Opinion: Dino Crisis Deserves a Remake More Than Any Resident Evil

Recently, the first Dino Crisis game and its sequel became available on GOG. This small event rekindled a flicker of hope in the hearts of fans of the forgotten franchise. What if Capcom is planning something bigger for the series? Perhaps a AAA remake of the first game? Predicting the next steps of the Japanese company is difficult, but discussing the future of Dino Crisis is still worthwhile. We've gathered the main reasons why the first game in the series deserves a remake more than any other title in Capcom's catalog.

Dino Crisis, released in 1999, was developed by the legendary Shinji Mikami. The game largely followed the formula of his previous project — the first Resident Evil, with one crucial difference: instead of zombies, the enemies were dinosaurs. This changed everything — Dino Crisis felt like a more adrenaline-fueled game because its opponents were faster, deadlier, more aggressive, and significantly smarter.

For instance, these prehistoric killers could open doors — something Resident Evil's zombies couldn't do. Sometimes, their attacks even knocked weapons out of the hands of Regina, the game's protagonist. On top of that, cunning predators could cause severe bleeding in their victims — if left untreated, Regina would leave a trail of blood, attracting raptors.

There were no other horror games like it back then, and there still aren’t today. The same can't be said about zombie games. Following the release of the new RE4, fans of the franchise have been debating which game should be reimagined next. Resident Evil 5? Code: Veronica (rumored to already be in development)? Or maybe even a remake of the remake of the original game? However, it’s unclear what these projects could truly offer in terms of fresh experiences. We've seen so many action-horror games about reanimated corpses or parasite-infected humans that it's hard to deny the oversaturation factor.

Fast, strong, and, most importantly, unpredictable — dinosaurs would fit perfectly into modern survival horror. Just imagine velociraptors and tyrannosaurs recreated with photorealistic graphics and cutting-edge lighting technology.

But the key point isn’t just how dinosaurs could be visually depicted using modern engines — it’s how they could be made even smarter. Capcom has already experimented with AI in the Resident Evil 2 remake, creating one of the most terrifying enemies: in the updated classic, Mr. X learned to patrol levels and track the player by sound.

Meanwhile, the developers of horror games like Alien: Isolation and Amnesia: The Bunker took things even further, designing complex and unpredictable AI for their monsters, ensuring that each playthrough feels radically different from the last. Something similar could — and should — be implemented in a possible Dino Crisis remake.

Despite its strengths and great potential, Dino Crisis is far from perfect. If a reimagined version ever sees the light of day, its developers will have to do some serious polishing.

For example, the story would need more dramatic weight to meet modern gaming standards. The original plot — about a time machine that transported dinosaurs into the present — was as simple as it gets in terms of twists and character relationships. Capcom tends to avoid such simplicity in its new games.

Dino Crisis also suffered from uninspired level design. Most of the game took place in various laboratories — sterile environments that lacked the visual variety seen in Resident Evil.

Finally, in terms of gameplay, the puzzles in the original game weren’t particularly engaging, and Regina’s arsenal wasn’t very diverse. These aspects would also need significant improvements.

It’s genuinely hard to predict whether Capcom will ever greenlight a Dino Crisis remake. On one hand, such a project could require more resources than the average Resident Evil remake, mainly because dinosaurs aren’t typical humanoid enemies. Creating them would involve complex new animations. However, in theory, Capcom could leverage assets from Monster Hunter Wilds or Exoprimal.

On the other hand, Capcom is running out of old games to turn into remakes. Given the company's ongoing trend of revisiting classics, it feels like Dino Crisis will eventually get its turn. Especially since fans haven’t stopped clamoring for a revival of this cult horror game. In fact, last year, Capcom conducted a survey in which the original Dino Crisis was voted the most beloved game in the company’s history. A pretty clear hint, isn’t it?

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Interestingly, Shinji Mikami himself believes that Monster Hunter’s existence prevents Dino Crisis from making a comeback. According to him, any dinosaur-themed game would be overshadowed by such a massive franchise. With all due respect to the master, this claim seems debatable — after all, the audiences for these two series likely don’t overlap. Dino Crisis primarily appeals to horror fans. And a remake with modern graphics and smart dinosaurs would be a dream come true for anyone who grew up watching Jurassic Park.

What do you think? Would you like to see a new Dino Crisis? Share your thoughts in the comments!