Capcom is apparently integrating a completely new narrative connection into the remake of "Resident Evil: Veronica," one that didn't exist in the original and bridges the gap to the current series hit, "Resident Evil: Requiem." Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi confirmed this fundamental lore expansion at Summer Game Fest.
The original "Resident Evil: Code: Veronica" suffered from its narrative isolation within the timeline. For the remake, Capcom is now making significant changes to the script. A newly written storyline connects the events surrounding Claire and Chris Redfield directly to the overarching narrative of "Resident Evil: Requiem."
This is a logical step. The original game from 2000 naturally couldn't take into account the current developments in the series. Capcom is using the remake as a tool to clarify its own history. Hirabayashi speaks of a "throughline," a common thread. This is intended to retrospectively deepen the understanding of the events in "Resident Evil Requiem."
Fans are already speculating about an early introduction of the organization "The Connections" or initial references to the Zeno Project. This has not been confirmed. The only fact is the existence of the bridge.
Aggressive rewriting instead of cosmetic corrections
Developers Kazunori Kadoi and Yasuhiro Anpo are taking a decidedly unconventional approach to the remake. According to Capcom, the changes to the story and characters are "more aggressive" than those made in the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 4. Locations like Rockfort Island will feature more playable backstory from the time before the virus outbreak.
The character of Alfred Ashford is also being completely reimagined psychologically. The developers are focusing on the psychological horror within the Ashford family dynamic. Scenes aren't being cut, but rather significantly shifted, restructured, and re-evaluated in terms of their content. Even the sequence with the old woman shown in the announcement trailer might not exist in the final game. That was probably pure marketing.
Despite the story experiments, the gameplay remains classic. The game uses a purely third-person perspective and is mechanically based on the remake of "Resident Evil 2". It will be a survival horror game with a focus on resource management, not an action title. The playtime is expected to be similar to or slightly longer than the original.
Capcom is transforming an old spin-off into a narrative foundation for the modern era. The aggressive rewriting of the story is a calculated risk, but one that is essential for the consistency of the overall lore. The return to the slow, mechanical gameplay of "Resident Evil 2" simultaneously safeguards the core of the survival horror genre. "Resident Evil Veronica" will almost certainly not be an optional nostalgia trip, but rather essential reading for understanding the current series.
That all sounds very good. But with RE9, everything also sounded good, and in the finished game there were only missed opportunities, no story, no horror, just recycle.
But it will probably be better here. Because of the team and because they know the game.
Hopefully with a first-person perspective.
That will be great, I'm curious to see what they do with Wesker.