Resident Evilhas a massive, nearly 30-year history as a franchise, and it hasa truckload of games to its name. Althoughthe mainline entries(and the remakes) are the ones that are hitting the top of sales charts for Capcom, there’s also a ton ofworthwhile spinoffsthat came out and were lost to time. In addition to portable editions of theREfranchise, there’s theGun Survivorsubseries, which also extended toDino Crisisfor a one-off. Arguably, the most well-known of these isDead Aim, which just celebrated the 22nd anniversary of its North American release. It’s due for a comeback.
Although the light gun craze has mostly died down for home consoles, Capcom is no stranger to bringing it back from the dead every so often when the time is right (especially when you have a controller like a Wiimote, coupled with the legacy Wii Zapper accessory).The Switch 2 already has some of that functionality built in, making it perfect for a remaster or remake package. In any case, preserving an old piece ofREhistory would be a big win for fans.
It’s Part Of The Defunct Gun Survivor Series
Resident Evilhas been a fixture of gaming ever since the original came out. I remember hearing people rave about it almost immediately, and a friend and I played through the entire thing together, jump scares and all. From there onward, I was hooked. It didn’t matter if it was a mainline release or a wacky spinoff, I was there. Not all of them were readily available, butResident Evil: Dead Aimwas fully released in Japan, North America, and PAL regions on the PS2 in 2003.
Since then, it has lingered on that platform for 22 years, with no re-releases of any kind or inclusions in various compilations. It’s a shame, because while it has its issues,Dead Aimis afun inside look at some of the lore in the series, and takes place four years afterRE2. BeforeResident Evil Revelationsbrought the horror to the high seas,Dead Aimtasked players with navigating the Spencer Rain ocean liner while taking out various grotesque creations of the Umbrella company.
Protagonists Bruce McGivern and Fong Ling find themselves on a side adventure that ties into theResident Eviluniverse, complete with a first-person shooting mechanic. It’s one of those “this unsung ragtag team of heroes quietly saved the world” type of series, which makes sense given its nature as a spinoff.Since a used copy ofDead Aimtypically sells for $35 to $100 on PS2, depending on its condition, it would be a perfect candidate for a re-release.
It’s The Right Time
Althoughthe Switch 2 vastly improved its gyro capabilities, not many new games built from the ground up for the system utilize it. Now is the perfect time to bring backResident Evil: Dead Aim, as it’s the marqueeGun Survivorgame and could use the capabilities of the Switch 2 (including mouse support)to help usher in a new era of light gun games on the system.
It’s not just the Switch 2 that could turn heads with a re-release ofDead Aim, either. A version for the PSVR2 could be exciting, andgiven how cozy Sony is with Capcom VR support, it would be a slam-dunk partnership-wise. I’m reaching for the stars here, but it would be great to see moreResident Evilgames preserved, even if Capcom doesn’t want to go through the gargantuan effort of fully remaking them.
We don’t need to stop atDead Aim, too. As we mentioned, Capcom has three other games in theGun Survivorseries that could be put on the same compilation, as well as thearguably more popularUmbrella/Darkside Chronicleslight gun games for the Wii. These have even greater tie-ins to theResident Evilworld, and would serve as excellent companion pieces to the mainline entries.
Capcom Doesn’t Generally Remake Spinoffs
Since 2002, Capcom has remade four games in total, and all of them are mainline entries. Those aren’t great odds forResident Evil: Dead Aim, especially when you have people clamoring for remakes ofCode: VeronicaandResident Evil 5, amid many other beloved lesser-known gameslikeOutbreak 1+2. If you add my personal wishlist to the pile, I want to see full remakes ofResident Evil Zero(which at least got a remaster) andRevelations.
What I love about all theResident Evilspinoffs is how embedded they are in the overarchingResident Eviluniverse.Even if the stories themselves aren’t essential to the narrative (by design),there are tons of Easter eggs and tidbits in themthat were added for the fans, and a few of the less popular heroes have gotten a lot of love from theREcommunity as a whole.
Who knows what the future holds for Capcom remakes. They’re getting close to “catching up” with mainline games that could genuinely benefit from a complete rework, and it’s been a while since we’ve had a compilation of older titles. In any case,Resident Evil: Dead Aimdeserves a comeback.Maybe ifDino Crisiscomes back, we can get aGun Survivorcompilation.
Resident Evil
“Resident Evil” is a survival horror franchise that originated as a video game series before expanding into films, animated movies, TV shows, comics, and novels. The franchise focuses on the outbreak of a deadly virus developed by the Umbrella Corporation, leading to a global apocalypse filled with zombies and other mutated creatures. Known for its tense atmosphere, intricate puzzles, and engaging storylines, “Resident Evil” has become one of the most successful and influential franchises in both gaming and horror entertainment.
