RE7 and RE:Vendetta - The future of the franchise

Resident Evil....ah....you always were my favorite. Ever since I was a kid, I jumped into Resident Evil and was immediately freaked out by the mansion, the zombies, the cutscenes. So much so, I didn't jump into the franchise again until RE:2DC hit PSX, and I finally worked up the nerve to start playing it. Ever since, I've loved the series. RE:3 had a fantastic combat system and a good looming threat with Nemesis. RE:4, while goofy, reworked the series into the modern era. RE:CVX was a good update to the classic formula, for what it's worth. The FPS and Arcade adaptions are not to be forgotten in my book.

And then we have RE:Outbreak and File 2. My nostalgia glasses are on for these games in full force, I won't lie. There's lots to love and lots to hate. I love the concept of the rag-tag team of survivors with different strengths/weaknesses trying to survive a nightmare. Too clunky for Capcom to get right though, as once chat in either text or words is involved, you break immersion. I agree with the exclusion and just limiting it to the game itself (in which case, you have to try to interpret what you have to do to survive with the limited voice command set). I still applaud it.

But Resident Evil 5 and 6.....hoo boy. Resident Evil 5 took 4's formula and tried to work it into a serious storyline. 6 did the same thing, and I sorely disagree with the execution being split into horror, action, and....whatever Jake's side was supposed to be with his martial arts. Five was alright for the most part. Six was kinda goofy to take seriously, and considering 4 was camp as all hell, that is saying something.

But now we have 7 and Vendetta. What do I think of 7?

What did I think of Silent Hill PT? You slapped the brand name on it, gave it VERY loose ties to the franchise....when, by all goddamn means, it would've sufficed as it's own IP.  RE:7, in my mind, is way better if you ignore the franchise. And Vendetta? Just watch the scene with Chris and Leon.

Now, DON'T get me wrong. I love this scene. The choreography with Leon is phenomenal, CQC gun work that Hideo Kojima would love to have with Solid Snake. But you notice the flaw yet? Think about it. Think about these characters. Think about what they've already accomplished. Leon has killed several El Gigantes, Tyrants, dozens of zombies and plagas-infected individuals....Chris has done the same, AND punched a boulder off a cliff. Worldwide threats are dime-a-dozen to these individuals.

What's my problem? No more tension.

Tension drives horror. Comic Book logic follows IP logic. "You rarely, if ever, kill off the main protagonists". Back in Resident Evil, you have Chris, Rebecca, Jill, and Barry. Of the original four members, who are still alive? ....So far, all of them. RE2 has Leon, Claire and Ada....and Hunk. Are any of them dead? No. Carlos from RE:3 is a rare exception, but he's hardly made cameos since the game. NO, THE MOVIES DON'T COUNT.

RE:7 has little to do with current RE games on the whole. It loosely ties in with the franchise with the BS of Chris Redfield and the virus outbreak. You could've boiled it down to a FPS with horror elements, much in the same vein as Fatal Frame, but with a camera. They didn't do that. They had to allude.  And that's the problem.

RE:Vendetta is fine to me, even though it's awful to build dramatic tension. Every single notable character in the franchise has enough BOW experience to survive most games or movies. But RE:7 worries me, because it's the problem of Silent Hill PT emphasized.

Stop using the IP.

Stop it.

Your name itself has enough weight to get people to buy into it. Well, okay, that doesn't work for Konami anymore. But come on, Capcom. You have the prestige to just use your name to sell a game. I'd have appreciated RE:7 much more as it's own IP. But using it's brand name and VERY loose ties to the overall universe is pretty weak. Hell, Outlast 2 probably did what you were going through, but better.....a survival horror FPS game through a crazy group of southerners out in the middle of nowhere.

I don't know where RE:8 will go....or if the Franchise will finally take a knee. But I'll be watching.....and currently waiting to see where Death Stranding goes. Fingers crossed, Kojima.