Summary
Excepting a brief hidden tease in a recent video celebrating the remake of the fourth main entry selling 10 million copies, Capcom has been very quiet aboutResident Evil. Assumptions are that the developer is currently working onResident Evil 9, along with potentially more remakes, according to unconfirmed rumors. And while some firm information has come to light, such asRE7director Koshi Nakanishi taking the role again for the ninth numbered installment, the studio hasn’t offered much else in the way ofResident Evilnews.
Nevertheless, the series continues to have a strong presence, riding high on the reception and sales of the remakes and modern entries. In 2024, it was joined by another IP that was often viewed as the other side ofResident Evil’s survival horror coin. TheSilent Hill 2 Remakewas a successon many fronts, presenting a new perspective and expanded version of the beloved classic while remaining true to the spirit and emotional impact of the original.Silent Hill 2 Remakegot a lot of things right,and one seemingly minor inclusion might be the perfect thing forRE9to also employ, if rumors about it being open-world hold water.
If Resident Evil 9 Goes Open-World, It Can Take Inspiration from Silent Hill 2 Remake’s Approach to Supplies
Silent Hill 2 Remake Hid Extra Resources in Plain Sight
Bloober Team’s reimagining of the desolate fog-covered streets and eerily empty buildings of the town inSilent Hill 2 Remakedid a great job of preserving the atmosphereand layout that many fans were familiar with. As James Sunderland frantically searches for his wife Mary, he is forced to battle the bizarre and warped manifestations that increasingly appear throughout. In classic genre fashion, players must carefully manage their inventory and check every nook and cranny to ensure they have enough health and ammo to make it through each portion.
In the sections where James can freely explore the town, he can smash many of the abandoned cars' windows for extra supplies; something that players may not notice or be aware of at first, as the game doesn’t go out of its way to make this clear. It was a perhaps a more subtle but welcomedesign choice inSilent Hill 2 Remake, and one that could be a great help. It provides a safety net of sorts should players find themselves in dire need of additional items, and is a great way of having additional resources on hand.Resident Evil 9could then replicate this in some form to do the same.
An Open-World Resident Evil Could Make Great Use of Silent Hill 2 Remake’s ‘Hidden’ Items
One major rumor, according to a longtimeleaker, claims thatResident Evil 9will be “more ambitious”, along the lines of howRE4and laterRE7revolutionized the franchise. Even before this, though, many suspected that Capcom was finally looking to take the series into an open-world format, which would indeed be an ambitious tradition-breaking choice for it.
IfResident Evilis truly taking the plunge into open-world territory, it certainly will have to contend with a few major considerations to its usual formula. Keeping the tension going in a much wider world where fans may be freer to explore and approach combat situations at a different pace than normal will require a delicate approach.RE9will need to ensure that both enemy encounters and supplies are carefully balanced so as not to tip the scales in favor of being too easy or difficult. Having supplies scattered across the world in somewhat tucked-away places likeSilent Hill 2 Remakewould be a good compromise to do so.
This need not be exactly the same with only vehicles providing them, but something that is functionally similar, like the crates and barrels inRE4, would fit well within ahypothetical open-worldResident Evil. The game may not telegraph that this is the case, but diligent players will discover them, and it would be both believable and mechanically sound forRE9to take a cue fromSilent Hill 2 Remakein this regard.
