In just over a month, Capcom is releasing Resident Evil Village: Gold Edition, which is set to release three new pieces of content: Shadows of Rose DLC, The Mercenaries Additional Orders, and Third Person Mode. While the DLC expansion Shadows of Rose holds much of the anticipation for the Gold Edition, the third-person mode also sparked some excitement within the Resident Evil community.
It is no secret that the Resident Evil franchise has gone back and forth regarding the perspective the games are played in. Resident Evil 7 and Village introduced the first-person perspective to mainline entries in the series, allowing fans to experience a new way to play a Resident Evil game. However, while first-person did intensify the horror aspect, it also had several disadvantages, which is why adding a third-person mode to Resident Evil Village may signal the franchise's return to its previous form.
Third Person Allows Players To Have a Deeper Connection with Resident Evil Characters
When Capcom released Resident Evil 7 in 2017, players were introduced to a new set of characters led by the protagonist Ethan Winters. Ethan's journey continued in Resident Evil Village, making him one of the few main characters in the franchise to appear as the main playable character in consecutive games. However, despite Ethan's long exposure in the spotlight, his popularity still fell behind Resident Evil's legacy characters, such as Leon Kennedy, Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, and Chris Redfield.
Of course, each player would have their reasons for liking a character. The story, dialogue, and personality are the most significant factors contributing to a character's likability. However, there's no doubt that seeing their face makes them more real rather than a mere vessel that allows players to experience the game. Given this, Ethan's lack of a head made it difficult to relate to him, given that for most of his time as the protagonist, players didn't even know what he looked like. Thankfully, Ethan's missing head will finally reveal itself once Capcom releases the third-person mode in Resident Evil Village.
Third Person Allows Resident Evil to Keep its Mainstream Appeal
It remains a mystery which perspective Capcom plans to keep for the Resident Evil franchise moving forward. However, with the main campaign of Resident Evil Village and the upcoming DLC in third-person, it is safe to say that future installments would retain this very perspective. At the moment, Capcom hasn't offered any official explanation regarding the perspective switch, but it is likely a move to keep Resident Evil's mainstream appeal. It is worth remembering that while Resident Evil belongs to the horror genre, the franchise, except for a few games, is survival horror at heart. This means that most of Resident Evil's horror factor is derived from how players will manage to survive by balancing several gameplay elements to allow characters to live through the end.
It is no secret that the big switch from third-person to first-person in Resident Evil Village and 7 intensified the physical horror experienced by players, given that first-person makes players feel that they are actually the ones in the game experiencing all the terrifying things it has to offer. While both Resident Evil 7 and Village are great and successful games, first-person made them less accessible to some players. While a scarier Resident Evil experience is not necessarily a bad thing, it is essential to remember that the franchise, unlike the majority of horror games, is mainstream, which is why it needs to be accessible to all players, even those who don't relish an intense horror experience.
Resident Evil Village is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.