No matter what one calls it, Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil VIII, or whatever else, fans are excited for the next chapter in the franchise. It’s been four years since Resident Evil VII came out and while there have been plenty of spinoffs and remakes, there is nothing like an actual brand new title.
Along with plenty of Resident Evil VIII information, Capcom also shared some news on some related products. They showed a brief snippet of the upcoming Netflix CG movie, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, which stars Leon and Claire after the events of Resident Evil 4. The Division 2 is also getting some items, skins and weapons courtesy of Resident Evil 2. 2021 will be an interesting year for Resident Evil to be sure.
8 The Date And Various Editions
The game will launch on May 7 for PC and PlayStation and Xbox consoles. There will be two extra editions of the game besides the normal $60 version. The Deluxe Edition comes with what is referred to as the Trauma Pack including safe room music, a save device, Chris’ weapon, something called "The Tragedy of Ethan Winters," found footage, and a football looking bobblehead referred to as Mr. Everywhere. That will be $70 compared to the $220 Collector’s Edition which comes with all that stuff, a map, a statue of Chris, a box, art book, and steelbook.
7 The Hero
Ethan Winters returns once again a few years after the events of Resident Evil VII. Why is he visiting this giant castle and the creepy village surrounding it? After the first adventure one would think he would run away, but the big theory here is that Chris took his child. In the trailer, there is baby stuff around the room where Mia and Ethan are talking. Then, later, Chris is holding a baby, who has been confirmed as Rose, which is probably Ethan’s. Along with the standard first-person perspective and weapon set, Ethan can now kick to stun enemies as well as block incoming attacks.
6 Other Characters And Setting
Besides Mia, Rose, Ethan, and Chris making an appearance, there are several other characters of note in the latest trailer. The big baddie seems to be the tall witch-like vampire, Lady Dimitrescu, and the castle is even named Castle Dimitrescu.
The other women are her daughters and it appears as though Lady Dimitrescu serves someone known as Mother Miranda. The bearded fellow with glasses might be a man named Heisenberg whose true affiliation is unknown. Finally, the game takes place in Romania.
5 The Resident Evil 4 Case Returns
Since Resident Evil VII going into the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, the menu system was reformed. It has now been reverted to the case system from Resident Evil 4. That means players will get to play item Tetris all over again for better or worse. There will also be a crafting system for creating herbal remedies, bullets, and who knows what else.
4 The Duke
Another nod to Resident Evil Evil 4 is the return of the merchant. This time he is referred to as the Duke. It is unknown if the two characters are related. He will appear randomly throughout Ethan’s adventure to open up shop on items, crafting recipes, and the ability to customize weapons. The Duke actually commenting on the story will be more than what the previous merchant did, which might be nice to give players some extra story context.
3 What You’re Fighting
This game looks like it will feature a hodgepodge of enemies from the entire Resident Evil series. There are zombie-like creatures in the dungeons. The witch vampires turn into bugs similar to how Marguerite Baker behaves in Resident Evil VII. There are werewolves which were featured in the last trailer from Sony’s Fall showcase, and presumably there will be more coming too. Those are the confirmed enemies at the very least.
2 PS5 Maiden Demo
PS5 owners can now download a demo titled Maiden. The demo is not combat focused and was developed to allow players to explore the beginning section of the castle to take in the beauty of the graphics.
It is separate from Ethan’s campaign but may lead into the game similar to the demos that came out for Resident Evil VII. Capcom did mention a demo will be available for other consoles coming this Spring but did not clarify if it will be the same demo or something new. It could in fact be a "real" demo showcasing Ethan's gameplay.
1 Resident Evil Re:Verse
Similar to the release of the remake for Resident Evil 3, Capcom is putting out another multiplayer spinoff in tandem with the launch of Resident Evil VIII. Anyone who buys the game, whether it be through pre-orders, or on the day of will get access to Resident Evil Re:Verse. It is a four to six player death match scenario featuring various heroes and villains from the series. The strange thing is that is it only being developed for PS4, Xbox One, and PC although it can obviously run on the now current consoles. Another interesting thing about this game is that it will be cel-shaded, a first for the series.