Why it’s time for a Dino Crisis remake after the success of Resident Evil

❘ Updated: 2024-01-18T12:00:00

Capcom

When Capcom runs out of Resident Evil games to remake, should they turn their attention to Dino Crisis? Here’s the case for a Dino Crisis remake and what it should look like.

After the massive success of the Resident Evil remakes Capcom has confirmed that more are on the way. Currently, we don’t know what they are and we’ve separately made the case for a Resident Evil 5 and Code Veronica remake, but there’s another game in Capcom’s back catalog that’s roaring out for a remake – Dino Crisis.

Dino Crisis was released a few months before the original Resident Evil 3 way back on PS1 and was essentially Resident Evil with dinosaurs. The game used assets from Resident Evil 2 to deliver a survival horror game, which saw a group of special forces operators creeping around an abandoned facility, desperately trying to avoid the toothy terrors that stalked the corridors.

Naturally, the characters also had to fend off a T-rex now and again in some truly frightening boss encounters.

T-rex encounters in Dino Crisis were terrifying.

Survival horror with dinosaurs

Dino Crisis wasn’t a game that encouraged you to mow down scores of dinosaurs with endless ammunition. Instead, it was a true survival horror experience where every bullet counted and each velociraptor was a genuine threat. Defeating each enemy took careful thought and resource management.

Do you take out the raptor guarding that hallway with your remaining shotgun shells? Or do you try and run past it and save your ammo for whatever may be lurking on the other side of the door?

Those who’ve played the classic Resident Evil games or their remakes will understand these scenarios, and like zombies, dinosaurs were well suited to this style of gameplay. Dino Crisis received sequels that steadily increased the action over horror, and while Dino Crisis 2 was a great game, this approach diluted the experience and ultimately led to the series running out of steam. There was a Dino Crisis 3 and even an on-the-rails shooter spin-off, but they failed to capture the horror of the first game.

These sequels came out during a time of boom in the action-shooter genre and Dino Crisis was lost in the shuffle. Even its cousin, Resident Evil, has fallen foul of getting the action-to-horror balance wrong over the years.

Dino Crisis fans gasped in collective anticipation when the first trailer for Capcom’s dino-blasting Exoprimal was released, but upon seeing the game was yet another mindless shooter, their hopes were dashed. While it was encouraging to see Capcom experimenting with dinosaurs again, the only similarity between Dino Crisis and Exoprimal is that both games contain extinct beasts.

Dino Crisis 2 had more guns and dinosaurs, but was far less memorable.

Running out of Resident Evil remakes

If Capcom did remake Dino Crisis, the game should be a survival horror experience once again, made in the Resident Evil engine and using the assets from the recent remakes. Essentially, it would need to be a faithful remake of the original Dino Crisis, recreating that game’s vision, but on modern systems. Like those scenes in the early Jurassic Park films, and the original Dino Crisis itself, dinosaurs can work extraordinarily well as a device for horror, and in videogame form, this could lead to some truly tense and memorable moments.

If it’s successful, a remake could even fully reboot the series and lead to a new line of sequels, in the same vein as the Dead Space games. This would give Capcom something to move on to when they eventually run out of Resident Evil games to remake – and no matter what they do, that day will come. Even if Capcom decides to remake Code Veronica and Resident Evil 5, and then turns their attention to RE1 (and Zero) again, they will still run out. We’re not saying Capcom should abandon any plans for future Resident Evil remakes, but should simply keep Dino Crisis in their back pocket, ready for when they need it.

Capcom will be aware of this and has likely become accustomed to the easy money that the Resident Evil remakes have brought in. While some fans will say, “Enough with the remakes” let’s have a sequel to Village or some new IPs,” history has taught us that Capcom can do both. The company will eventually have a choice to make, does it simply allow itself to run out of remakes, or does it keep this gravy train rolling, only this time, filling it with hungry velociraptors rather than flesh-eating zombies?

After games like Alan Wake 2 and so many others, we’re living through a renaissance when it comes to survival horror games, and it’s time for Dino Crisis to take a bite out of it.

So that’s what we think about a potential Dino Crisis remake. For more Resident Evil content, check out the following guides below: