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Resident Evil’s unofficial lore master has weighed in with his thoughts on Resident Evil Veronica, and the five biggest questions that Capcom’s upcoming remake will need to answer.
Set to launch in 2027 as a ground-up reimagining of the original Resident Evil: Code Veronica, our impressive first peek at the game felt like a statement of intent from Capcom — which now seems to be elevating this former side-story to full main series status.
Of course, Code Veronica featured some of the series’ biggest stars (Claire Redfield! Chris Redfield! Albert Wesker!) in a canon story set following the events of Resident Evil 3. But the entry has always felt a little detached from the rest of the franchise’s core, numbered entries. No longer, perhaps.
Still, with this stronger link to the rest of the series — and a launch long after subsequent games have already filled in some plot holes — there’s potential for Capcom to go further, and use Resident Evil Veronica to really tie the original game into the franchise’s wider narrative. But how could Capcom do this? How much will likely change? And what should stay the same?
For answers, I turned to Resident Evil Podcast host TheBatman, the architect of an exhaustive timeline document that charts all Resident Evil lore (beginning around 4.5 billion years ago) — a superfan who seems to know more about the series and its characters than anyone else on the planet.
Fair warning, this article discusses plot points from the original Resident Evil: Code Veronica. While these may change in the remake, anyone who wants to go in completely unspoiled should look away now.
1. Who are the mysterious rival company/H.C.F. that employs Albert Wesker?
“This organisation was introduced in the original Code: Veronica and was active behind the scenes in several other games including RE4 before mysteriously vanishing,” TheBatman begins. “Since then we’ve had one surprising reference in RE7 and a few teases in Requiem, but Capcom have always refrained from going into any major detail about them. Concept art refers to H.C.F. as Hive/Host Capture Force in reference to Wesker’s mission to capture Alexia Ashford and the t-veronica virus, so there is some suggestion they are a special forces team belonging to a larger organisation. RE: Veronica is the ideal opportunity to really clarify who they are and solidify any links to The Connections from the more recent games as we know they worked together on the Mutamycete project.”
An international crime syndicate to which Requiem’s villain Zeno belongs, The Connections were introduced in Resident Evil 7, though retroactively revealed to have had an influence on the downfall of Umbrella, plus links to Tricell and the U.S. government. They’re currently viewed as being the series’ overarching enemies, post-Umbrella.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if Capcom retcon the rival company as being The Connections all along,” TheBatman continues. “On the surface it seems logical but diving into the deeper lore that idea also creates several problems. I just hope this remake provides a clearer picture and background about who they are, why Umbrella perceived them as a such a threat and why Wesker saw the benefit in defecting over to them.”
2. How will Alfred Ashford be handled in this reimagining?
“I don’t want them to tone down Alfred,” TheBatman says. “I understand certain lines in the original localised script are unlikely to be used today, but his desire to impersonate Alexia is a key part of his character. He truly believes she is still by his side and dressing as her and mimicking her voice is a coping mechanism for his loneliness and psychosis. It was a significant plot twist in the original game so for a remake where many players will already be aware of this revelation, it will be interesting to see how Capcom plays it. Some of these elements may be scaled back but I personally hope they go all in as it could result in some really creepy and memorable scenes.”
In an interview with IGN earlier this month, Capcom told us that it would be adjusting Alfred by “trying to dive a little deeper” and analyze the character “on a slightly deeper level” within the remake, though stopped short of giving further details.
“I also hope the remake expands on the history of the Ashford family. They originally had ties to the Nazis, but these references were almost completely removed from the original game, so it will be interesting to see if they are reintroduced here. I’d also love to see – on screen – Alexander Ashford’s expression as he is subdued and looked down upon by his own children as they inject him with the t-veronica virus. That is some terrifying imagery.”
3. Where are all our heroes?
“Code: Veronica takes place three months after Raccoon City but has very little build-up – it kind of just happens,” TheBatman explains. “RE3 provided epilogues for all the key characters, but ultimately they didn’t really go anywhere. I hope RE: Veronica really expands on the back story in this three-month gap leading up to events on Rockfort Island. What has Chris been doing all this time in Europe? How long has Umbrella been watching him? Why didn’t Jill Valentine link up with him immediately after Raccoon City? There are so many unanswered questions and now is the right time to address them. Chris’s apartment in the teaser is ripe for exploration to get some of these answers, although witnessing a little old lady stealing his biscuits was not on my bingo card…”
4. How will Steve Burnside be portrayed?
“Steve is very polarising so I fully expect he will be the character that has the most changes and his performance be significantly toned down,” TheBatman says of Code Veronica’s widely-disliked 17-year-old.
“He is a victim of circumstance and at 17 years-old I still want him to retain some of that immature bravado and naivety around Claire, but some of his scenes from the original will be changed significantly, most notably where he makes a move on Claire whilst she is asleep. That would not go down well today. He is another tragic character, and I hope they learn in more about his relationship with his father and the events that saw him brought to Rockfort Island. I’m very keen to see how his relationship with Claire plays out here.”
5. How will Capcom restructure the story?
“I think it’s safe to say the main story beats will remain unchanged but the finer plot points will be significantly changed,” TheBatman says. “We’ve already seen in the teaser that Claire already knows Chris’ location in Europe before she even gets to the island, which is a big change from the original. Capcom has said it wants to make the series feel more connected and cohesive. Audiences are already very familiar with Hunk thanks to Requiem, so it’s logical to have him capture Claire and take her to Rockfort rather than Rodrigo, who can be introduced later. In the original, Hunk trained on Rockfort Island and was there just prior to the events of the game having transported a Tyrant. As he has a reason to be included and is fresh in the memory, why not make him front and center this time out?
“Likewise, Wesker’s story arc ultimately leads to Uroboros, so I expect his role to be expanded and his motivations for acquiring t-veronica to line up more clearly with his desire to cull humanity and leave only the superior behind. Code: Veronica was the first game to dive into the history of Umbrella so that can be expanded. Something like adding references to James Marcus in the files is such an easy thing to do that would immediately strengthen ties to RE Zero.”
Remember, of course, that Resident Evil Zero is also due to get Capcom’s remake treatment. While unannounced, leaks verified by IGN suggest a new version of the prequel will land in 2028, a year after Veronica.
“There is also the opportunity to explain some of the plight Umbrella are in following Raccoon City,” TheBatman concludes. “In the original we had no context for five years until RE4 was released but now we know about the business suspension orders, the Raccoon Trials and their face-off with the government. Adding significant backstory in the three-month gap between Raccoon’s destruction and the events of this game is the perfect opportunity to really connect the wider series.
“We know Claire ultimately joins TerraSave so can her role be adjusted slightly to accommodate this? Perhaps the organisation was established, and she joined prior to the events of RE: Veronica? These kinds of changes can easily be implanted without breaking canon.I also suspect Capcom will find a way to get The Connections into this story. As I mentioned above it could be a case of retconning them to be the rival company, in which case that would by default put them in Resident Evil 4 and strengthen ties to the later games. Unlike Raccoon City, the events of Code: Veronica are quite standalone so there is a lot of flexibility to restructure and remix the storyline whilst still preserving the core events that ensures continuity with the later sequels.”
Wrapping up, TheBatman says he hopes Veronica is used to reveal more about Edward Ashford, the third founding member of Umbrella whose backstory remains relatively unexplored. But for him — and many more fans, most likely — Veronica will provide an even more enticing oppurtunity to feature additional details on Albert Wesker.
The original Resident Evil baddie’s return in Code: Veronica was left somewhat unexplained, with additional detail added later, in Wesker’s Report and Umbrella Chronicles. Could Veronica add more information, and potentially tie the game into a future Resident Evil 5 remake as well? As TheBatman himself says, “the opportunity is certainly there.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
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https://www.ign.com/articles/resident-evil-lore-master-reveals-the-5-burning-questions-veronica-needs-to-answer
Tom Phillips
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