Resident Evil 6 Spoilers: Will Jake Muller Headline Resident Evil 7?

With endings of Resident Evil 6 now revealed, there was detail that was particularly striking. Every character had an open ended conclusion to their particular campaign, but one character got featured in more than one: Jake.

At the end of Ada's campaign, the epilogue shifts to what looks like a Middle Eastern Country as we are introduced to a young boy in a turban. There are some monsters coming in his direction and suddenly another hooded figure arrives. They speak of an ambiguous promise in which the boy gives the mysterious man an apple. The man steps outside to face the monster and the boy asks him if he will hold up his end of the deal. The man whips off his cloak and is revealed to be Jake who states "Fair is fair kid." Then he runs into battle.

What makes this epilogue particularly telling is the region, the monsters, and Jake. A shift to the Middle East may add some interesting story developments. Capcom seems to be unafraid of experimenting with new locations as they have explored Spain (RE 4), Africa (RE5), and now China in RE 6. The monsters are highly reminiscent of the hunters from the original Resident Evil which would add an interesting dimension to the game.

But the real question that would arise is what kind of game could Capcom create with Jake as their main character? As evidenced in his final fight with the Usatank, Jake has some Wesker-like agility and if these fast hunters are to be main enemies in the game, speed will be a major factor. Guns will likely be a part of the game, but considering how fast and potent Wesker was mano-a-mano, why not try the same thing with his offspring? Capcom has never shied away from experimenting with their beloved franchise as they have tried first person shooters in the past (to poor results). They already included some melee attacks in RE6 which indicates that they are definitely considering giving their characters ways to fight the undead besides guns and explosives. Jake seems like a logical choice to try out a new style of gameplay that relies more on melee moves and less on guns. Maybe it could be something more in line with what Konami is trying with their next Metal Gear Solid. While this could draw the ire of fans this may be a direction Capcom is looking at trying out.

What do you think? Should Jake be the next protagonist of a Resident Evil game? And should Capcom emphasize a more melee oriented gameplay with Jake? Are you okay with Capcom trying to move the gameplay in a different direction?