10 TERRIBLE Video Games (That Secretly Saved Franchises)
2. Resident Evil 6
Resident Evil 6 was the epitome of the series' increasing trend away from its survival horror origins, with the game unapologetically going full Michael Bay between its comically over-the-top set-pieces, excessive length, and inconsistent quality across its four character campaigns.
It couldn't have felt a further cry away from Resident Evil's suspenseful origins, switching out the original anguished intensity for empty, low-stakes action schlock that rarely raised the pulse.
Despite its commercial success, Capcom to their credit took heed of what their most loyal fans were saying. An action-centric 2013 prototype of Resident Evil 7 was ultimately scrapped in favour of what would be a radical soft reboot: a first-person survival horror game with VR support.
Resident Evil 7 eventually released to rave reviews, with the consensus being that the series had been restored to its former glory.
Though fans are still waiting for Resident Evil 8 to materialise, recent reports indicate it's going to follow in its predecessor's lead, and in the meantime we've had the well-received remakes of the second and third games in the series to feast on.
Simply, Resident Evil's acclaim hasn't ever been steadier or more consistent than it has been over the last few years, and we have RE6's over-eager, bombastic failure to thank for that. Sometimes things need to get worse before they can get better.