8 Popular Video Games That Need To Go Back To Their Roots
What even is Assassin's Creed at this point?
No popular game franchise is unsalvagable. It doesn't matter if it had a string of mediocre games, one absolute disaster that was a mess upon release or completely lost focus of what made the franchise special in the first place; a major game series can always retrace the steps it took to reach the top of the proverbial mountain.
Take, for example, Doom: a franchise that was seemingly dead and buried, but one that eventually reclaimed its stature by revisiting the frantic and empowering gameplay that made it so unique.
Or how about Devil May Cry? After the less than stellar reboot attempt, fans desperately wanted to see the series return to its roots. In turn, the recent Devil May Cry 5 was a return to form for a series that had lost its touch and found critical and commercial acclaim because of it.
In short, big game franchises are at their best when they remember where they came from. Yet, it seems a lot of this generation's most prominent names forget to consult their past when pushing forwards into the future.
Whether they need to understand that bigger doesn't always equal better or that refined gameplay can often trump needless complication, it's worth calling out some franchises that need to work backwards to regain some mojo.
8. Resident Evil (Numbered Instalments)
Resident Evil 7 was a strong step towards a brighter Resident Evil future, but if the second game's remake has taught us anything, it's that there's a demand to see the classic Resident Evil experience make its long-awaited return.
Exploring the HD halls of Racoon City Police Department was a moment that, for the first time in years, highlighted that there was unprecedented life in Resident Evil. More importantly, it amade it evidently clear that the game had scares that trumped even some of the most innovative modern horror games in the genre.
It was proof that time still hasn't nulled how genuinely scary zombies, monsters and evil laboratories can be when done right. From the claustrophobic, confined corridors to the ever-looming, utterly imposing presence of the Tyrant; every aspect of Resident Evil 2 showed that the series could not only still hang in terms of gameplay, but also still send shivers down the spine of anyone who played it.
Moving forward, this is the interpretation of Resident Evil that Capcom should be following. Bring back the over-the-shoulder camera, the tense puzzle-solving and the challenging survival horror. There's clearly life in the classic Resident Evil experience, and Capcom would be missing a massive opportunity in not chasing it.