Next to major first-party titles likeMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesandHorizon: Forbidden West, one of the biggest new game announcements from the PlayStation 5 gameplay event was the reveal ofResident Evil 8: Village. Just likeResident Evil 3 Remakebefore it,Resident Evil 8rumors have been floating around online for the majority of the year, revealing a ton of new aspects about the game from its medieval castle setting to the introduction of werewolves, and a redesigned Chris Redfield.
As we learn Evil 8: Village, a significant portion of the original rumors have proved accurate, and while that’s exciting news for the next-generation sequel, it gives far more credence to another project rumored to be in the works at Capcom. The success ofResident Evil 2andResident Evil 3immediately led to speculation that aremake of the genre-definingResident Evil 4would be the next game in line afterResident Evil 8. Based on theResident Evil 8announcement, let’s take a look at how the rumors stacked up in the end and what that could mean forResident Evil 4 Remake.
RELATED:Here’s Why Resident Evil Village Isn’t Called Resident Evil 8
What We Know About Resident Evil 8
Announced for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC,Resident Evil: Villageis a next-generation exclusive and will launch in 2021. The game will be a direct sequel toResident Evil 7: Biohazardand follows returning protagonist Ethan Winters as he’s thrust into a brand new nightmare a few years after Ethan and Mia were rescued from the Baker familyby Chris Redfield and Blue Umbrella. Longtime series protagonist Chris Redfield will also return forResident Evil: Village, teased to be playing a potential villain role and sets off a new chain of events that land Ethan in a mysterious medieval village somewhere in Europe.
Resident Evil: Villageis being developed using Capcom’s famous RE Engine (Resident Evil 7,Resident Evil 3 Remake,Devil May Cry 5) and will see the return of the first-person perspective that was introduced inRE7,and will have no loading times thanks to the new hardware.Based on theRE8announcement trailer, the next-gen sequel will feature new types of enemies including werewolf-like beasts, a mysterious village cult, and witches, who are shown controlling a swarm of bugs and draining blood from Ethan.RE8will also have a revamped inventory system that plays into the game’s larger focus on action - although we don’t know if that will be more in line withResident Evil3action or the balanced approach ofResident Evil4.
Announcement vs. Resident Evil 8 Rumors
Initial reports regarding the existence ofResident Evil 8can be traced back to the website Biohazard Declassified fromas early as January 2020. The original leak claimed that name of the sequel would be calledResident Evil: Village, with the roman numerals ‘VIII’ hidden in the game’s title, signifying that it would be the eighth mainline entry in the franchise.RE8: Villagewould feature multiple new enemy types including “wolf-like creatures that will attack the player in certain areas,” a persistent shadowy female that follows the player similar to Mister X and Nemesis, and multiple witches that hunt Ethan. In terms of location,RE8starts in a village and leads up to a castle, with a medieval setting and rural, snowy, and mountainous terrain.
Resident Evil 8new UI is said to resemble bothResident Evil 7andResident Evil 4, and the sequel would feature a new currency system, a first-person perspective, and multiple returning characters including Ethan, Mia, and Chris Redfield. While a few of the details are yet to be properly explained or elaborated on by Capcom, so far, all of the early rumors forResident Evil: Villagehave been spot on. Additional rumors have also expanded on a new playable character called Emily that aids Ethan while searching for her missing father, the use of a flashlight (seen at the beginning of the trailer), large outdoor areas, and three new villains known as Alan R., Natalia, and thereturn of Alex Wesker fromResident Evil: Revelations 2.
RELATED:Rumor: Resident Evil 8 Will Support PSVR
Resident Evil 4 Remake Rumors
Not long after the release ofResident Evil 3 Remake, speculation turned into rumors thatResident Evil 4 Remakewas already in the works and would be released afterResident Evil 8. The first rumors claimed that the remake had been in development since 2018 and that Capcom was planning to release the game in 2022. M-Two, who previously helped withResident Evil 3, is leading the development ccording to these rumors and will be supported by Capcom’s internalResident Evil 2 RemakeandDevil May Cry Vteams, giving the game alarger development team than both of the previous remakes.
The larger development team makes sense given the length of the game compared toRE2 andRE3, and supports additional leaks thatResident Evil 4would have an “expanded story.” According to Twitter user AestheticGamer1, another known source for leaks with a good reputation in the industry,RE4 Remakewill focus on expanding the story of the original game and players can expect to see more and larger changes than anything done inRE2orRE3. One example given related to the character Dr Salvador, who is said to be getting more screentime and anexpanded backstory in theRE4remake.
Unfortunately, that’s all we currently know about theResident Evil 4 Remakebut it’s safe to say that the rumors have some merit given the track record of the sources and the ongoing accuracy we’ve seen so far withResident Evil 8. There’s still plenty to learn about the next-generation sequel ahead of its 2021 launch, and according to the official website, players can expect the next update forResident Evil: Villageto occur sometime in August 2020.
Resident Evil Villageis scheduled to release in 2021 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
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