Players delve into the darkest corners of survival horror in Resident Evil Village, the long-awaited continuation of Ethan Winter's story in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. This time, Capcom revisits a more gothic style similar to Resident Evil 4, with eerie castles accentuated against a backdrop of misty mountaintops.

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There is an array of new characters in the creation of a distinctly Transylvanian-style terror in Resident Evil Village. But whether familiar or unacquainted, all characters embody details that can often go unnoticed or undiscovered completely.

Updated November 17th, 2021 by Russ Boswell: Although many players have already been through Resident Evil Village, the title is likely to see a lot of new faces around the Holidays as it was easily one of the best titles to release in 2021. With it came an array of incredible Resident Evil Village characters, many of which have interesting backstories and abilities. To give new (and returning) players a better look at the Resident Evil Village characters and all they have to offer, the following list has been updated and now includes additional entries.

[WARNING: Spoilers for Resident Evil Village below]

13 Donna Beneviento Doesn't Seem As Mutated As Her Counterparts

Resident Evil Village Donna Beneviento's Doll

Of all the boss battles in Resident Evil Village, the struggle against Donna Beneviento seems the "easiest." After all, players don't struggle much with the sinister doll maker and instead tangle with her demented toy, Angie. The battle itself is a dangerous game of hide-and-seek, forcing players to search through the Beneviento home while avoiding an array of other dolls. Once players manage to find Angie (three times), Donna Beneviento herself is revealed.

Although many players were likely expecting to tussle with a mutated Cadou-infested creature (as they'd done earlier with Lady Dimitrescu) they were instead treated to a cut-scene where Ethan makes quick work of Donna. It seems that, although she was "altered," Donna wasn't infected in the same manner as her counterparts. Perhaps Ethan put her down before she had the ability to transform, or maybe Donna simply lacked the means to elevate into something else.

In new characters such as vampiric Lady Dimitrescu, or staples like Chris Redfield, there are countless details that players may or may not be aware of. This adds to the mysterious aura of the most daunting Resident Evil game to date.

12 Lady Dimitrescu Was Based On A Real-Life Serial Killer

resident evil village can you kill lady dimitrescu

Usually opting for lab-grown zombies, Capcom introduces Lady Alcina Dimitrescu who embodies a more ancestral classic vampire design. In escaping how typical vampiric characters have always been portrayed, art directors took ideas for her design from an array of concepts. One inspiration source for the 9'6 toweringly bewitching vampire Lady Dimitrescu was drawn from real-life 16th Century Hungarian noblewoman and serial killer, Countess Elizabeth Báthory.

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Born in Transylvania in 1560, Báthory was infamous for the murder of servants and peasants alike, but her title made her intangible. Báthory's bloodthirsty activities, which she believed would stop her aging, led her to become cited as one of the first vampires in history. Like Báthory, Lady Dimitrescu feeds on the blood of her victims because she relies on vampirism for sustenance. Lady Dimitrescu quenches her thirst, however, by drinking her homemade blood-laden wine, Sanguis Virginis.

11 Mia Winters Was a Researcher in Bio-Weaponry

Players may not know that Mia Winters was a secret member of "The Connections", an immoral crime organization shrouded in secrecy. The Connections specialize in the production of bio-weaponry. Players may be unaware of her affiliation with bioweapons as she actively hides it from Ethan until he rescues her in the Dulvey incident.

The countless pieces of information able to be collected in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard made it somewhat difficult to decipher Mia's origins. However, players know that she was born in 1984 and lived in Texas until some time during the 2000s before her marriage to Ethan. With careful attention paid to collected notes and cutscenes, Mia's background detail in bio-weaponry and the transportation of the bioweapon that infected her (Evaline) becomes unveiled.

10 Lady Dimitrescu's Height Was The Result of Parasite "Cadou"

resident evil village lady dimitrescu height comparison

One impressive detail about Lady Dimitrescu is that the "Cadou" parasite accelerated her already present blood disease and granted her the ability to heal wounds. Its regenerative properties also granted her toweringly imposing 9'6 stature.

Resident Evil Village's files reveal all about Megamycete, Mold, and Cadou parasite. All three are interlinked, though its essential source, Megamycete, is the substance initially responsible for infecting people with a disease. Mother Miranda, the game's main villain, discovered Megamycete after wandering into a cave, grief-stricken from her daughter's death. After experimenting with samples of its mold to find a way to revive her daughter, she infected various subjects including Lady Dimitrescu.

9 Mother Miranda Had Connections with Umbrella's Spencer

Oswell E Spencer Resident Evil 5 Closeup

The ending of Resident Evil Village reveals an interesting detail about Mother Miranda, the overarching villain in Resident Evil Village. She is an enigmatic figure worshipped by the villagers and her looming existence feels somewhat omnipresent. The end of Village sheds light on her correspondence with Oswell E. Spencer, a virologist and one of the founders of Umbrella Pharmaceuticals. Most notably the owner of Spencer Mansion in the original Resident Evil, Spencer's viral research would later plague the world with bioterrorism.

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When Chris Redfield infiltrates Mother Mirander's lab, notes shed light on Mother Miranda and Spencer's acquaintance. At some point during his research, Spencer stumbled upon the village and met Miranda. At this point, she was experimenting with Megamycete samples to resurrect her daughter. As Spencer desired to use this knowledge to achieve his human evolutionist goal, Miranda became his "teacher".

8 Donna Can Actively Spread Cadou

Heisenberg is capable of manipulating metal and other objects and it seems that Donna has a similar power over Cadou itself. Players that enter her mansion are immediately wrought with strange hallucinations and "mental warfare" from the doll maker. It turns out that she's capable of spreading the Cadou like virus, using it to "possess" the dolls and even causing people to hallucinate.

It would be interesting to know the extent of her power and if it's possible for her to infect individuals and "create" new creatures from a manifestation of the Cadou. Unfortunately, players don't get to learn much about Donna's powers before dispatching her.

7 Chris Redfield Shoots Mia Winters to Kill Mother Miranda

resident evil showcase event april 2021

Mia is shot by Chris in the opening to Resident Evil Village, but players won't know the real reason he fires at her until Heisenburg is defeated. Up until this point, players speculate that Chris may have fallen from his heroic status to become Village's antagonist.

The truth is that through Mother Miranda's ability to take the form of others, she took on the form of Mia at the beginning of the game. Chris was somehow aware of this and so in actuality, he was attempting to gun down Mother Miranda, rather than Mia herself.

6 Salvatore Moreau Possesses The Ability To Rain Acid

Resident Evil Village Speaking With Moreau For The First Time

Players will be aware of Moreau's imposing ability to transform into a fish monster. When in this form, though, a boss fight against him reveals how he can release copious amounts of acid from his stomach.

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The acid is so pungent and powerful that it can rain down, its precipitation sweeping across large areas of the village when he spews it upwards into the sky.

5 Ethan Winters Has Regenerative Properties

ethan winters resident evil 8

Whilst playing as Ethan Winters, players will be acutely aware of his unnatural abilities to regain lost limbs and heal himself. The ending to Resident Evil Village reveals what actually happens to Ethan. It turns out that he embodies regenerative abilities and powers as a result of the black mold he gets infected by in the Dulvey incident in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.

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It appears that after Ethan actually dies at the beginning of Biohazard, that the black mold revived him and kept him alive. Ethan's powers explain how he has been able to survive things that would have otherwise killed him.

4 Karl Heisenberg Somehow Knew About Chris Redfield

resident evil village stole monster designs

An interesting detail about Karl Heisenberg that players may not know is that he somehow knew about Chris Redfield's past. He alludes to the scene in Resident Evil 5 when Chris Redfield infamously punches a boulder to save his partner. Heisenberg bewails the defeat of his metal army, threatens to kill Ethan and to rid "that boulder-punching" Chris.

However, that Heisenberg knows about Chris’ past exploits is a mystery. It is implied that he was probably vaguely aware of other Resident Evil past happenings...

3 Donna Beneviento Was Originally Going To Be Ghost-Like

Resident Evil Village Beginning Of The Fight With Donna Beneviento

It's easy to see the horror influences sprinkled throughout the "zones" in Resident Evil: Village. Moreau is enough to appease to H.P. Lovecraft fans and Lady Dimetrescu and her daughters have an appetite for blood. There are a lot of tropes present in Capcom's latest adventure and it seems that Donna Beneviento was originally going to be something more spectral.

Her base design was dubbed "Ghost" by creators and before she developed an identity it seems that she was meant to be a placeholder for a ghostly enemy. The dress she wears is mourning-wear, something classically seen at funerals and her ability to control dolls is a common trait associated with spectral possession.

2 Salvatore Moreau Was Possibly A Physician Before The Infection

Resident Evil Village Talking With Moreau During Stage Two

During the exploration of the village, players may notice a sign that reads "Moreau's Clinic". This implies that Salvatore Moreau, a major antagonist in Village, may have been a physician or doctor of some sort before his fish-like mutation after becoming infected by the parasite Cadou.

This may even explain the origins of his name; The Island of Dr. Moreau was a novel written by H. G. Wells. It depicts a mad scientist who creates human-like hybrid beings and deals with themes of evolutionary degeneration. This is closely related to Moreau's own experimentation on subjects.

1 Lady Dimitrescu's Inspiration Was Also Drawn From Japanese Myth

Tomonori Takano, art director for Resident Evil Village, did not want Lady Dimitrescu's image to be constrained by typical archetypal vampire portrayals. The Japanese urban legend, Hasshaku-sama, was used to encapsulate Lady Dimitrescu's idiosyncratic and already iconic design.

Hasshaku-sama is an impossibly tall specter who, like Lady Dimitrescu, wanders around in a long, white dress with a wide-brimmed hat. The folktale tells of her stalking her prey before killing them.

NEXT: Resident Evil Village: Umbrella Logo and Involvement Explained