At this year’s Summer Game Fest Live, Capcom finally revealed the long-rumored remake of Resident Evil Code: Veronica, retitled to the much simpler Resident Evil: Veronica. Originally released for the Dreamcast in 2000, Code: Veronica is the last of the “classic” Resident Evil titles to receive a remake in the modern era.
While Capcom’s previous remakes have sought to make classic entries in the franchise more approachable with updated controls and camera angles, what we’ve seen in the trailer for Resident Evil: Veronica hints at something more ambitious this time around. From different perspectives to tonal shifts, the announcement trailer gives us hints of how this isn’t your standard Resident Evil remake.
When the trailer starts, the classic perspective has shifted to a first-person. While previous remakes have utilized a third-person perspective and recent mainline entries have leaned into a first-person focus, this year’s Resident Evil: Requiem was the first game in the series to fully embrace both styles and give players a choice of how to experience the game. While we haven’t received any confirmation yet, it appears to be that Capcom is continuing the choice of dual perspectives going forward with future Resident Evil entries if this announcement trailer is anything to go by.
The trailer also featured iconic locations from the original game such as Rockfort Prison, where Claire is held captive and becomes the site of a bio-disaster. Capcom has the chance to implement its modern approach to level design and craft a location that could rival the intricacy or iconography of the R.P.D. from the Resident Evil 2 remake.
By far the most intriguing aspect of this announcement is Capcom dropping “Code” from the original title and just calling it Resident Evil: Veronica. The game is positioning itself as a “reimagining” rather than a remake. The original Code: Veronica game is often considered the black sheep of the mainlineResident Evil series featuring a weak story, some of the weakest characters, as well as some of the goofiest villains of the series. The original game notoriously was in development as the third mainline entry in the series until a deal with Sony forced Capcom to pivot its “Resident Evil 1.9” spin-off into Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, leaving Code: Veronica to feel even more like an offshoot than a typical mainline entry.
Now, with Resident Evil: Veronica, Capcom has a chance to right the past. A well-crafted story that focuses on Claire and Chris Redfield going after the Umbrella Corporation in the immediate aftermath of the destruction of Raccoon City is a highly exciting prospect. We’ll find out just exactly this reimaging holds for ourselves in 2027.
