Resident Evil 7 was a much-needed return to form for a flailing series that had long since lost its identity, but it was also a step forward in a bold new direction. Instead of framing the survival horror experience from a third-person perspective, it pulled the camera in and let players see directly through Ethan Winters' eyes.
But Capcom wasn't ready to abandon the classic approach just yet. Instead, it would keep the over-the-shoulder action of the last few games with remakes of its most beloved entries. And it was fan projects that spurred on this idea to revive the originals, giving them a new lick of paint while also connecting their stories more intimately than ever before.
Third-person returned to the main series via a post-launch update for Village.
"It was like, 'All right, people really want this to happen.' So producer [Yoshiaki] Hirabayashi came up with the slogan: 'Well, we'll do it,'" Resident Evil 4 remake director Yasuhiro Ampo said in an interview with IGN. The result was the Resident Evil 2 remake, which has become the second best-selling game in the franchise's history.
Resident Evil 2 is a beloved hallmark...
