Resident Evil Village has a Resident Evil 4-style inventory and merchant
First gameplay of the next Resident Evil looks familiar (in good ways)
Capcom premiered first gameplay from
Resident Evil Village, the eighth main entry in the survival horror franchise, during its Resident Evil Showcase on Thursday, giving fans a glimpse at the direct sequel to
Resident Evil 7 biohazard. It appears that
Village will be heavily influenced by another game in the franchise, the beloved
Resident Evil 4, based on its setting, characters, and inventory system.
While
Village will retain the first-person perspective of
RE7 — and its protagonist, Ethan Winters — the sequel is dripping with
RE4 vibes, from its village setting to its quirky in-game merchant. Here’s what we learned about
Resident Evil Village today, based on a new trailer and a brief gameplay segment.
ETHAN RETURNS
We’ve known that Ethan Winters, the everyman hero of
RE7, will return for
Village. Now we know why: He’s searching for his kidnapped daughter. And it appears Resident Evil veteran Chris Redfield may be … behind that kidnapping? Ethan must make his way from the surrounding village to the similarly spooky castle, where a Giant Vampire Mom (real name: Lady Dimitrescu) and her man-bloodthirsty vampiric daughters reside.
Ethan will have plenty of weapons at his disposal, like pistols, shotguns, and rifles. He can also act defensively, guarding against melee attacks similar to
Resident Evil 7.
BIG RESIDENT EVIL 4 VIBES
Resident Evil 4-style inventory-management-Tetris returns to the franchise. Players will also be able to craft items like first aid kits and ammunition.
But it’s the mutated villagers and creepy castle of
Village that feel a lot like we’re stepping back into the world of
Resident Evil 4. The castle of
Village is incredibly detailed and ornately decorated, and seemingly run by an evil, cultish family, with the mysterious Mother Miranda at the very top. The decaying and dilapidated house of
RE7 is gone;
Village brings back that classic Resident Evil mansion atmosphere, with suits of armor, marble statues, and an ostentatious foyer that will likely serve as your entry point into the castle.
Image: Capcom
Village will also bring back a merchant character. This one’s named The Duke. According to producer Pete Fabiano, The Duke will buy and sell weapons and other supplies. He’s “an interesting fella,” Fabiano says, and will show up throughout the course of the game — seemingly protected from vampire threats by cloves of garlic.
FRANCHISE STAPLES
Resident Evil Village doesn’t appear to have traditional zombie-like characters. Instead, the threats appear to be inspired by werewolves and vampires, with the occasional El Gigante-sized giant villager with a mean-looking hammer.
Players will also have to destroy sundry vases and decorative objects with their trusty knife to find supplies (green herbs, etc.) hidden throughout the castle. Players will also have to keep an eye peeled for collectibles. Like the Mr. Everywhere statues of
RE7 and Mr. Raccoon figures of
Resident Evil 2, tiny wooden goats will be strewn throughout the village and castle, eager to drain your limited ammo supply.
Here’s what else Capcom announced today:
Resident Evil Village will be
released worldwide on May 7, 2021, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE
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