Back in 2012, Creative Assembly pitched aResident Evilgame to Capcom and no one knew about it until about five years ago. Three images on the concept art used during the pitch were leaked online and message boards went insane with speculations on what this game was going to be about.
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This mysterious game that never came to be was nicknamed,Resident Evil: Alien. Why was it called that? Who are the characters featured in the pictures? What on earth was this game going to be about? Little is known about what this game could’ve been, but here’s what’s known about it so far.
7It Was Part Of A Shotgun Pitch
During this pitch meeting, it’s possible that Creative Assembly didn’t have much faith in theirResident Evilpitch because they pitched at leastthree other gameswith it. Along withAlien, they also pitched an adaption of Quentin Tarantino’s hit film,Django Unchained,another game based on the Marvel Universe organization, S.H.I.E.L.D and a game following the Jason Bourne storyline.
While it is disappointing that none of these games made it out of the head office, we did end up with theRed Dead Redemptionseries and the upcomingMarvel’s Avengers, so all’s well that ends well… hopefully.
6The Artist Went On To More Prestigious Work
The man behind these concept art photos is namedBradley Wright, an artist who specializes in environment andcharacter design. The name may not be ringing any bells in your head but the man has an impressive line of work under his belt.
Previous titles he’s worked on includeSyndicate,The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on the Dark AthenaandHalo Wars 2. Wright also created the concept art forHalo Wars 3which, likeResident Evil: Alien, never made it off the bargaining table.
5This Was Likely Going To Continue The Revelations Storyline
Back in 2012, years after the commercial success ofResident Evil 4, Capcom releasedResident Evil: Revelationswith many similar mechanics with the over-the-shoulder aim. It starred series veterans Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield attempting to stop a virus from spreading through the Earth’s oceans. Despite not garnering high praise, the game did find enough success to earn a sequel that starred Claire Redfield and Moria Burton, Barry Burton’s daughter, trying to survive on an unknown desert island. Some sources (Most that have been deleted) heavily speculate that the female soldier in the picture is Jill. If that is the case, it’s probably safe to assume that the other male soldier character is Chris.
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It is also heavily believed that the little girl in the pictures isNatalia Korda, who was a prominent character inRevelations 2. From the pictures, it looks like the plan was that she would go through the same character arc but with Jill and Chris instead of Claire and Moria.
4The Pitch’s Setting Looked City-Based
At the end of theRevelations 2, while Claire Redfield is driving, she receives some intel that revealed her brother, Chris was spotted in China. From what can be seen inthe revealed photos, it looks like Jill and Chris are in a battle on top of a city building.
The signal tower in the background, with the air-conditioning units, seem to reflect that. Whether or not the plan was that the game take place in China is still unknown because the firstRevelationsgame took place on the Mediterranean Sea and, most likely, the ending ofRevelations 2was just to set upResident Evil 6.However, a crowded city setting for a next-genResident Evilgame would have been an interesting change of pace from the more than familiar rural, sewer and laboratory setting we’re used to from this series.
3Rejection Was A Blessing In Disguise
Don’t worry, there was never a plan forResident Evilto jump the shark and introduce aliens like a secret ending ofSilent Hill. The reason this pitch was nicknamedResident Evil: Alienis because, soon after their shotgun pitch was rejected, Creative Assembly teamed up with Sega to breathe new life in theAlienfranchise withAlien: Isolation. After 2013’sAlien: Colonial Marineswas panned by critics and players alike, not leaving much hope for a new installment, there was anideato switch the atmosphere of the games. Instead of using James Cameron’s action-orientedAliensas a guide, Creative Assembly decided to look at Ridley Scott’s originalAlienfor inspiration.
This led to gameplay that relied less on first-person action and more on stealth and strategic movement, which has become more popular with recenthorror video games.
2Creative Assembly Didn’t Like Resident Evil’s Direction
During the development ofAlien: Isolation, the director Alistair Hope, in an interview with Edge, stated that bothResident Eviland theDead Spacefranchise were beginning to lose what made them special, to begin with.His exact quote was, “I think this team really got a lot out ofDead Space 1andResident Evil… but those franchises moved in a direction that isn’t… well, I think that fans of those originals have been marginalized and sometimes it feels like these days, they’re just a couple of degrees away from beingGears of War.”
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This was possibly coming off the criticisms ofResident Evil 6, which was heavily panned for its lean onto over-the-top action rather than horror, something theResident Evilseries was once praised for. It’s possible that they wanted to bring that kind of thinking intoResident Evil: Alien, but that’s unknown.
1Creative Assembly Continues To Influence Resident Evil
Alien: Isolationchanged the game for the horror genre. Pitting you against an unkillable monstrosity in a tight environment with nothing in the defense but a few hiding places and limited bullets. Sound familiar? Sounds eerily similar to the gameplay style of the recent Resident Evil 2 remake, trying to escape the clutches of Mr. X’s meaty right hooks. This seemed to work so well that Capcom’s upcoming remake ofResident Evil: Nemesiswill probably also borrow this formula, once again revolving around the player trying to avoid an unstoppable enemy in a closed environment.
You can even argue thatResident Evil 7followed this trend with not only having the Baker family stalk you through their home but also the first-person style gameplay. Hopefully, Capcom doesn’t get too comfortable with this idea because afterResident Evil 7introduced so many new ideas to the franchise, fans might appreciate that kind of creativity to continue into a possibleResident Evil 8.
