Summer Game Fest 2026 is THIS WEEK and has the potential to absolutely DESTROY me. I’m talking “death due to the intensity and inability to control one’s bodily fluids including but not limited to saliva, tears and sweat resulting from extreme and uncontrollable excitement and exhilaration.”
Aaaaallllll because of two unconfirmed titles that don’t exist beyond what PR likes to call, “rumors and speculation.” The first game is the fabled Ocarina of Time remake. The second, and the one I’m talking about today, is the “rumored” Code Veronica remake. Sure, I’m using the word rumored, buuut if we’re being TOTALLY transparent, by now a *lot* of us have known about its existence for years. It’s always been a matter of when, not if, nahm’sayin? And you know what? My loins speak to me, and they tell me this is the year.
SooOOooOoOO…*rubs hands together* when a Code Veronica remake is announced this week (yeah I’m feeling froggy) here are some of the things I’d like to see revamped. And yeah, I know the chance of learning a lot of this from a reveal trailer is smaller than Wesker’s…kindness bone…BUT LET A GIRL LIVE.
***Resident Evil: Code Veronica spoilers below!***
STEVE STEVE STEVE
Okay here’s the thing. Steve is…Steve. Yes, his voice fluctuation is atrocious. His personality is all over the place. He’s immature, whiny, and OH BOY does he need to get a grip on those hormones. He’s also 17. Which, hey, most 17-year-olds are kinda…y’know. Their brains are undercooked. And I get that you could try to blame his annoying “tendencies” on the fact that HE’S STILL A BABY, but, nah, Steve just wasn’t written well.
Believe it or not, when I played Code: Veronica X in 2001 I really liked Junior Burnside. Could that be because I was 13 and also undercooked? MAYBE. (It wasn’t until I revisited Code Veronica years later that I began looking at him a little sideways. Okay, a lot sideways. Consent, Steve. Learn what it means.) Either way I do think he has potential. He just needs a dramatic makeover. I mean, keep the 90s hair and camo pants, whatever, but the way he interacts and responds to the characters and events around him needs an overhaul. And I’m BEGGING for a narrative heavy segment where we play as Steve for an extended period of time, ideally reliving his first few days on Rockfort Island.
Claire in Paris
We all remember that opening cutscene – the one where Claire somehow incredibly outsprints a helicopter while trying to escape an Umbrella facility in Paris? (I still think it’s a badass scene, as outrageous as it is.) It’s always bothered me, though, that we know like close to NOTHING about this facility or how she even got there. I want to know more! Why did she think Chris was there? What did she learn? The entire thing just feels so disjointed from the rest of the story. I would LOVE more context for this bizarre opening.
Returning to Rockfort Island as Chris
This should’ve been one of the coolest, most kickass moments of Code Veronica.
Picture this: we, the players, just stepped into the shoes of Chris Redfield. Like, THE Chris Redfield, as he lands on a battered Rockfort Island after it (kinda?) self-destructed earlier in the story. Our objective? To search for his darling-and-just-as-badass-sister Claire. There’s just one problem: Chris doesn’t know Claire has already fled the scene. Babygirl is LONG gone. So, sure, it’s kind of a waste of time, but that’s okay, because, well, we’re motherfuckin’ Chris Redfield, and ALSO the fortress went BOOOOM and surely that event unearthed a whole bunch of new stuff! New enemies! Threats! Locations! BRING ON THE PUZZLES! LET ME PUNCH LOTS OF THINGS! WE’RE CHRIS REDFIELD TESTOSTERONE RAHHHHHH!!!
Sadly Chris’ segment in Rockfort Island has all the excitement of a wet soggy paper plate. It’s repetitive. Boring. As far as new things to do or see, ehhhhh, let’s just say your brain won’t be stimulated. But why is it like this?! Again, this place was supposedly blown to shit, so that’s the perfect chance to add some, y’know, spice to the section. Flair. I’m sure it probably had something to do with budget/time constraints back in the day, but narratively it’s arguably the weakest spot of the story. So please, Resident Evil Gods, make me feel something when we attempt round two.
Rodrigo
Sure, our first meeting doesn’t go ENTIRELY well and he, like, captures Claire and stuff, but Rodrigo redeems himself by giving Claire a shot at survival even as a certain blonde red-eyed asshole leads an assault on Rockfort Island. SURELY THAT HAS TO COUNT FOR SOMETHING. For real though, I’ve always been intrigued by this dude. Why did he have a change of heart? Did he even want to capture Claire? What specific orders was he following? Or am I just a sucker for a man in a white t-shirt?
Etc.
It goes without saying, but there are a TON of quality of life improvements we have to see in Code Veronica. Ya know, improved checkpointing, better boss encounters, ensuring one cannot ruin their playthrough due to lack of proper items and ammunition *screams*. But because we currently reside in the year of our lord Kiryu Kazuma’s 2026 and games are designed SO differently these days, I’m not worried about those original issues carrying over.
ANYWAY, there’s so much hype to be harvested this week. If you hear something that sounds like a murder coming from the theater at Summer Game Fest, it’s probably just me. NBD.
