Many players were excited for the official announcement trailer for Resident Evil 8. While this trailer left many questions for fans and players alike, one of the biggest questions is in how this title will tie into Resident Evil titles other than Resident Evil 7.
With Resident Evil 8 also being known as Resident Evil Village or Resident Evil 8: Village, there is one main series title that many Resident Evil players were reminded of immediately. This would be Resident Evil 4. Many fans are expecting a remake of Resident Evil 4 considering the success of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3's recent remakes, as well as recent reports of it being a 2021 title. However, Resident Evil's newest title may directly tie into the game's events sooner than that.
The Village's Location
As can be gleamed from the title, the village in Resident Evil 8 will prove to be incredibly important to the events of the full game. However, there isn't much known about the village from the trailer alone. One of these important details is the village's location.
In Resident Evil 4, the start of the game had Leon Kennedy go through a village run by the Los Iluminados cult in Spain that help kick off the events of the rest of the game. While the village shown in the trailer for Resident Evil 8 was definitely not the same village, the two villages might be connected if this new village is also in Spain.
The residents in Resident Evil 4's village were infected with a dangerous parasite known as the Las Plagas. It could be possible that the villagers except for the old man with a shotgun shown in the trailer could have a similar parasite in Resident Evil 8. It could also be possible that the werewolf-like transformation or mutation shown in the trailer could be the result of a parasite or a mutation of one that could trigger such a transformation.
Because of the Las Plagas being parasites that take over the mind and body of the host, a modified version of it infecting Chris Redfield could be an explanation for his surprising actions seen at the end of the Resident Evil 8 trailer as well. After all, it is not outside the realm of possibility for the parasites to be experimented on to be used for mind control purposes.
Leon and/or Ada's Return
With the remake of Resident Evil 2, many people were reminded of the fantastic dynamics between Leon Kennedy and Ada Wong. As both end up returning in Resident Evil 4, it could be possible for them to have to step in for the events of Resident Evil 8 as well.
Ada's return could actually have a connection to Resident Evil 7's Mia Winters. With Ada being a spy hired by a rival to Umbrella and Mia having history for working for the criminal group known as The Connections, the two may have crossed paths before. Considering Mia's fate at the end of the Resident Evil 8 trailer, a connection to Ada could create interesting interactions with both Chris and Ethan during the game.
With Leon, he could've been sent to go along with Chris for the events of the game and could end up having sections of his own similar to the Mia section in Resident Evil 7. Leon additionally could have his own DLC story similar to Chris in Resident Evil 7 as well. However, if there is a connection to the Las Plagas, Ada and Leon seem like the best to investigate what is happening. Besides, the return of these two would sure make fans happy to see them, especially if there is no Ashley to tote around and protect in the meantime.
Connection to Los Iluminados
Los Iluminados is a cult that was based in Resident Evil 4's village that was centered around the Las Plagas parasites. This cult worked together with Umbrella with the plan to infect the U.S. President's daughter with the Las Plagas so that the parasite could spread to the higher-ups in the American government, allowing for a full takeover.
While seemingly stopped at the end of Resident Evil 4, members of Los Iluminados popped up again during the events of Resident Evil: Vendetta with plans to launch a terror attack on New York, but this was stopped as well. There is no way of knowing if Los Iluminados has been completely stopped or if there are branches still out in the world. Considering that the majority of the village in Resident Evil 8 as seen in the trailer seems to be hostile, they could be united by a cult like Los Iluminados.
Going back to the idea that the werewolf-like transformation was a result of a parasite similar to Las Plagas, this cult could intend to spread this parasite like in the events of Resident Evil 4. However, considering that would be too predictable, it may be more personal in that they want to infect all those who've gone against Umbrella and Los Iluminados in the past. This once again could explain why Chris was seen brutally shooting Mia in the head at the end of the trailer, and with OG Umbrella teased to return, it would be a good way to connect all the dots.
If Los Iluminados has returned, they may in fact be more dangerous than ever before considering the amount of years they've had to recover between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 8. They likely have new members and more advanced usages of the Las Plagas parasite. Considering that there are still plenty of evil organizations that want to create bio-weapons to sell even after the end of Umbrella, Los Iluminados could have even more allies that provide more than Umbrella did.
Of course, everything outside of what is confirmed in the trailer is up to fan speculation. Nothing will be known for sure until another trailer drops or until the full game is released in 2021. Either way, there are a lot of mysteries to unpack and plenty of time to create theories and wish lists for what players want to see in this new Resident Evil title. Hopefully, this one will provide just as many, if not more, scares and thrills as Resident Evil 7.
Resident Evil Village is in development and set to release on the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X in 2021.