Resident Evil 9 Should Strive for a Difficult Balance Village Managed to Strike

Resident Evil has offered nearly three decades worth of stories focused around mind-altering viruses and evil mega-corporations, and what makes this possible is the roster of characters featured in the franchise’s world. Through the years, Resident Evil has become well known for its protagonists and villains, which leaves its ninth mainline game with a difficult task.

After a bit of a story slump, Resident Evil got a much-needed revival with Resident Evil 7 and then its follow-up, Village. Although the former offered the scares, the latter brought the Resident Evil franchise full-circle, as new protagonist Ethan Winters helped uncover the beginnings of Umbrella. As of now, it’s unknown who will lead Resident Evil 9‘s story. Despite the secrecy, the next Resident Evil game would likely benefit from looking to Village for inspiration, especially when it comes to balancing its protagonist and villains.

Resident Evil 9 Needs to Nail the Same Balance Village Did So Well

Making Both Protagonists and Villains Equally Compelling

Although Village follows Resident Evil 7‘s Ethan Winters, the character is found in a completely different setting than the Baker family’s house. After the events of its predecessor, Village puts Ethan Winters and his wife Mia in a mysterious Eastern European country to live in a sort of witness protection program. However, this doesn’t go according to plan, which eventually leads Ethan to face a unique array of villains known as the Four Houses, who rule over the town.

Near the end of the game’s story, one of the biggest bombshells in the series is dropped. Ethan has been dead since the Baker house incident, only being kept “alive” by being infected with the Mold. This revelation, set against the unique and well-crafted villains of Village, makes the game one of the franchise’s most balanced stories yet.

Ethan Taking On Mother Miranda and the Four Houses

• Mother Miranda: After discovering and becoming infected by the Mold, a cult was built around her power, making her the story’s main antagonist.
• Alcina Dimitrescu: A tall, aristocratic woman with a mutation that gives her a craving for blood.
• Karl Heisenberg: A brilliant engineer with electric organs that give him magnetic powers.
• Salvatore Moreau: A withdrawn hunchback who has fish-like mutations
• Donna Beneviento: A shy woman with the power to control dolls and megamycete-infected plants, as well as induce hallucinations.

Resident Evil has featured plenty of primary and secondary villains throughout its history, but Village really went to extra lengths to make each antagonist just as compelling and important to the plot as Ethan was. As the wait for Resident Evil 9‘s announcement continues, some of the main aspects fans will be looking forward to are its main characters and villains. Ethan’s mind-bending arc could have been wild enough to overshadow the story’s villains, but each antagonist held such depth that they served as equally fascinating points within the narrative.

After Albert Wesker’s reign over Resident Evil, the franchise is in need of more heavy-hitting villains. Despite Village‘s antagonists being strong characters, they all meet an end, leaving developers with the difficult challenge of repeating this same success.

Resident Evil 9 Has Big Shoes to Fill

Resident Evil 7 and Village may have been a big shake-up for the franchise, but it ultimately jolted the series back to life. Making the story of the villains as strong as the protagonist’s is part of the reason why. Albert Wesker is a classic force to be reckoned with, but the villain roster of Resident Evil Village offered a new outlandish array of characters to become invested in.

As of now, it’s unknown if Resident Evil 9‘s lead character will be a new face or a classic protagonist. Wherever the story goes, its protagonist needs to have an equally intriguing villain that offers just as much to the story without overshadowing the hero, and Village does this incredibly well.

Ethan Winters finds himself in an entirely new nightmare in Capcom’s latest installment of the acclaimed Resident Evil franchise. Whether you’re defending against Lycans in the grim dwellings of the village or exploring the lavish Castle Dimitrescu, the meticulously designed environments immerse you in this eerie world, powered by Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine.Run from, hide or face off against a diverse cast of terrifying village inhabitants in dream-like – no, nightmarish – situations and fight your instincts to push through classic horror-based sequences.Also, be sure to check out “The Mercenaries” that unlocks once you’ve finished the campaign, a fast-paced and arcade-like game mode which challenges players to blast away enemies against the clock.

Released

May 7, 2021

Engine

RE Engine

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

How Long To Beat

10 Hours

Steam Deck Compatibility

yes

X|S Optimized

yes

PS Plus Availability

N/A

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Cross Save

yes

Cross-Platform Play

ps4,ps4,xbox one, pc

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