Resident Evil 8: 10 Things It MUST Learn From RE2 Remake

3. The Third Act Doesn't Need To Be All-Out Action

Even when it's trying its best to return to its horror roots, Resident Evil always succumbs to the temptation of devolving into guns-blazing action. For the first hour or so in Resi 7, you didn't even have a means to fight back, but by the end you were crawling through barren tunnels with a machine gun and plenty of ammo, destroying hordes of the creatures that used to put the willies in you.

And that satisfaction of finally triumphing over enemies can obviously be a great payoff for hours upon hours of being overwhelmed and terrified of them, but the franchise often plays its hand too early, with the final stages giving in to the bombast. Resident Evil 2 proves that doesn't have to the case, however. Slowly escalating the stakes, the climax does indeed contain way more action and enemies than the opening, but it never feels jarring because the increase in intensity has been gradual and natural.

Whatever Resident Evil 8 turns out to be, it can't afford to once again make a stellar first impression only to then completely drop the ball at the end.