Resident Evil Veronica Breakdown: Why the Remake Could Become the Best Game in the Series

The very first game to open Summer Game Fest was Resident Evil Veronica — a reimagining of Resident Evil Code: Veronica. Franchise fans undoubtedly welcomed the announcement with enthusiasm: more than 1 million people have already added the game to their wishlists. Still, the overall excitement around the project seems a little less intense than it was during the reveals of Resident Evil Requiem or the Resident Evil 4 remake. Part of the reason is simple: Resident Evil Veronica had been leaked online long before the official announcement. But there is another factor as well — the mixed reputation of the original Resident Evil Code: Veronica, which remains something of a black sheep in the series for many players. Because of that, not everyone fully understands what to expect from its new version. This article will focus precisely on the unusual nature of Code: Veronica and the potential of a remake that could very well turn into a true masterpiece if Capcom plays its cards right.

The main problem with the original Resident Evil Code: Veronica is that it is not available on PC, where a significant part of the Resident Evil audience is now concentrated. Capcom has directly stated that 50% of the company’s game sales now come from Windows. Of course, if you really want to, you can play Code: Veronica through an emulator, but that still creates a high barrier to entry: this option automatically filters out players who simply want to install the game in a couple of clicks rather than jump through hoops. Today, the classic Resident Evil trilogy and even Dino Crisis can be purchased without issue on both GOG and Steam, but not CV.

The easiest legal way to play Resident Evil Code: Veronica is to launch it on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, where the PS2 and Xbox 360 versions are available digitally, respectively. But the same PS2 port does not look especially appealing visually today, and newcomers will almost certainly be put off within the first few minutes by the old-school “tank” controls.

On top of that, CV is known for its hardcore nature, which further scares away potential players who have heard about its unforgiving game design. Its reputation as the hardest Resident Evil is somewhat exaggerated: many longtime fans of the series played it back in childhood, when any complex game could feel almost impenetrable. Even so, Code: Veronica is objectively less player-friendly than even the first three entries. By the way, if you enjoy hardcore games, do not miss our list of the hardest games ever made.

As a result, most modern players have either never personally completed Resident Evil Code: Veronica and have only watched let’s plays or analysis videos on YouTube, or know almost nothing about it at all. This is ironic, considering that Code: Veronica was originally conceived as a full-fledged mainline entry and a direct sequel to Resident Evil 2. Moreover, for the franchise’s lore, its events are even more important than the story of Resident Evil 4. For example, if you play through the series chronologically but skip Code: Veronica, it will not be entirely clear where Albert Wesker comes from in Resident Evil 5, given that he seemingly died all the way back in the very first game. The player also will not learn what Claire Redfield and her brother Chris were doing after the Raccoon City disaster.

Upon release, Code: Veronica received extremely high scores from critics: we are talking about one of the highest-rated games in the series after Resident Evil 4, with an impressive average score of 94 out of 100 on Metacritic. For 2000, it was a genuinely groundbreaking project, with fully 3D graphics and a dynamic fixed camera that followed the character. But time has not been kind to Code: Veronica. Once the wow effect of its technical execution faded into the past, the game’s problems became much more noticeable. Fans are now divided: some still consider CV an excellent Resident Evil, while others criticize it.

There are plenty of reasons to love Code: Veronica. At the very least, for how consistently it sticks to survival horror ideas and only occasionally flirts with action. CV has all the elements of the classic games in the series: intricate level design, limited-resource management, and dangerous zombies that are best kept at arm’s length. By the way, if you are a fan of the living dead, check out our selection of the best zombie games.

The original Veronica can arguably boast the most complex level design in the entire franchise. It has several large areas connected into one dense knot — closer in spirit to soulslike games than to typical Resident Evil. The prison, palace, training facility, Ashford residence, airport, and underground sections are later joined by an Antarctic base as well. At the same time, the game constantly sends you back and forth between them through long passages, elevators, bridges, courtyards, staircases, underground corridors, and service routes. It is quite difficult to build a complete mental map of the world in your head, which makes it feel noticeably larger than in other RE games.

The areas here are larger and less compact than the classic mansion or the RPD, and the game asks you to keep track of items and objectives that are much farther apart. If, in the original RE1 — which is hardly simple from a design standpoint either — you are more likely to think, “the key to that door must be somewhere in the mansion,” then in Code: Veronica, a found item will often open the way on the opposite side of the map altogether.

For fans of metroidvanias — and, by the way, we also have a list of the best metroidvanias on the site — and backtracking, Code: Veronica can be a real treat. And when the game switches from Claire to Chris, the second playable character, everything gets even more twisted: Chris moves through familiar levels under changed conditions, such as after the explosion at the base, and gains access to new rooms.

That said, all of this intricate design starts working against CV if you do not enjoy running through the same corridors twenty times over. In places, the designers overcomplicated things so much and wove such a tangled web out of the levels that if you put Code: Veronica down for a day or two and then come back to it, you may simply fail to remember where to go next. Without guides, it can be extremely difficult.

On top of that, many parts of the game are poorly balanced and can lead to so-called softlocks — situations where the player gets stuck badly enough that it is easier to load an older save and replay part of the adventure. Unfortunately, Code: Veronica has plenty of moments like that. If you play blind and do not know what lies ahead, getting trapped is incredibly easy. For example, during the Tyrant fight in the tiny airplane cargo hold, it is nearly impossible to win if you have not prepared at least two healing items in advance: on such a cramped arena, dodging the boss’s attacks is almost impossible. But who can predict that this is the kind of battle waiting just ahead?

Code: Veronica’s softlocks are a major and deeply frustrating flaw. This is especially true in the second half, when the game actively switches between Claire and Chris: you can easily end up in a situation where one of the characters has almost no weapons or resources, because the player already handed all the best gear to the other.

Finally, Code: Veronica is dragged down by its occasionally silly script and, more importantly, by Steve Burnside — a character who periodically helps Claire. The game tries to develop their relationship into something resembling a romantic subplot, but the result is as awkward as it gets: Steve is an extremely irritating character with unpleasant voice acting and an even more unbearable personality.

If Capcom takes the original Code: Veronica as a foundation, builds on its strengths, but significantly reworks the design and narrative while removing the biggest irritants, the company could end up with something special. In recent interviews with the press, Resident Evil Veronica producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi said outright that this will be a substantial reimagining — with far more serious differences from the source material than, for example, the Resident Evil 4 remake had. And that is the right approach when dealing with a game that has such noticeable rough edges.

It has also become known that Resident Evil Veronica is being handled by a development team led by Yasuhiro Anpo and Kazunori Kadoi. In other words, the key creators behind the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 remakes — games many players consider among the very best entries in the series. We think highly of them too, by the way, as you can see in our ranking of the mainline Resident Evil games from worst to best. All of that inspires additional confidence in the project.

Capcom wants to unlock Resident Evil Veronica’s potential specifically as a survival horror game. Do not expect action-heavy segments in the spirit of Resident Evil Requiem, even in the sections with Chris Redfield. There may actually be fewer of them than in the original, since the developers emphasize that Veronica is first and foremost Claire’s story. Instead, you can expect a gameplay and thematic sequel to the Resident Evil 2 remake: with similar mechanics, more advanced graphics, and a stronger focus on frightening moments. By the way, even though the reveal trailer is shot in first person, the game itself will be entirely third-person, with no option to switch the camera.

Judging by the first details, Capcom has not cut important scenes from the remake, but it has rearranged a great deal and, on the contrary, expanded many things. You should expect a longer game than the original, which can usually be completed in around 11 to 15 hours on average — quite a lot by the standards of pure horror.

Yes, the original Resident Evil Code: Veronica does not quite measure up to legends like RE4 in terms of overall significance. But with the right approach, that can be changed, turning it into one of the most important entries in the series — at least for fans of the more horror-driven Resident Evil games. Despite the general fatigue surrounding the endless stream of remakes the industry seems to be producing almost assembly-line style, this is one case where a reimagining feels justified. Not simply as an easy way to make money off a famous name, but as an attempt to take a good yet far from perfect game and turn it into the diamond it could have become 26 years ago.

What do you think? How much are you looking forward to Resident Evil Veronica? Tell us in the comments.

Resident Evil Veronica is expected to launch in 2027. Capcom has not announced an exact release date yet.

The game has been announced for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Even though the reveal trailer is shot almost entirely in first person, the game itself will be third-person. Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi stated directly that the gameplay foundation will be survival horror in the spirit of the Resident Evil 2 remake.

The game is being developed by a team led by Yasuhiro Anpo and Kazunori Kadoi, who previously headed development of the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 remakes.

No. Capcom describes Resident Evil Veronica as a reimagining of the original. The developers are preserving the foundation of Code: Veronica, but reworking it for a modern audience: with a new camera, updated gameplay, expanded storytelling, and a darker atmosphere.