10 Rejected Video Game Ideas Literally EVERYONE Would've Loved

It might be hard to believe considering how universally beloved it seems to be but many long-serving survival horror fans were unhappy with aspects of Resident Evil 4 when it launched. Its gameplay and tone were a far cry from series norm and the story infamously killed off corporate antagonist Umbrella in the opening cutscene.

Furthermore, early looks at the game - dubbed Resident Evil 3.5 or “the Hookman build” - were closer to the franchise’s previous entries. Combining fixed and dynamic camera angles, it appeared to present a slower game with a focus on supernatural spookiness.

The trailers tell the story of a virus infected Leon searching through the castle of Umbrella founder Ozwell Spencer to find a cure as well as the origins of the t-Virus. He would be haunted by a mysterious black fog as well as what appears to be the hallucinations of a ghost wrapped in chains, brandishing meat hooks.

Now, whether or not one would prefer this over the actual finished product we got is a whole other debate but, if we can just be greedy for a second, why not both? Leon could’ve had his haunted foray into Spencer’s domain and perhaps Capcom should’ve sent an underloved character like Billy Coen from Resi Zero to Europe to do all the backflips and quips since he seems much more aligned to the character type.

Either way, as much as you might love Resident Evil 4, it’s hard to deny the intriguing pull of this ghostly prototype.