Resident Evil 2‘s remake, which is due to launch next January, looks incredible. The game is basically a full fledged retelling and reimagining of the classic story from the game that is frequently cited as one of the best of its series- but it seems to be taking a more grounded and realistic route to how it approaches its story of zombies overrunning a city.
According to the developers, that was a deliberate choice- speaking to Italian website Everyeye (translation via Wccftech), Kazunori Kadoi, the director of the upcoming remake, recognized that the “fantastical elements” in the original game had been toned down this time around, as the development team attempted to balance realism with entertainment.
“Our aim is to cross the line that separates the fantastic from the realistic,” he said. “At times the original version was too prone to “fantastic”. And this aspect, when you try to propose a more photorealistic graphics and a more serious narrative tone, risks making everything a little out of context. On the other hand, however, if the hand is touched too much on realism, the game may no longer be so fun. And so we tried to balance realism with entertainment. So, on the whole, we have increased the level of realism within this remake, but without exaggerating.”
It’s a new direction to take for a series that has so far never shied away from over the top depictions of the macabre- is it something that may become a mainstay of the franchise going forward? According to Tsuyoshi Kanda, producer on the project, that could in fact end up happening, depending on how Resident Evil 2‘s remake does.
“We do not know yet. Expect to see what will happen when the game comes out in January, but it is likely to happen,” he said.
Which is fair, of course. That said, judging by the great reception the game has had so far, it’s not unreasonable to suppose that most people will love where it goes, and that that will influence the direction of the series in the future. Resident Evil 2‘s remake launches on January 25, 2019.