Skip to main content

‘Resident Evil: Revelations’ developers reveal what makes the subseries unique

The Resident Evil series has been in a bit of a slump lately. Resident Evil 5, while a solid action game, was a huge departure from the horror of the earlier entries, and both Resident Evil 6 and Operation Raccoon City were both annihilated by critics, with our review calling the former game a “hydra whose three heads are weighed down by a lack of focus.”

In the midst of the disappointment, however, was Resident Evil: Revelations, originally a 3DS exclusive that took the series back to its atmospheric, creepy roots. It was followed by a sequel last year, which continued to put horror front and center while focusing on a different cast of characters.

Recommended Videos

In a video diary celebrating two decades of Resident Evil, developers Michiteru Okabe and Yasuhiro Anpo discuss their design philosophy for the Revelations subseries, which includes a significant focus on the titular “revelations.”

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“Starting with the first title, this series focuses on telling stories and revealing truths that aren’t shown in the main Resident Evil games,” Anpo says.

For the first game, this was further enhanced by the “previously on Resident Evil: Revelations” cinematics that were sandwiched between chapters. These were emphasized further in the sequel, which was initially released episodically before getting a full retail release after the series had concluded.

“We had two timelines with separate main characters, so we needed to come up with cliffhangers for both,” Anpo adds.

Revelations 2 also added abilities that bleed into the supernatural, which the developers say were “right at the limits” of Capcom’s universe, with the young girl Natalia capable of tracking enemies she shouldn’t be able to see.

Even though the developers clearly love working on the Revelatiosn games, it appears that a third installment will not be the next in the series. Resident Evil 7 is rumored for an E3 announcement, with industry consultant Serkan Toto claiming that the team is working with Jordan Amaro, formerly of Kojima Productions, to design the game. It will reportedly return to the horror gameplay of the original titles.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
You can play as Resident Evil 4’s Leon Kennedy in Tekken 8 … sort of
Leon Kennedy in Tekken 8

Tekken 8 has only been out for a few days, but folks on the internet have already found a way to make some incredibly convincing recreations of some of their favorite characters from other properties. Perhaps one of the most impressive seen so far is a version of Leon Kennedy that closely resembles his appearance in the recent Resident Evil 4 remake, giving players an opportunity to enter the King of Iron Fist Tournament as a zombie-slaying brawler ... well, sort of.

As shown by YouTube creator Dan Allen Gaming, it's entirely possible to replicate Leon Kennedy's look to quite a shocking level using Tekken 8's detailed character customization features. Everything from his iconic leather bomber jacket to his quintessential '90s haircut is nailed perfectly here by using popular fighter Lars as a base for the customization due to his similarity to Leon in frame and stature.

Read more
Beyond Good & Evil remaster was briefly playable ahead of reveal
beyond good and evil 2 jade

A remaster of Beyond Good & Evil that's aimed at celebrating the game's 20th anniversary has leaked and was even playable for a brief time ahead of its official reveal.

Ubisoft first released Beyond Good & Evil in November 2003, and the ambitious action-adventure game quickly became a cult classic. The series is a bit more infamous for what happened after that. A sequel was first teased in 2008 and then revealed again in 2017, but it has faced lots of development issues and still does not seem closer to release more than 15 years after its initial reveal. Ubisoft and Netflix also announced that they were working together on a film based on the game in 2020, but we have not heard anything more about that since. This series is more famed for what hasn't been released than what has been, so it feels quite shocking and notable when a remaster of Beyond Good & Evil leaks like this.

Read more
Resident Evil 4, Death Stranding barely miss a step on iPhone and iPad
El Gigante raises its foot over Leon in Resident Evil 4.

Just two months ago, I had my mind blown when I saw Resident Evil Village running on an iPad. While I expected a very compromised experience, I was shocked when I saw how the horror game barely lost a step on the device. I pushed its settings to their limits and still came out with a fairly smooth experience capable of hitting high frame rates. Suddenly, the idea of playing a console quality game entirely on a mobile device didn’t seem like a far-fetched idea.

That was an impressive feat, but Resident Evil Village was built for the PS4 generation. The bigger test would come from more technically ambitious games that are either exclusive to new consoles or rebuilt with them in mind. I wouldn’t have to wait long to see that in action. At a recent Apple gaming showcase, I went hands-on with both Death Stranding: Director’s Cut and Resident Evil 4 running on a bevy of Apple devices, from the iPhone 15 Pro to a Mac Mini.

Read more