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Widely considered as one of the best modern games in the Resident Evil franchise, Revelations served as a great throwback to the atmosphere and overall horror feel of the classic games, wrapped in the series’ modern mechanics and style. The mix ended up being a general success, although many would’ve preferred if the focus was a little more on the Jill-centric old-school horror sections as opposed to the action-oriented scenarios.
Capcom now has the chance to make the Revelations formula even better. The existence of Resident Evil Revelations 2 is no longer a secret. We have a leaked listing for it now, along with boxart and a screenshot (pictured above), but it’s expected to have its full blown official reveal at the Tokyo Game Show next month. So here’s my theory for the upcoming sequel to the former 3DS exclusive.
*Spoilers for Revelations follow*
Resident Evil Revelations ended with quite a bang. After its immensely satisfying final boss fight with a Tyrant-like foe, we got a closing scene that has yet to be further explored. We saw that Jessica, a character who was initially Chris’s BSAA partner before turning out to be a spy, still possessed a sample of the T-Abyss virus (the water-based virus that resulted in the game’s Ooze BOWs). She was confronted by another fresh face from the game, Raymond Vester, who sported a very Wesker-ish look. It was revealed that there was a reason for Raymond saving Jill’s partner, Parker, after the fall he took aboard the Queen Zenobia ship, which many thought (myself included) led to his death. It was also revealed that there were more plans for the BSAA.
After the events of Revelations (which took place between Resident Evils 4 and 5) Chris and Jill went on to take part in what fans know as the Lost in Nightmares scenario, which was also teased in one of the game’s epilogue scenes showing the fate of each main character. Following that and the Sheva-cursed events of Resident Evil 5, Jill became a no-show and Chris went on to become one of the main stars(!) of the globe-trotting mess that was Resident Evil 6 (though Leon’s scenario was amazing!). Taking Capcom’s decision to keep the Revelations title, I’m sure this game is going to be a direct sequel as opposed to a brand new story altogether that bears no ties to the T-Abyss virus and what occurred on the Queen Zenobia. But I feel like this will also serve as a direct sequel to Resident Evil 6. We could catch up with Jessica and Raymond, and see what they’ve been up to through the perspective of another protagonist. I think it’ll be a face we all know…
I’m sure Jessica wants her revenge on the BSAA. And I’m also sure she might be going after Chris in particular. So what better way to exact her plan for vengeance than by targeting his younger sister, Claire. Claire has been away from the spotlight for far too long. Revelations 2 presents the perfect opportunity for Capcom to right that wrong, pitting her in a scenario that might play out eerily similar to one of her past zombie-filled adventures, judging by the lone screenshot we have to dissect.
A prison setting seems to be in order. And that could certainly lend itself to a wonderfully horrifying atmosphere, filled with great scares that fans all miss from the series’ infant years. I can already imagine reading some of the creepy notes and journals we’ll find scattered around in the different cells. Of course, the prison could only be but one of the game’s settings (like Revelations had the snowy mountain range, Terragrigia and the Queen Zenobia), but it’s one that really speaks to Claire’s character and her past as players experienced in CODE: Veronica. A prison setting would be a very thematically appropriate way to make Claire relive her time spent in Umbrella’s prison camp, which was situated on Rockfort Island. It was there where she faced the horrors unleashed by Alexia and the T-Veronica Virus. And now she may find herself once again imprisoned in a nightmare caused by another main female villain, Jessica.
This ties into why I believe Revelations 2 should take place after Resident Evil 6. In the latter, there was a brief mention of Claire in an exchange of words between Chris and Sherry as well as the reveal that Claire took on a motherly role for Sherry, guarding her as she was going through the many experiments conducted on her. Now, there is the possibility that the events of Revelations 2 could be tied to Claire’s time protecting Sherry, but I feel it would make more sense to have it serve as an aftermath story to what occurred in Resident Evil 6, where Jessica ends up using the T-Abyss virus to take advantage of a world weakened after being exposed to the C-Virus.
Claire probably ends up acknowledging the fact that the world needs a hardened survivor like her in the frontlines to help protect residents from the evils that could be inflicted on them by another virus threat. So this might serve as the motivation she needs to join the fight against bio-terror by aligning herself with her brother in the BSAA. Claire takes on her first mission for the group, which might involve investigating some form of viral outbreak in a prison. The T-Abyss virus should naturally be the virus in question, although in an updated form. We should be confronted with zombies like the ones shown in Revelations’ debut trailer. And along the way, perhaps we’ll have Raymond serve as a sort of partner for Claire, who might also be there on a mission of his own. This is where Claire once again enters the world of survival horror, with memories of the tragic events of CODE: Veronica and even Raccoon City coming back to haunt her. Hell, Jessica might even steal Ada’s Bitch of the Year title (as awarded by Chris) and end up somehow bringing Steve’s body into the mix. That would surely mess with Claire.
I want to end off with a somewhat farfetched possibility, but it’s one worth mentioning. There might be yet another secret Queen ship floating around, which could also have a prison hidden in its depths. While this may be repetitive, I honestly wouldn’t be totally surprised if it ended up happening. In Revelations, the derelict ship was like a floating version of the original mansion. So in Revelations 2, the ship could be more like Raccoon City in that it could be heavily populated, this time by people enjoying a cruise, before the infection sends their trip to hell. And it would also be pretty ironic if Claire once again finds herself in a prison surrounded by water. Ship or not, I’m sure the prison will play a huge role in the game’s plot. After all’s said and done, Revelations 2 could lead to what will end up happening in Resident Evil 7, which I think should have a team up of Claire and Jill, but that’s a topic for another article!
What do you think? What would you like to see in Revelations 2? Sound off in the comments below!
