Capcom Takes Resident Evil Back to the Village

It was only eight years ago when the Resident Evil franchise was lost in a pitch-black wilderness. Resident Evil 6 sold well enough for Capcom when it released in 2012, but the game itself was an unfocused mess that garnered a divisive critical reception. The subsequent Resident Evil Revelations 2 was much improved, but the budget and lack of a more definitive number in the title made it clear it was more of a side project.

They appeared to have found the direction they wanted to settle on with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, which returned to the franchise’s roots by reintroducing survival horror elements, albeit from a first-person viewpoint (a plan proposed for the original Resident Evil). Initial sales for RE7 were below prior games, but they increased over time thanks to good word of mouth. Resident Evil Village, the newest mainline game in the series (note how the first four words in “Village” form the Roman numeral VIII), is proof they’re sticking with this.

Village is directly following the footsteps of its predecessor by starring the exact same protagonist, Ethan Winters, something unusual for the series. I’m surprised at the attention they’re giving to one of the physically weaker main characters in the franchise, compared to the likes of Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy, but the attraction of having a “normal” guy again was too great after how well RE7 performed. The game will take place in a snow-caped village that resembles a location in Romania, and follow Ethan’s quest to figure out why Chris made a series of vaguely-defined sinister moves that might involve his wife, Mia Winters.

It was clear through earlier trailers that this game is taking a staggering amount of inspiration from Resident Evil 4 in its setting, and that couldn’t have been clearer after the recent gameplay demonstration. For a while, I’ve found it unfortunate and peculiar that Capcom had yet to make another game that followed behind RE4, a game that maintained solid horror elements and atmosphere while being notably more actionized. Resident Evil 5 and 6 were primarily co-op experiences which didn’t contain atmospheres driven by the feeling of solitude. The Revelations games still saddled their main characters partners despite being single-player games. RE7 channeled RE1 more, but it’s clear this is the successor I’ve been waiting for.

The setting this time consists of, at the very least, a village and a castle, just like RE4. The reintroduction of the RE4-style inventory spacing system makes what they’re channeling even clearer. Ethan himself has also learned new tricks since his last outing in the Louisiana bayou, with the ability to at least push enemies back after blocking. But it appears they’re compensating for this by throwing more enemies at the player simultaneously. Survival horror games are not about letting the player be comfortable and confident, and Ethan certainly won’t be kicking and suplexing enemies. It’s an encouraging direction reminiscent of the discarded survival horror RE4 versions.

There’s another big deal about Resident Evil Village — I mean, a BIG deal. Ever since she was teased in the advertisement video for the Resident Evil Showcase, Lady Dimitrescu has been a hit with the online crowd. It’s true that she was previously shown in earlier videos, but those didn’t emphasize just how tall she is. This isn’t just a camera perspective thing, as some screens and scenes had skeptics believe early on; the scene where she needs to duck to enter a door was the first to emphasize how much she towers over the other characters. She also looks down to Ethan in the new trailer, who is not a short guy. It’s no surprise that she was an instant hit to the point that copious amounts of fanart featuring her existed before Capcom revealed her name.

Her height and design are direct references to the Hachishakusama Japanese urban legend, a tale about an eight-foot-tall woman with a deep voice who haunts children. In this case, however, Dimitrescu is after Ethan, though a child is involved.

Helping with the fanbase’s love for Lady Dimitrescu is how RE Village’s trailers have given the impression that it could include light erotic S&M themes. Before you even start jumping to conclusions, let me dispel you of the conclusion that this an example of Straight Male Horny Brain taking over my consciousness. It’s possible the trailers and screens could be playing up the prevalence of this angle, and giving a misleading impression of whether the game will embrace the themes. If it does approach this angle, it will be a first for the RE series; but it would be long overdue considering it’s a genuine approach to horror. If it doesn’t, the fans will do it for them one way or another.

We’ll get a chance up close to see the new and purportedly improved direction Resident Evil Village is going in when it releases on May 7th. The game was announced for current-generation systems and PC initially, but it’s also coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The disappointment about this being a cross-generation game after all isn’t surprising, but I don’t know what to say to anyone who didn’t expect this with most software throughout 2021 and into 2022. A short “Maiden” demo is now available for PS5, though it’s apparently not representative of what the final product will be. The game will arrive in just over three months, so expect plenty more previews from here.

P.S. Capcom also announced this Resident Evil Re:Verse multiplayer deathmatch game. But it doesn’t look that interesting outside of how, well, not-good it looks, so I will not talk about any further. I apologize in advance.