The last few years have been a terrific momentum for Resident Evil fans as "Resident Evil Village," the eighth main title of the "Resident Evil" franchise, will see a worldwide release in 2021.
Announced during the PlayStation 5 event last June, it's interesting how Capcom will not follow the franchise's traditional numeric titles by naming it "Village" instead of RE 8 to emphasize the horror points.
"You could call the actual Village another character in that game. We did that because we would like players to understand that," explained Tsuyoshi Kanda and Peter Fabiano.
When will this horror classic be released? Who are the returning characters? Which consoles will it support? The answers are below.
Plot and Premise
Set a few years after the events of the previous game, "Resident Evil 7: Biohazard," follows a dramatic turn in Ethan Winter's life, the last game's protagonist. Ethan and Mia, his wife whom he saved in RE7, have been settling down for good only to find out a familiar face, Chris Evans, knocking on his door once again.
"His story comes to a close," writes the official trailer. Whose story is this? Is it Ethan's? Is it Chris's? Either way, things are not going to look good.
From the trailer, it appears that our favorite BSAA legend will take a more antagonistic role in "Resident Evil Village." He is"the reason Ethan's life gets turned upside-down," and from his sinister, dark-looking appearance on the trailer video, things are going to get hairy.
Returning Characters
As mentioned above, Ethan and Mia Winters set to make a comeback to the franchise. Unlike most "Resident Evil" protagonists with over-the-top combat ability, Ethan and Mia are a couple of lowkey people trapped in the middle of biological warfare. Ethan is an engineer, while his wife, Mia, is an underground operative for The Connections.
Chris Redfield is a familiar face of the franchise, having appeared or at least mentioned in every "Resident Evil" game, so he no longer needs to introduce it anymore.
Many suggest that Luis Sera, a shady mercenary from "Resident Evil 4," will come back to the franchise after years of disappearance, although the trailer may seem like a stretch.
It's believed to occur somewhere in Eastern Europe, notably in Romania, because of the in-game currency of RON (Romanian lei) that appears on the game's Special Developer Message video on YouTube.
Release Date and Supported Consoles
Up to this writing (1/7), Capcom is yet to reveal the release date for "Resident Evil Village." However, leaker Dusk Golem reported last September that the devs aim for the "early-half 2021" release, so here's hoping.
"Resident Evil Village" will be available on next-gen consoles of PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, as well as PC. The main reason why Capcom skipped the current-gen console is to enhance the game's graphical capabilities, though we could still hope that a PS4 and Xbox One version is coming.
