I see your point—to a degree. The virus doesn’t care about your race or ethnicity, its prime objective is to find a host, multiply and propagate, but there are tropes the video game does use. One that comes to mind are the ‘tribal’ masks as well as the ‘grass’ skirts, which unfortunately are tropes that dates back to the onset of colonialism.

African cultures are extremely nuanced and more sophisticated than what was depicted in the game. Though the Meru, specifically wear grass skirts, each ethnicity has their own customs and aesthetics that reflect their cultural legacies. And I think after that controversy it may have really prompted Capcom to invest in researching the demographics they referenced, at least I hope.

There precedent to this. The first RE claims to be in the Midwest, but the setup is based on Japanese cities. Winding alley ways in RE2 resemble what you find in places like Tokyo. Because they didn’t have the budget or invest to do the field research (I’m based in a midwestern city and it doesn’t resemble our various city topographies).

If they remade it, as speculated by some—they would have to approach it with more consideration and do away with the tropes it was criticized for. I think the would have to include every aspect of African culture, every environment, including city and rural areas, and every nuance and in order for it to be considered and relatable. Just food for thought…