We’re Back Following Ethan Winters
If you’ve not been following the announcements surrounding Resident Evil Village — or your timeline was just overwhelmed with people asking to be stepped on by the tall vampire lady (a very real possibility) — then let’s start with the protagonist and a bit of background here.
Ethan Winters was the protagonist of Resident Evil 7, and Village takes place a few years after the events that took place as he visited the Baker family in search of his presumed dead wife, Mia. Turns out she wasn’t and after a long endeavor to seek out the truth and plenty of shooting zombies in the head, both Ethan and Mia are seen extracted to safety by Chris Redfield in an Umbrella helicopter at the end of the game.
With all that behind them, Ethan and Mia are living a happy life in the suburbs, doing their best to forget the horrors they once endured, but… rather inevitably, this doesn’t last long. Their daughter, Rose, is seemingly kidnapped by Chris Redfield and taken to a mysterious European village, and so Ethan follows in pursuit.
What lies in wait within the village, other than the aforementioned tall vampire lady, you’ll have to wait to find out.
It Takes Some Clear Inspiration from Resident Evil 4
While Resident Evil Village may be a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7, it’s heavily inspired by Resident Evil 4, according to director Morimasa Sato.
Speaking in an interview with IGN, Sato explained “If Resident Evil 7 was like a reboot that inherited the DNA of the original Resident Evil, then you could say that this time we’re doing the same for Resident Evil 4. We’ve designed the game and its structure with Resident Evil 4’s essence in mind, so I think that you’ll be able to find a lot of elements that remind you of that game.”
Some of this inspiration is clear, such as the environments. In both Resident Evil 4 and Village, players will be exploring a village (if that somehow wasn’t abundantly clear) and also a castle, similar to the one resided in by Ramon Salazar when Leon Kennedy visited all those years ago.
Then there’s The Duke, a traveling merchant who has weapons and other handy items up for sale. He’s a little chonkier than the highly quotable merchant of Resident Evil 4, but they serve the same purpose. Add on to that the return of the Mercenaries mode, a larger emphasis on combat, and the return of the Tetris-esque inventory management, and there’s a lot of Resi 4 DNA pumping through the mutated veins of Resident Evil Village.
“In the history of the series, I believe that Resident Evil 4 is where the action and combat evolved the most. Interestingly, Resident Evil 4 was also set in a village. For Resident Evil Village, we’re bringing the essence of Resident Evil 4, while Resident Evil 7 functions as the base for the game. It’s not a reboot of Resident Evil 4, but the offspring of both Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 4,” Sato said.
Pre-Ordering Can Get You Some Cool Goodies (and Save You Some Time!)
Who loves Mr. Raccoon? What a silly question, everyone loves the cheeky-looking collectible icon of the series! If you — like us — want to have him accompany you through the village and everything it entails, then pre-ordering either the Standard or Deluxe versions of Resident Evil Village will net you a Mr. Raccoon weapon charm, and a Survival Resource Pack with some useful items for Ethan’s excursion.
If you were looking to download the game digitally and don’t have the speediest of internet connections, pre-ordering from the Xbox or PlayStation digital storefronts will allow you to preload the game ahead of time. Given the game weighs in around 30 GB, a head start is always welcome and can have you ready to kickstart Ethan’s adventure at the strike of midnight on launch day for that super spooky feel.
Infected Aren’t the Only Threat
If you’ve been watching any of Resident Evil Village’s trailers, you’ll have likely spotted by now that it’s not just infected you’re going to be fending off. There are all kinds of different enemies that’ll be hunting Ethan down on his quest to save Rose.
If there’s one thing that’ll be a welcome change from Resident Evil 7, it’ll be more varied enemies. As great as shooting infected was around the Baker residence, things got a little tired towards the end. With Resident Evil Village teasing plenty of enemy variety, the game looks set to take the series in a new direction, and will hopefully keep things feeling fresh right up until you roll the credits.
It’ll (Probably) Take About 10-15 Hours to Beat
If you’ve been a fan of the series for a while now, chances are you’ve already got an idea of how Resident Evil Village’s format. You’ll make your way through a series of distinctly different areas taking on increasingly more powerful enemies and solving fun little puzzles along the way.
This format almost always — as can be seen by a quick search of How Long to Beat — clocks in at somewhere between the 10-15 hour mark. Resident Evil 7 was around 8-12 hours, Resident Evil 2 was around 8-10 hours, Resident Evil 6 12-16 hours… you get the picture.
The Multiplayer Mode RE: Verse Won’t Be Live on Friday
While there isn’t an option to have someone accompany Ethan Winters as he ventures to this creepy corner of Europe in Resident Evil Village, there is a multiplayer Resident Evil game coming at some point this year.
Resident Evil: RE Verse allows players to play as characters from across the Resident Evil universe in a fast-paced environment quite unlike what you get in your typical single-player Resi campaign. It’s not linked to the story in Village, similar to the standalone Resident Evil Resistance multiplayer title that released alongside Resident Evil 3 Remake.
Though no official launch window for the game was announced when it was first revealed, Capcom has clarified that, unfortunately, Resident Evil RE: Verse won’t launch alongside Resident Evil Village on Friday. Instead, it’ll launch sometime in “Summer 2021.”
Everyone Loves a Legit Vampire & One of the Game’s Antagonists
Okay, maybe you didn’t need us to tell you… in fact, you definitely didn’t need us to tell you. But just to make doubly sure you do know. Everyone loves Lady Dimitrescu.
Is it because of that deep red lipstick she absolutely works? Possibly. Is it the enormous claw-like nails we’ve seen her sporting? Maybe. Or is it the fact she’s 9’6”? This is probably the most significant factor.
The most likely answer is it’s a combination of all of these things. Lady Dimitrescu’s just such an original and intriguing antagonist, and while she’ll (presumably) play second fiddle to Mother Miranda as the ultimate big bad, she’s most definitely going to show up on your social timelines far more.
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