If fans look back at the last several Resident Evil installments, they can see a pattern forming with regard to how Capcom designs its games. Starting with the Resident Evil 2 remake, there were obvious designs or assets that inspired the subsequent Resident Evil title. This makes sense from a design perspective because it allows for a foundation for future installments to be built upon, instead of having to start from scratch on newer entries like Resident Evil 4 - especially if Resident Evil’s modern remakes share a narrative throughline.

The clearest example of how Capcom designs its modern Resident Evil games is Resident Evil Village, which shares an unabashed relationship with Resident Evil 4 in terms of its remote European landscape that features a village and castle as its primary environments. Village served as a design and aesthetic template for what the Resident Evil 4 remake would be, and Resident Evil 4’s remake now serves as a way to design the gameplay formula for a potential Resident Evil 5 remake.

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Resident Evil 4 Remake Makes Interesting Changes to NPCs

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How the Resident Evil 4 remake handles its new companion AI for Ashley and Luis could potentially influence how Sheva would be designed in a Resident Evil 5 remake. Ashley is more particularly niche as a companion who players must defend given she cannot defend herself, which is unique to Resident Evil 4 but could have some bearing in Resident Evil 5.

The bigger question is whether a Resident Evil 5 remake would include co-op, but Sheva would still need to have NPC AI designed for her as a companion whether fans want to play in single-player or not. The only characteristic of Ashley’s AI that Capcom might want to include is how players can pick them back up after being incapacitated. Resident Evil 4’s remake allows players to hoist Ashley up walls and pick her up from an incapacitated state, though players must usually do so with urgency if they are in the middle of an encroaching mob.

Resident Evil 5 needs players to heal their co-op partner with a first-aid spray or herb if they are downed, and that would likely be carried over to a potential remake. Rather, the more influential NPC that a Resident Evil 5 remake would look to is Luis.

A Resident Evil 5 Remake Could Be Single-Player with Sheva as an NPC

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Luis and Ashley’s emphasized roles as NPCs in the Resident Evil 4 remake could demonstrate that Capcom can forgo designing co-op and instead stick to an NPC companion system. Co-op gameplay would mark another huge overhaul for the remakes, but it is an big part of what makes Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6 special.

If co-op was to be truly abandoned in the remakes, that would dilute a lot of what fans find fun about them. Luis is a great template for Sheva though, with only a shared inventory missing from what Resident Evil 5’s AI could achieve. Luis is incredibly helpful and intuitive when it comes to combat, as he interrupts enemy attacks and quickly frees Leon from command grabs. Because players spend more time with Luis in the Resident Evil 4 remake, it would only make sense that Capcom is developing updated companion AI for its next Resident Evil game as well.

Resident Evil 4 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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