Resident Evil Gaiden is getting an ''unofficial'' fan remake

Even though Resident Evil Gaiden isn't canon, it hasn't stopped a team of enthusiasts from recreating the game in Resident Evil 2 style. According to DSOGaming, modders Andrew Coyte and 3lric have released a new teaser trailer for the project dubbed "Starlight."

The unofficial survival horror game, Project Starlight, uses the RE 2 engine to improve Resident Evil Gaiden (which was published on the Game Boy Color in 2001).

This not only converts Gaiden's pixel graphics to 3D polygons, but also adds more traditional gameplay aspects that were sacrificed on the Nintendo's portable device. Based on what we have seen so far, it does an excellent job of recreating the Resident Evil look.

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Gaiden, an underappreciated game, evolving into a more typical Resident Evil game

The game introduced significant adjustments to the series' survival horror concept due to the limitations of its initial platform, at least when compared to Sony's PlayStation and Sega's Dreamcast, both of which the RE franchise called home at the time.

For example, much of the game is played from a top-down perspective, while zombie fights are staged as pseudo-rhythm-based first-person interactions.

Capcom engaged the expertise of now-defunct UK developer M4 to bring the game to life, with series veterans Shinji Mikami and Hiroki Kato overseeing the project, the latter of whom was fresh off directing RE: Code Veronica in 2000.

The storyline, written by Kato, follows series veterans Leon Kennedy and Barry Burton as they investigate a zombie outbreak on a ship called the Starlight, thus the remake's codename. Exploring regions, collecting things, and defeating foes are all part of the game, which has three playable characters.

Unlike previous installments in the series, the game uses a top-down view of the landscape sections before switching to a first-person combat mode with a reticle that moves to the left and right as you approach an adversary. While the reticle is in the range of the adversary, the player must hit the action button to attack.

Despite the fact that the game is considered non-canon, with subsequent games overlooking or outright rejecting portions of its plot, some of Gaiden's narrative beats were recycled for RE: Revelations in 2012.

A prior effort by the same team behind Project Starlight to remake the game failed last year, owing to artistic disputes, but not before some 3D assets were created. Let's hope this exciting revival, which has a "coming soon" release date, avoids the same fate.