Summary
Unlike its universally-beloved predecessor,Resident Evil 5is a tad more divisive among long-timeREfans. Comingfour years afterResident Evil 4,Resident Evil 5decided to keep the franchise moving toward the more action-focused side of things, drastically reducing the number of puzzles in the sequel, and putting much more of an emphasis on set pieces, boss fights, and frequent combat encounters. To some fans, this felt like a natural progression for the series, but to others, it felt as thoughResident Evil 5was abandoning much of what made the franchise so beloved to begin with.
But regardless of where fans landed onResident Evil 5as a whole, there was one feature of the game that was met with disdain pretty much across the board, and that was its co-op. Another key example of the sequel leaning more into its action tone,Resident Evil 5let fans play through the entirety of the game in 2-player co-op. While this could be a pretty fun experience with a friend, this mechanic had some severe setbacks for solo players, and if the rumoredResident Evil 5remake is happening, then it needs to correct these issues.
How Resident Evil 5 Remake Can Improve the Original’s Co-Op
Resident Evil 5 Remake Needs to Overhaul the Original’s Co-Op AI
Despite its drawbacks,Resident Evil 5’s co-op mechanics were core to the experience, and it’s imperative they stick around for the potential remake. But whileResident Evil 5’s split-screenand online co-op functionality can actually remain largely the same in the original, it’s the solo experience that’s going to need some real work.
Simply put,Resident Evil 5’s co-op mechanics made its single-player experience significantly worse, and it all comes down to the game’s AI. Even poor for its time,Resident Evil 5’s AI partner’s artificial intelligenceis laughably bad by today’s standards. It’s all too often that the player’s AI partner will get stuck on walls, fail to interact with a co-op object, and refuse to get out of the way of oncoming enemy attacks, all of which can greatly hinder the player’s progress, and thus be a pretty major point of frustration. The rumoredResident Evil 5remake will need to overhaul the original’s AI completely in order to make its solo experience even playable for modern audiences.
Resident Evil 5’s co-op could also be quite laggy in its original iteration, especially on PC. A potentialResident Evil 5remake would need to avoid any technical issues like this from the get-go.
Resident Evil 5 Remake Should Add More Narrative Depth to its Co-Op
Having a partner constantly at the player’s side doesn’t need to be a bad thing, and in fact, it could end up being one of theResident Evil 5remake’s greatest strengths if done right. In the originalResident Evil 5,playable protagonists Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomarwould barely interact with one another during gameplay, with most of their lines of dialogue only coming during cutscenes. This led to an odd disconnect between the characters' relationship during gameplay and cutscenes, and it’s an issue that theResident Evil 5remake should rectify.
In the potential remake, Chris and Sheva should be given much more dialogue during gameplay. While the characters can’t be expected to shout overResident Evil 5’s frequent combat encounters, there’s still time between shootouts for Chris and Sheva to share a bit more about themselves, theirhistory with the BSAA, and react to the action that’s constantly happening around them. This would go an incredibly long way in making Chris and Sheva’s relationship feel like more of a draw forResident Evil 5, rather than something that’s just been thrown in there for the sake of a co-op mechanic.
Resident Evil 5
WHERE TO PLAY
The Umbrella Corporation and its crop of lethal viruses have been destroyed and contained. But a new, more dangerous threat has emerged. Years after surviving the events in Raccoon City, Chris Redfield has been fighting the scourge of bio-organic weapons all over the world. Now a member of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), Chris is sent to Africa to investigate a biological agent that is transforming the populace into aggressive and disturbing creatures. Joined by another local BSAA agent, Sheva Alomar, the two must work together to solve the truth behind the disturbing turn of events.
