and of the Resident Evil franchise, rather than trying to mimic western action games, something the series has previously attempted to subpar results.
“The game is all about the Capcom and Resident Evil DNA – that’s what most important for us,” Kanda said to IGN—a statement that fans of the series should find solace in.
Given how great, and fundamentally evolved, the remake of the original Resident Evil, which released on the GameCube, was, I think we can expect a similar level of evolution with the upcoming Resident Evil 2. Of course, the remake of the original game ended up not informing the direction of the series long term, since the conventions it perfected were upended by Resident Evil 4, which was a total reboot of the franchise. Whether or not Resident Evil 2 has a similar fate remains to be seen.
It launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on January 25.
