The Resident Evil franchise has had a pretty solid run in the world of virtual reality. Taking a bold first step, Resident Evil 7 launched with PSVR compatibility, allowing headset owners to play through the entire game in virtual reality. In October 2021, a VR version of the oft-remastered, ported, and remade Resident Evil 4 hit the Meta Quest, and it’s still widely considered to be one of the best experiences for the headset almost three years later. And just last year, both Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 Remake were given free PSVR2 updates.
It seems likely that Capcom will want to continue pursuing its VR ventures with the Resident Evil franchise, but it might be some time before the next mainline entry or remake releases. Instead, Capcom could look to Resident Evil’s past for more VR content. There’s one RE spinoff that would perfectly suit a VR makeover, and it could land at the ideal time.
Released in November 2009 – just a few months after Resident Evil 5 – Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is a Wii light gun shooter. Players are given four lengthy scenarios to play through, each of which has them blasting classic Resident Evil enemies with the Wii remote or the Wii Zapper that was bundled with certain versions of the game. Though VR games have evolved quite a bit since the early days of on-rails shooters like Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, that type of gameplay still suits the VR format well.