"Resident Evil 5 Can't Be Remade"

[Turo602]

Says Matt Purslow from IGN in a recent article/video detailing the "racism" of Resident Evil 5 for depicting black people and indigenous tribes in Africa as savages despite the writer acknowledging the true parasitic threat in the game which was no different than the enemy of the original Resident Evil 4 and its remake last year.

While this has always been an extremely sh*t take leading to the release of the original back in 2009 and an inevitable discussion with all the discourse surrounding a potential remake, what I find most annoying is all the bullsh*t disingenuous preamble that precedes the racism angle which attempts to levy both valid and wild criticisms against the game into being completely unadaptable as it would taint Capcom's on-going streak of incredible survival horror Resident Evil games just by simply revisiting it again. But immediately flips that notion on its head by suggesting those exact criticisms are what necessitates a remake of Resident Evil 5 and even offers a logical step forward by highlighting simple solutions that can tweak Resident Evil 5 into something far more familiar to the series...

Only to completely shut down the very thought of a remake based solely on the imagery of a white man shooting black people in a post Black Lives Matter world. This prompts the writer to call for a complete rewrite of Resident Evil 5 that either changes the protagonist or setting and even suggests to flat out skip the game and move backwards with a remake of Code Veronica.

There's so much that can be said but what do you guys make of this extreme take from an outlet as big as IGN and will articles like these have any affect on how Capcom proceeds with the remake?

 

[Ikawaru]

We live in a very hypersensitive and polarized world nowadays and touchy subjects like this, China's continued growth and development, and Russian psychosis keep ruffling feathers. RE5 actually DOES have a good story behind the "white man shooting black people" aesthetic and the poor gameplay (imo the gameplay is poor in RE5).

As they say, with crisis comes opportunity, I personally wouldn't mind some tweaks to the gameplay and the aesthetic if they absolutely have to, as long as they keep the core plot elements intact. I don't think they have to skip it entirely just because of controversy, they should just take these shots fired as an opportunity to make something even better.

Just my two cents. Unfortunately the world we live in getting crazier and we just have to deal with stuff like this and the trick is to try take it gracefully and see the opportunities that arise in spite of it.

 

[Mr.R]

While this is a very sensitive theme, I think some changes can be made. RE5R can certainly do without the tribal enemies, for example, that are simply the embodiment of the "cannibal uga buga" savage stereotype that was very present on 70's Hollywood movies, for example. I don't think the game or the narrative loses anything with the exclusion of these enemies. They can also do more to humanize the people of Kijuju, with the player finding files that tells us the story of the place before the incident (kinda like RE4R did the Village, showing Mendez's diaries and how life improved with the new factory and how everything changes when the Los Illuminados reemerged). Maybe also give a little more attention to Sheva's backstory, having her tell us about Umbrella's exploration of the place and its people and the incident that ensued. RE5 do have some information on Kijuju and Sheva's backstory, but you need to access the library menu, out of the game, so it doesn't integrate with the narrative at all. I still think a future RE5R will always be a minefield for Capcom and I would largely prefer a remake of Code Veronica instead, to be honest.

 

[SaddlerFan]

While this is a very sensitive theme, I think some changes can be made. RE5R can certainly do without the tribal enemies, for example, that are simply the embodiment of the "cannibal uga buga" savage stereotype that was very present on 70's Hollywood movies, for example. I don't think the game or the narrative loses anything with the exclusion of these enemies. They can also do more to humanize the people of Kijuju, with the player finding files that tells us the story of the place before the incident (kinda like RE4R did the Village, showing Mendez's diaries and how life improved with the new factory and how everything changes when the Los Illuminados reemerged). Maybe also give a little more attention to Sheva's backstory, having her tell us about Umbrella's exploration of the place and its people and the incident that ensued. RE5 do have some information on Kijuju and Sheva's backstory, but you need to access the library menu, out of the game, so it doesn't integrate with the narrative at all. I still think a future RE5R will always be a minefield for Capcom and I would largely prefer a remake of Code Veronica instead, to be honest.

This is exactly what I think. They can tweak things to avoid the most offenses, but it's always going to be a bit of a minefield. Best they can do is show that they care to make things less offensive, but the source material will always be the source material.

 

[Turo602]

While this is a very sensitive theme, I think some changes can be made. RE5R can certainly do without the tribal enemies, for example, that are simply the embodiment of the "cannibal uga buga" savage stereotype that was very present on 70's Hollywood movies, for example. I don't think the game or the narrative loses anything with the exclusion of these enemies. They can also do more to humanize the people of Kijuju, with the player finding files that tells us the story of the place before the incident (kinda like RE4R did the Village, showing Mendez's diaries and how life improved with the new factory and how everything changes when the Los Illuminados reemerged). Maybe also give a little more attention to Sheva's backstory, having her tell us about Umbrella's exploration of the place and its people and the incident that ensued. RE5 do have some information on Kijuju and Sheva's backstory, but you need to access the library menu, out of the game, so it doesn't integrate with the narrative at all. I still think a future RE5R will always be a minefield for Capcom and I would largely prefer a remake of Code Veronica instead, to be honest.

The world building was something I really liked about the RE4 remake. The in-game files and visual storytelling were a huge step up from the original and helped humanize the enemies and give the environments purpose as well as proper context within the game's larger narrative. Characters like Luis and Ashley were given much more depth and personality and in Luis' case, more backstory.

These are the kind of things a remake of RE5 could benefit from as even the writer states before completely dismissing it on the basis of skin color... It's such a narrow minded view of the world to think that images that make you uncomfortable shouldn't exist, especially when the reason for being uncomfortable is as shallow as "white man shooting black people" as if the action is devoid of all context.

Well adjusted people don't go around the world and scream racism over 2 people of different races having any kind of negative interaction with eachother. Then again, a well adjusted person wouldn't write an article like this that purposely misrepresents a game to validate a false claim of racism. Especially when it was Capcom's best selling game for a long period of time, was scored a 9/10 by IGN, can still be purchased, and is on sale like every other week. Safe to say not many people find this game offensive.

I personally wouldn't remove the tribal enemies and areas as they play a pretty huge role in the game and are basically this game's version of Los Illuminados. But they can definitely be redesigned much more tastefully and like the Resident Evil 4 remake, better highlight how they were victims by putting a stronger emphasis on Umbrella/Tricell's influence on the area. I also just think the potential for horror would be incredible with a complete reimagining of the marshlands, caves, and labyrinth areas. Especially with improved AI that could better showcase tribal tactics as well as a much darker atmosphere with far more striking visuals.

 

[RipvanX]

The whole central plot revolves around the progenitor flower so gutting out the tribal themes would hurt the narrative and one of the more unique approaches to a mainline RE game. Black people have always been featured in RE. Why don’t people get upset over Marvin getting shot or any of the other zombies that are darker skin tone in RE2R or 3R? It baffles me that these woke news outlets push for diversity, yet they don’t want to offend anyone by excluding different races that may come into harm in a natural way within a story. They want to create a fantasy bubble that does not reflect the real world, which is what Capcom is trying to avoid with these reimaginings and their realism approach.

 

[Ikawaru]

The whole central plot revolves around the progenitor flower so gutting out the tribal themes would hurt the narrative and one of the more unique approaches to a mainline RE game.

They could probably tweak some things to make it less offensive and still retain the core story.

Do I personally think RE5 is racist? Technically, by textbook, NO, there is nothing in the game that provides direct evidence that the game is racist. However,

Direct, scientific, evidence isn't everything! How people perceive the game, or the essence it gives off, matters an equal deal, and with society as polarized as it is now I can imagine a good deal of lashback happening if they made it a 1:1 representation of the original game.

It would be like making a game that takes place in rural USA and with the entire game devoted to shooting white trash rednecks zombies with their torn hats and plain T-shirts and their girlfriends who wear too much hair gel, skimpy clothes, and tramp stamps. I don't want to play anything like that either!

 

[RipvanX]

It would be like making a game that takes place in rural USA and with the entire game devoted to shooting white trash rednecks zombies with their torn hats and plain T-shirts and their girlfriends who wear too much hair gel, skimpy clothes, and tramp stamps. I don't want to play anything like that either!

Grand Theft Auto VI says hi.

 

[Springhosen]

How people perceive the game, or the essence it gives off, matters an equal deal, and with society as polarized as it is now I can imagine a good deal of lashback happening if they made it a 1:1 representation of the original game.

I think this is a very good point that should probably be better understood in everything, not just this discussion: Intent is not the sole indicator of whether or not something is racist.

 

[Ikawaru]

Grand Theft Auto VI says hi.

??? Got a reference? I don't know much about GTA because I am one of the two people who doesn't consume Rockstar games like an Italian buffet. I know it's starring a woman which has generated some controversy but from what I can research it returns to "Vice City" and seems like a lovers tale. I have no intention of playing it anyway but if what you say is correct than I think that's cool how my initial lack of interest reinforced desire not to play a game with questionable content.