Resident Evil Village: Everything we know

Sharpen your menu organizing skills, because Resident Evil is back in first person, full of twists, turns, and horrifying bio-mutated baddies.

Resident Evil Village's creepy first trailer was revealed at the Sony PlayStation 5 event back on June 11th, 2020. It's the eighth game in the series, but the number isn't included in the official title, drawing more attention to the mysterious setting of the game (you can still see the roman numeral VIII highlighted in the logo, though).

Capcom is combining elements of previous Resident Evil installments to craft this next generation game, and boy does it look weird, perplexing, and fun (poor Chris Redfield, unfortunately, does not look like he's having fun). Until Capcom decides to give us more tidbits of info, here is everything we know about Resident Evil Village.

Here's the Resident Evil Village reveal trailer 

Turn off your lights, get comfortable, and check out the Resident Evil Village announcement trailer. It's a stressful, action-packed three minute teaser that features a bedtime story, an old man with a shotgun, and... a gritty Chris Redfield???  

Wait, that's Chris Redfield? What's going on? 

There's a lot to sift through with this one; it is rife with fan theory potential. Ominous text flashes at the start reading "His story comes to a close." It's not confirmed who "He" is, or how his story is going to close. The trailer could be referring to Chris, who shows up at the end looking pretty unhappy. Or it could reference Ethan Winters, the protagonist of Resident Evil 7, who seems to be returning as the main character in Resident Evil 8. The teaser leaves a lot of questions about what kind of story Capcom is going to tell, and how the previous game's protagonists will play into it.

There's also a developer message video hosted by producers Tsuyoshi Kanda and Peter Fabiano that gives more insight into everything shown in the announcement trailer. 

What's the setting for Resident Evil Village? 

It may come as a surprise, but Resident Evil Village will in fact take place in a village.

It's a gothic, snowy place with beasts, betrayal, and people just trying to survive. The special developer message trailer showed off the inventory system which seems to have a currency component (spot the Romanian "Lei" in the top right corner of the menu). This means that there could be another merchant in this game, and that this cursed village is somewhere in Romania. 

There was also a ritzy mansion showcased in that trailer, which brings back memories of the Spencer Mansion from the first Resident Evil. It all looks extremely clean running on the same RE Engine that was used to produce the Resident Evil 2 and 3, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, and Devil May Cry 5.

How is Resident Evil 8 connected to previous Resident Evil games? 

It takes place a couple years after Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, focusing on the stories of Ethan and Mia Winters after they busted out of that plantation, ran away from the twisted Baker family, and finally settled down. It's not entirely clear why or how, but Chris Redfield, a playable character from the first Resident Evil who has since become a recurring part of the series, has decided to take on an antagonistic role and uproot them from their happy life. It's seemingly a pretty huge character change.

Redfield is beefier and more brooding than in the past, and in the trailer he stands menacingly above Winters and before shooting a woman multiple times on the floor. We have no idea why Redfield has no chill in Resident Evil Village—it seems like whatever's going on, it'll be both messy and intriguing. 

A symbol of what looks like a fetus/face mashup with twigs and feathers was sprinkled through the trailers, and there's already a lot of fan speculation as to its meaning. Capcom wants people to "pay extra close attention to this one," because it is likely an important part of the game, and could possibly have a connection to the Umbrella Corporation (whose logo was also flashed in the trailer, surrounded by mysterious crests).

How will it play? 

It's a first-person survival horror game that seems like it will play similarly to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, with more of a focus on action elements. Ethan Winters is one of the least combat-trained protagonists of the series, so you'll likely have to be clever and careful to get out of harm's way in the village.

Who are the enemies? 

Chris Redfield doesn't look like he's trying to be your friend in this game, but it's still vague on where his morality and objectives are, and how much of an antagonist he will be. 

As for other enemies, it looks like the village has a large population of half-wolf people that do not come to play. These creatures look quick, and could be part of how the game leans more into action. One of them busts through a ceiling and grabs an old dude from the lower floor with one swift arm movement. These guys are gonna be a doozy. If you pause the trailer at the right time you can see a significantly larger man(?) jumping at the camera while wielding a giant hammer. Advice: Stay away from that one if you can.

A band of Victorian vampire women are seen draining Winters' blood briefly during the trailer. They can seemingly control a swarm of bugs too. There are a lot of peculiar and new enemies in this game, and that has me curious about what kind of freaky bio-experiments are going on here.

It's ambiguous as to whether or not a couple more notable characters that we've seen are friends or foes. One is an elderly woman adorned with beads, a staff, and an unnerving smile. The other one is a gruff man with a cowboy hat and some cool circular sunglasses. Let's be friends, guy.