Capcom is no doubt already hard at work on Resident Evil 7 and there's a lot of pressure on it to be good. While Resident Evil 4 revitalised the series and inspired so many other titles, the subsequent instalments have just been a bit pants.
We can only hope Resi 7 emulates the innovative approach seen in Resident Evil 4, restoring the series not only to the glory days of its birth, but giving gamers a fresh take on the survival horror genre it has done so much to popularise over the past 20 years.
Here's a handy checklist of what we think Capcom should be doing to return its premier horror brand to its glory days.
1. MAKE THE MONSTERS THE FOCAL POINT
It's always nice to see a familiar face in your video game but Resident Evil 6 gave far too much attention to its protagonists at the expense of what should have been the main draw - the monsters you're fighting. While long-time fans are no doubt interested in what series veterans Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield have to say, cutscenes drowning in dialogue rarely create tension. The next Resident Evil outing needs to scale back on the characterisation and make you dread every enemy encounter.
2. DIAL DOWN THE ACTION
This might sound like an odd choice - surely less action means less entertainment - but compare the original Resident Evil with the sixth entry. The first game is packed with memorable battles, but they are spread apart so that each one is accompanied by nail-biting trepidation and tension. Resident Evil 6's approach was akin to smacking someone over the head with a hammer repeatedly; sure, the set-pieces were visually stunning but they were so commonplace that their impact was lessened. Less is often more.
3. REFINE THE CONTROLS, BUT KEEP THE PLAYER VULNERABLE
Resident Evil's "tank" interface has been an industry joke for quite some time, even though the series left this awkward control scheme behind a long time ago. However, wrestling with the pad was one of the things which made the first few games so scary; struggling to bring your gun to bear or get your character out of the tight spot ensured that things remained as tense as possible.
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Resident Evil 6 featured some of the most agile protagonists yet seen in the series - capable of leaping in and out of cover to avoid incoming threats - and this had a marked impact on the overall atmosphere. Striking the right balance here is tricky, as we doubt modern players would be willing to endure those tank controls again. However, Capcom needs to find a way to make sure the player is constantly on their toes, knowing that each movement has to be timed perfectly to avoid certain death.
4. SIMPLIFY THE LOVE
The first Resident Evil worked so well because the premise was perfect. Sure, there was all the underlying narrative of a shady corporation engaging in illegal experiments, but at its core the setup was simple: you're in a house filled with zombies, and you have to survive.
As the franchise has grown and matured, the whole Umbrella plotline has become hopelessly convoluted at the cost of that much-needed horror movie-style focus. We've got the seemingly invincible Nemesis, the mysterious Wesker and a whole basket full of peripheral characters to contend with. Trying to figure out who is double-crossing who is entertaining, but it gets in the way of the purity of the horror experience.
Perhaps a reboot is required to restore the simplicity needed to accentuate Resident Evil's scary side? Konami's cancelled Silent Hills looked like being a step in the right direction; perhaps Resident Evil needs its own PT moment?
With Capcom re-releasing each title in remastered form on next-generation consoles and the much-maligned sixth outing performing so well at retail, it's abundantly clear that this is not a franchise that will be allowed to stagnate in the same way that stable mate Mega Man has done.
