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Leon’s New Nemesis in Resident Evil Wields Grammar, Not Grenades
- Image from Resident Evil Requiem courtesy of Capcom

Duo, the mutated green owl mascot of language platform Duolingo, previously developed an online reputation as a maladjusted psycho, thanks to the survival-horror series Resident Evil. Earlier this summer, the company’s CEO, Luis von Ahn, declared that the company would prioritize artificial intelligence, subsequently draining much of the mascot’s perceived fun. Conversely, the iconic zombie game stands out as a video game franchise exceptionally well-suited to themes of rotten corporate horror. Therefore, did developer Capcom decide to offer Duo a second chance at life, albeit jokingly, by recasting him as a biological weapon within its universe?

Capcom Outsources Terror to Duolingo’s Green Menace

Highlighted by an Automaton report, the official Resident Evil brand account recently dropped a post on Twitter. Specifically, it features an image depicting an abnormally muscular version of Duo edited into the remake. According to the account, this enhanced Duo as a new biological weapon, commanding it to spread language learning across the globe. Meanwhile, the Japanese Duolingo account responded directly to this particular tweet.

The post contains an image showing the buff Duo integrated into the Resident Evil 2 remake. Specifically, the picture shows the villain Mr. X wearing the iconic infected fedora atop his oversized head. In this image, a sullen Leon Kennedy stands in front of the imposing owl figure looming behind him. Furthermore, Duo confronts Leon, questioning whether the protagonist has neglected his daily language lesson, according to Automaton’s translation.

Duolingo Owl Transforms Into Resident Evil Nightmare

Leon’s delinquency is seemingly confirmed by posting an image depicting him slowly trudging through a Spanish lesson on his iPhone. Given this effort, Kennedy may find an assist in communicating with the decaying villagers encountered during the events of Resident Evil 4. However, Leon’s attempt at language study continues to have Duo entirely unappeased. Consequently, the oversized owl mascot makes another appearance in another image in the game.

This time, however, Duo is positioned directly in front of the iconic Raccoon City police station. So, how was the mascot able to pinpoint Leon’s workplace location? Furthermore, the owl declared its intention to pursue Leon relentlessly wherever he goes. Moreover, it vowed to chase Leon until the universal English language capability allows everyone to play Resident Evil. Notably, this superficially cute joke from the mascot was represented in this promotional threat. Now, it aims to disclose the significant environmental impact associated with the owl’s constant global pursuit to the public, revealing its substantial carbon footprint.

RE4‘s Genius AI Outsmarts Modern Chatbots Easily

As of today, artificial intelligence has been embraced by numerous gaming companies, including Microsoft, EA, and Valve. Consequently,  severe layoffs and cost reductions are fervently or actively implemented, specifically to fund generative AI initiatives. Furthermore, this technological pursuit is possible due to the significant sacrifices, diverted resources, and personnel of these companies. Given the artificial intelligence in Resident Evil 4 gameplay, did the industry already achieve peak AI performance over two decades ago in what’s considered the best game in the horror franchise?

Former Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi proudly informed IGN about the revolutionary shooter’s enemy behavior during E3 2004, specifically highlighting their weapon use and game mechanics. During the discussion, Kobayashi emphasized the enemy intelligence, noting that the infected villagers. Specifically, they can flank maneuvers despite decaying brains, approaching from all sides and rear positions to overwhelm the player. Additionally, the producer elaborated that these enemies behave like thinking individuals, persistently seeking alternative attack routes if initially blocked.

Resident Evil Slaughters AI Hype With 2004 Tech

This reactive enemy logic, deliberately crafted by Kobayashi’s description, starkly contrasts with the often-unreliable generative AI dominating current corporate strategy. Despite generative AI’s proven limitations in terms of true creativity and its tendency toward nonsensical outputs, modern executives mistakenly push these tools to replace human innovation. That’s why gaming companies should leave complex tasks to capable humans, instead of focusing on destructive layoffs and misguided machine commitments. Perhaps, they should outsource to proven entities like Duo due to its relentless language enforcement, which ironically demonstrates more focused purpose with its own mascot than most generative AI implementations.

This article first appeared on Total Apex Gaming and was syndicated with permission.

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