Resident Evil Has Made a New Trend Out of One Tense Gameplay Encounter

Resident Evil hasn’t always stayed true to its roots as a survival-horror franchise, but that ebb and flow has given it a certain flexibility that allows it to be consistently relevant. If Resident Evil 4 never brought the series to an over-the-shoulder perspective with arcade-shooter controls, for example, other games may not have been able to draw from its seminal influence. Likewise, returning to horror with Resident Evil 7’s first-person perspective gave it renewed vigor, while some features, references, and gameplay trademarks have remained the same throughout.