Summary
- The Resident Evil franchise has had a variety of memorable villains, but none have been as iconic as Albert Wesker, who has a unique blend of charm and menace.
- Wesker's portrayal in Resident Evil 5 solidified his legacy as a campy and over-the-top antagonist, and this version of the character has become the standard that fans expect.
- The recent Separate Ways DLC for Resident Evil 4 Remake has raised concerns about the upcoming Resident Evil 5 Remake's portrayal of Wesker, as it seems to lack the charismatic and cheesy qualities that made him so compelling in the original game.
Every good franchise needs a good villain, and thankfully, Resident Evil has its fair share of them. A franchise that sees players go up against hordes of the undead, brainwashed villagers, an array of mutated monsters, and even werewolves, Resident Evil has no shortage of horrifying foes to throw at the player, but by far its most compelling adversaries are those who play a much larger role in the series' overall story.
Over the last 27 years, the Resident Evil franchise has brought a good few overarching villains to the table. While a handful of these have been a tad forgettable, the vast majority of Resident Evil's main antagonists have been immediately iconic. From Resident Evil 2's Mr X to Resident Evil 3's Nemesis, including the likes of Resident Evil 4's Lord Saddler and Resident Evil Village's Lady Dimitrescu, the series has seen plenty of excellent villains in its time, but even they don't hold a candle to Resident Evil's Albert Wesker, whose upcoming iteration has some big shoes to fill.
Resident Evil 5 Remake's Albert Wesker Can't Stray Too Far From the Original
In it from the very beginning, Albert Wesker made his debut in 1996's Resident Evil, where he worked alongside the rest of S.T.A.R.S.' Bravo team to secure Spencer Mansion. Of course, Wesker reveals himself to be a double agent towards the end of the game and injects himself with a version of the T-Virus that saves him from a near-fatal stab wound from the Tyrant B.O.W. He was tasked with waking. Though Wesker's first appearance is a great one, the character didn't really solidify his legacy until Resident Evil 5.
Though he'd crop up occasionally in games like Resident Evil: Code Veronica and Resident Evil 4, Albert Wesker's most iconic portrayal comes from Resident Evil 5. Taking on the role of the game's primary antagonist, Resident Evil 5's Albert Wesker is perfectly campy and ridiculous. With a strange faux-British-American accent, Wesker is a blend of smarmy and intimidating. Though RE5's Wesker is capable of committing some heinous acts, he's also lovably cheesy and over-the-top.
It's this cocky and weirdly charming version of Wesker that's gone on to inform just about every iteration of the villain since, whether it's Resident Evil's own animated spinoff movies or Wesker's crossover appearances in games like Dead by Daylight. This is the version of Albert Wesker that fans now expect to see in the franchise, and it's going to be a tough job for the next Resident Evil remake to try and live up to it - and from what fans have seen so far, it's not looking all that great for Wesker in the near future.
In Resident Evil 4 Remake, fans got a brief tease of this new iteration of Wesker during the game's post-credits. Though he only really said one or two lines, fans were a little worried that this new version of Wesker might come off as a little generic. Unfortunately, the recently released Separate Ways DLC essentially confirms that theory. Though the character model certainly looks the part, Wesker's portrayal in Separate Ways left a lot to be desired. While this new version of Wesker retains the cool factor from past iterations, it loses practically all of its cheesy charm, with Wesker's new voice coming across as just generically gruff. If Resident Evil 5 Remake wants to deliver the best Wesker portrayal it can, then it needs to just embrace the personality that made him such a compelling villain in the original Resident Evil.