According to long-running rumors, leaks, and speculation,Resident Evil 9will be adopting an open-world formula—a first for the series. Whilegames likeResident Evil Village,Resident Evil 4, andResident Evil 5have all featured open, exploration-focused environments, a proper open-world, complete with secret areas, collectibles, side challenges, and the like, would be a different beast entirely.
As one might expect, this potentiality has evoked all manner of opinions from theResident Evilfanbase, with many arguing against it. The gaming community at large has grown somewhat hostile to the open-world formula in recent years, with it being easy to view it as cynical; open-world design has a reputation for being a shallow way to pad out a game’s content. That said, there’s also a lot of excitement buzzing about the possibility ofResident Evil 9going open-world, especially since there are so few open-world survival horror games on the market.The Evil Within 2, a game clearly inspired byResident Evil, is perhaps the closest that the genre has ever come to the open-world format, andResident Evil 9’s presumed approach could learn a lot from it.
The firstThe Evil Withinwas created by Shinji Mikami, director of the firstResident Evil. Mikami also oversaw production onThe Evil Within 2.
The Evil Within 2’s Anima Could Be a Blueprint for Resident Evil 9’s Stalker Enemy
Anima Offers an Open-World Spin On the Classic Resident Evil Stalker Archetype
Stalkers are a long-running staple of theResident Evilfranchise, the archetype’s first incarnation being Mr. X of the originalResident Evil 2. Other iconic series stalkers includeResident Evil 3’s Nemesis andLady Dimetrescu ofResident Evil Village, and while their particulars may vary from entry to entry, they all ultimately play the same role: pursuing the player relentlessly, drawing out a strong sense of fear and powerlessness.
As is often the case, other survival horror games have taken notes fromResident Evil’s use of stalkers, with one such antagonist appearing inThe Evil Within 2in the form of Anima. This haunting specter is virtually unstoppable, encountering the player while they traverse through both the game’s linear areas and the open-world sandbox of Union. In this way, Anima provides tense scares in scripted scenarios while also leveraging the unpredictability of the open-world sections, never allowing the player to feel fully safe. Having Anima randomly pop up in thesandbox areas ofThe Evil Within 2might seem like a small detail on paper, but it winds up having a significant impact on the overall experience, helping to better integrate open-world exploration into the broader survival horror gameplay philosophy.
Why Resident Evil 9 Could Benefit from an Anima-Inspired Stalker
One of the risksof Resident Evil 9pivoting to open-world design is the undermining of the series' horror elements. After all, it’s easier to make someone scared and paranoid if they’re in a claustrophobic, dark space; the freedom inherent in free-roam map design could empower players—something great in many games, but potentially disastrous in a horror title. With the addition of a stalker enemy, one that appears randomly like Anima,Resident Evil 9could use the freedomof its open-world to inspire terror, as each new locale or point of interest has the potential to lead to a horrifying encounter.
As previously mentioned,The Evil Within 2features open-world Anima encounters along with scripted, linear ones, which could also bea boon forResident Evil 9. By combining predetermined encounters with randomly generated ones,RE9’s stalker could be an invaluable tool for scares and pacing, with the potential to be the most impactful, multifaceted rendition of the archetype yet.
Resident Evil 4
WHERE TO PLAY
Survival is just the beginning.Six years have passed since the biological disaster in Raccoon City.Agent Leon S. Kennedy, one of the survivors of the incident, has been sent to rescue the president’s kidnapped daughter. He tracks her to a secluded European village, where there is something terribly wrong with the locals.And the curtain rises on this story of daring rescue and grueling horror where life and death, terror and catharsis intersect.Featuring modernized gameplay, a reimagined storyline, and vividly detailed graphics, Resident Evil 4 marks the rebirth of an industry juggernaut.Relive the nightmare that revolutionized survival horror.
