Summary
- Resident Evil's iconic enemy designs, like Lickers and Regeneradors, are essential to the horror genre's scares.
- Mr. X and Nemesis in Resident Evil games offer terrifying experiences as relentless, indestructible foes.
- An open-world structure in Resident Evil 9 could introduce a new stalker enemy for maximum fear.
The horror video game genre is home to some of the most terrifying, monstrous, and iconic enemy types in gaming. From Dead Space's lumbering Necromorphs to Silent Hill's Pyramid Head, iconic enemy designs play a vital role in the horror gaming genre, often being an integral part of a game's scares. Nowhere is this more true than with the Resident Evil franchise.
Over the last 28 years, the Resident Evil franchise has continued to single-handedly deliver some of the most recognizable monsters in horror fiction, with Resident Evil 2's Lickers, Resident Evil 3's Hunters, and Resident Evil 4's Regeneradors all being at the top of that list. With recent rumors suggesting that Resident Evil 9 might end up being the biggest game in the franchise yet, it's more important than ever for the series to be on its A-game when it comes to enemy design, and that might involve taking a page out of the Resident Evil remakes' playbook.
A New Nemesis Would Be Perfect For Resident Evil 9's Rumored Open-World
Mr. X and Nemesis Are Highlights of Their Resident Evil Games
With the original Resident Evil cutting its "Stalker" enemy concepts from the final product, and Mr. X only appearing at scripted points during the original version of Resident Evil 2, it wouldn't be until 1999's Resident Evil 3 that fans saw the franchise's most horrifying enemy type. So integral to the experience that he's the game's subtitle, Resident Evil 3's Nemesis was the first enemy type in the series to really stalk the player across most of the game world, and it offered a thrill like no other at the time. Being impossible to kill, difficult to down, but capable of dishing out a lot of damage, Nemesis was a truly terrifying foe, one that would be seared into the minds of fans for decades to come.
Though the Resident Evil series hearkened back to Nemesis a few times in the following years, the stalker enemy type wouldn't make a proper return until Resident Evil 2 Remake, where Mr. X was given a petrifying glow-up. No longer set to appear just in scripted sequences, Resident Evil 2 Remake's Mr. X stalks the player through the various halls, stairways, and chambers of the Raccoon City Police Department, only relenting from his hunt when locked out of the safe room or downed temporarily by the player. The subtle but distinct sound effect of Mr. X's boots on the RPD's tile flooring, his uncanny visual design, and the sheer force of his punches made Mr. X an instantly iconic horror game enemy.
How a Nemesis-Like Enemy Could Work in Resident Evil 9
Able to strike fear into the hearts of players more so than any other enemy in Resident Evil franchise history, stalker bosses like Mr. X and Nemesis can offer some of the most memorable moments in the world of horror video games, but they need to be implemented at the right time. Stalker enemies can easily lose their luster if their hunt is overly long, and if it never really evolves. That being said, if recent rumors are true, then a stalker enemy could work perfectly in Resident Evil 9.
According to a recent rumor by leaker Dusk Golem, Resident Evil 9 could be using an open-world structure, with Capcom apparently building off the tech created for Dragon's Dogma 2. While all leaks should be taken with a pinch of salt, it's still fun to speculate and imagine what a fully open-world Resident Evil could look like, and it's a structure that would leave the door wide open for a stalker enemy type. Rather than being limited to the narrow halls of the RPD, or the alleyways of Raccoon City, Resident Evil 9's stalker enemy could patrol the entire map freely, never relenting, and consistently taking the player by surprise by disappearing for long periods, only to return when they least expect it.
Resident Evil 2
- Released
- January 25, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
The genre-defining masterpiece Resident Evil 2 returns, completely rebuilt from the ground up for a deeper narrative experience. Using Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine, Resident Evil 2 offers a fresh take on the classic survival horror saga with breathtakingly realistic visuals, heart-pounding immersive audio, a new over-the-shoulder camera, and modernized controls on top of gameplay modes from the original game.
In Resident Evil 2, the classic action, tense exploration, and puzzle solving gameplay that defined the Resident Evil series returns. Players join rookie police officer Leon Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield, who are thrust together by a disastrous outbreak in Raccoon City that transformed its population into deadly zombies. Both Leon and Claire have their own separate playable campaigns, allowing players to see the story from both characters’ perspectives. The fate of these two fan favorite characters is in players hands as they work together to survive and get to the bottom of what is behind the terrifying attack on the city. Will they make it out alive?
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Publisher(s)
- Capcom
- Franchise
- Resident Evil
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Horror
- How Long To Beat
- 9 Hours
- File Size Xbox Series
- 23 GB (January 2024)
- Metascore
- 91
