Players might find it hard to believe Resident Evil Village is a Resident Evil game. Moreover, the trailer's implications of vampires, werewolves, and a seemingly supernatural setting is a far cry from the Capcom franchise's trademark zombies and Bio-Organic Weapons (BOWs). Aside from RE 7's Ethan Winters returning to RE 8, fans might ask what else connects the two games together.
Interestingly, multiple chains of events seem to link RE 7 and RE 8's seemingly separate situations. Moreover, with Chris Redfield still remaining enigmatic across the two games, his activities - and those of his fellow former protagonists - seem to have brought Ethan in yet another fight for his life.
10 The Mold: The Matter Of Resurrection
As RE Village's Miranda reveals, she discovered the Mold as part of her efforts to revive her daughter Eva, who perished due to the Spanish flu. The original Mold in Eastern Europe mutated with Miranda upon death, seemingly granting her immortality.
Soon, Miranda surmised that she can experiment with the Mold to create a host for her reborn Eva. She indoctrinated students - chief among them the four "Lords" of the Village - into experimenting with the Village's inhabitants. One of her students, Oswell Spencer, believed in the capabilities of the Mold to help humanity evolve - thus motivating his eugenics efforts. Spencer eventually formed Umbrella, using the Lords' crest as its logo.
To accelerate her own experiments, Miranda gave samples of the virus to The Connections and the HCF, the military arm of Umbrella's unnamed rival. From the 1990s and across the years, The Connections would create unsuccessful BOW prototypes named A-Types through D-Types. While directly not "in-between" the games, this background info remains essential to build context.
9 Umbrella Corps: The New Status Quo
Granted, Umbrella Corps as a multiplayer game meant there aren't any significant "events" to affect the overarching plot of the series. However, its premise does pose implications to the timeline. After the Global Bioterrorist Attacks spanning 2012-2013 (RE 6), bioterrorism trade skyrocketed in the black market. With their threats too great for organizations like the BSAA to contain, infected districts as of 2015 were simply put on lockdown.
This is where Umbrella Corps players - taking the role of Zombie Hunters of various organizations - roam around, hunt zombies, and take samples for their benefactors. These Hunters, mostly formidable mercenaries, use a technologically enhanced arsenal to conduct their missions.
8 The E-Type: Changing The Face Of Bioterror
Perhaps before or during the events of Umbrella Corps, The Connections develop their E-Type prototype BOW from Miranda's Mold samples. Nicknamed Eveline, this BOW fully realizes the Megamycete fungus's potential: mind control.
In turn, Eveline eliminates the need for violence in conducting missions. After all, Eveline can simply control the minds of its hosts. This effectively disrupted the black market trade for bioweapons.
However, it's still unknown if she can fulfill her purpose in becoming Eva's host. After her creation, Mia Winters - an agent of The Connections at the time - is tasked to transfer Eveline to another facility when a storm sinks their ship near Louisiana.
7 Daughters: The Last Night With The Real Bakers
In this DLC, set up as a tape recording from Zoe in 2014, describes her "last night" with her "real" family. Throughout the minigame, players see how a recently-rescued Eveline slowly "infected" the Baker family into adoring her through her Mold.
Fixated with a desire to create the perfect family, Eveline tasked the Bakers into kidnapping tourists and locals for her. Their activities attracted national attention by 2016. This string of kidnappings ended when Eveline instructed Mia to lure her husband Ethan Winters into the house to transform her into a father figure. It's safe to assume that the escalating events in 2016 also led Blue Umbrella to them as well.
6 Biohazard The Experience: Experiments Beyond Umbrella
Despite being a stage play with its own plot, Biohazard The Experience offers insights into the world at large. The play begins as 13 strangers wake up in a zombie-infested mansion in 2015, with no recollection of how they got there. Soon, they realize their stay is due to an experiment courtesy of an unknown company.
Apparently, the group's sole survivor should end up as a viable vessel for the Tyrant Virus. By the time they mutate, the company will sell them to the highest bidder. Given its date, the "private company" in The Experience is similar to bioterror companies beyond Umbrella. These groups, such as The Connections, aim to create new types of bioweapons.
5 Not A Hero: The Search For The Connections
Essentially, events in Not A Hero happen shortly after the main events of RE 7. As fans recall, Blue Umbrella asked the BSAA to send Chris Redfield to deal with the events at the Baker House. After saving Ethan and Mia, Chris embarks on his actual mission. In it, Chris is tasked to apprehend Lucas Baker, as data suggests he's working for the Connections. However, it seems Lucas has plans to send files on Evelyn to yet another third party.
Chris manages to kill Lucas and stop the transfer, but he doesn't get to uncover the name of the aforementioned third party. With his current objective finished, Blue Umbrella calls Chris for yet another urgent mission. If Not A Hero is played before End Of Zoe, it's implied that Chris may have been called to assist fighting the Molded and save Zoe. Regardless, Chris implies throughout the DLC that whatever transpired after RE 6 drastically changed his view of the world.
4 BSAA No More: Chris Redfield's Defection
Around 2018, Chris starts viewing the BSAA as a "corrupt" organization and distances himself from them. Given his influence as a high-ranking operator, other members follow in his suit. In turn, they form a paramilitary force called the Hound Wolf Squad operating outside the jurisdiction of the BSAA.
This rogue unit consists of Chris alongside five other members - Canine, Umber Eyes, Tundra, Lobo, and Night Howl. As former BSAA agents, each of them are trained operatives capable of undertaking special missions. It's implied they began investigating about the true nature of the Mold after the Baker House Incident.
3 A New Hope: Rosemary Winters Is Born
At some point after RE 7, Chris relocates the Winters family somewhere in Eastern Europe for their safety. At this time, Ethan took basic military training to protect his family in times of danger. Soon, in 2020, Ethan and Mia has a child — Rosemary Winters.
Throughout flashbacks, Ethan and Mia appear to have Rosemary sent in for tests in laboratories due to her special nature. After all, both Ethan and Mia had interactions with the Mold.
At this time The Connections also reported to Miranda about Eveline's incompatibility as Eva's new host. However, the group also reported about the existence of Rosemary.
2 Hunting The Mold: Discovering Miranda's Plan
Under the orders of Chris, the Hound Wolf Squad began doing research of their own regarding the nature of the Mold. At some point, they have done reconnaissance at the Mojave Desert, which somehow revealed Miranda's existence and her plan.
The Hound Wolves discover that Miranda believes Rosemary can become the final means through which Eva can be reborn. In turn, they discover that Miranda will make a move soon to try and procure Rosemary from the Winters family. It's around this time that Chris will orchestrate a plan to attack the Winters family and kill Mia, who he knows will be Miranda's disguise to acquire Rosemary.
1 The Deception: Kidnapping Mia Winters
Unbeknownst to Chris, Miranda has already put her plan to action. Thanks to the Mold, Miranda also received shapeshifting abilities. Before the events of RE Village, Miranda manages to have Mia Winters kidnapped and locked in the Village. In turn, Miranda herself shapeshifts into Mia to acquire Rosemary and slowly lure the family into the Village. This explains the prologue Mia telling stories about the Village to the infant Rosemary.
However, Miranda's plans go awry when Chris attacks and seemingly kills her in her Mia disguise. She strikes a counter-attack when she assaults Ethan and Rosemary's convoy to kidnap the child. Knowing Ethan would somehow try to reacquire Rosemary, she begins the process of reviving Eva immediately.