How Resident Evil Village Is a Direct Sequel to Resident Evil 7, but Heavily Inspired by Resident Evil 4

According to director Morimasa Sato, the development of Resident Evil Village started on August 8, 2016. For the 8th main entry in the series, that’s an interesting date for sure (8/8/16!), but the real surprise lies in the fact that this was almost six months BEFORE the release of Resident Evil 7. “We were still busy developing Resident Evil 7, but my boss told me to start planning for the next entry in the series,” recalls Sato, who was also the director for Resident Evil 7. “At the time, we had no idea how users would react towards the new horror experience and characters of 7 yet.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-village-the-evolution-of-lady-dimitrescu-and-her-daughters&captions=true"] Resident Evil 7 took the series back to its survival horror roots, but it was much more than a simple throwback. As the first mainline entry played from a first-person perspective, it was seen as a fresh start for the franchise. “We had no idea how the change of perspective would be received, so at first we were quite worried. But when we released Resident Evil 7 about half a year after the development of Village started, it was received very well. This helped us decide to make Village a direct sequel,” Sato says. After seeing the success of Resident Evil 7, Sato decided to have protagonist Ethan Winters make a return as the hero in Village, and kept the first-person perspective. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/19/resident-evil-village-5-hour-ps5-hands-on-preview-ign-first"] “As the original creator of Ethan, Sato really wanted to bring this character’s story to completion,” says producer Tsuyoshi Kanda. “If you look back, you can see that Resident Evil’s systems have drastically changed after every three titles. In that sense, Resident Evil 7 was a title that came with some big changes,” says Kanda. “For us, it was a sincere attempt to deliver a true horror experience once more, focusing on an experience played in first-person. In the process, we brought Ethan to life.” While Sato initially imagined that it would be more difficult to depict a main character in first-person, he became more and more attached to the character. In Village, he wanted to take this further, and show how Ethan has grown as a person. “After somehow surviving the events of Resident Evil 7, Ethan and his wife Mia gave birth to Rosemary, their daughter. They were living a quiet life together, but then suddenly Chris Redfield – a familiar character for fans of the series – appeared, killed Mia and took Rosemary away. The game starts with Ethan making his way to the village to save his daughter. While Ethan was just a young man who had somehow found himself in this house of maniacs in Resident Evil 7, this time I wanted to portray him as a father,” Sato explains. Kanda adds that family functioned as a theme for Village’s story, to which Sato nods. With the Baker family as the main villains in Resident Evil 7, family was an important theme in that game as well, but this time Ethan will be protecting his own family. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-village-ethan-clothing-gallery&captions=true"] While Village is indeed a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7, Kanda and Sato say it’s much more than that. Sato explains that during the planning phases, he had already come up with the idea of a village as the game’s location, and that he was inspired by Resident Evil 4. “If Resident Evil 7 was like a reboot that inherited the DNA of the original Resident Evil, then you could say that this time we’re doing the same for Resident Evil 4,” Kanda says. “We’ve designed the game and its structure with Resident Evil 4’s essence in mind, so I think that you’ll be able to find a lot of elements that remind you of that game.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/02/resident-evil-village-first-ever-ps4-pro-gameplay-4k-ign-first"] “In the history of the series, I believe that Resident Evil 4 is where the action and combat evolved the most,” Sato explains. “Interestingly, Resident Evil 4 was also set in a village. For Resident Evil Village, we’re bringing the essence of Resident Evil 4, while Resident Evil 7 functions as the base for the game. It’s not a reboot of Resident Evil 4, but the offspring of both Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 4.” If Village succeeds in combining the horror of Resident Evil 7 and the action of Resident Evil 4, it might become one of the most beloved entries in the series – but these two elements could also stand in each other’s way. If being haunted by the Baker family was frightening because you felt so weak, won’t a more action-focused approach disrupt the balance of that experience? “That is indeed something we need to be very careful with,” Sato admits. “If you increase the action, it quickly turns into a game that allows you to kill enemy after enemy. That is not what I want. It’s important that the player constantly feels afraid of the enemies, and the experience should be all about overcoming that fear.” Sato says that he believes that resource management – a traditional feature of the series – will prevent the action from diminishing the sense of fear. Conserving bullets and health items, being forced to advance to dangerous areas to stock up on supplies and wisely using items at the right moment all contribute to that traditional survival horror experience. For this, Sato used the 2018 Resident Evil 2 remake as a reference, which he sees as a perfect example of well-balanced survival horror. Kanda says that for Village, the team didn’t just want to create a scary horror game. While Resident Evil 7 satisfied fans of the genre, some players found it too scary to even play. For Village, the team went for an experience that is still scary, but in a way that more players can enjoy. To achieve this goal, they came up with two key phrases that would shape Village’s identity: “a theme park of horror” and “ultimate survival horror”.

A horror theme park that’s yours to explore

The village that you will be exploring is much more than just a collection of streets and houses. The player will be discovering four different areas surrounding the village, with one of four Lords (the game’s main villains) awaiting the player in each area. From a gothic castle with a giant countess to a reservoir area ruled by a merman-like creature, the variety of characters and locations shape what Capcom calls “a theme park of horror”. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-village-playstation-5-screenshots&captions=true"] “By implementing a wide array of horror elements within one game, Village is not only one of the most voluminous entries in the franchise; it also offers different kinds of horror experiences within one package,” Kanda explains. Sato says that this aim for variety was inspired by Resident Evil 4. By delivering variety in its scenarios, locations and gameplay, Resident Evil 4 managed to feel fresh until the end. For Village, Sato says that he sought to continuously create new experiences for the player. “Also, when you think of the characters, I think that (Resident Evil 4’s) Ramon Salazar is the kind of character that everyone still remembers,” says Sato. “The appeal of a character like that is something very powerful, so we aimed to design characters with the potential to resonate with players like that. Seeing how well Lady Dimitrescu has been received made me confident that this had indeed been the right approach.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/27/resident-evil-village-the-mercenaries-mode-hands-on-ign-first"] While in size they’re quite the opposite, what Ramon Salazar and Lady Dimitrescu have in common is the fact that their appeal goes beyond pure creepiness. With such characters, Sato hopes to target a broader audience than just the typical horror fan. That being said, the element of horror definitely isn't going anywhere. “While aiming for a broader experience, I didn’t want to lower the game’s peak of fear,” Sato says. “Keeping the peak intact is essential, but if the game is tense throughout, it can become too much for certain players. That’s why we needed a change in pace, and included elements that afford the player a feeling of safety.” With more freedom of exploration than in previous entries, the player can – to a certain extent – pace his or her own experience. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-8-village-showcase-screenshots&captions=true"] “The village is a more open and expansive location which the player can freely explore and get lost in,” says Sato. “As you play, you’ll gain access to more parts of the village. Making sure that the player knows where to go next in a larger environment is something we had to be really careful about. We consciously designed it so that you would see and notice the right things from the right locations.” “If you give the player freedom in a wider area, it becomes easy to lose track of the next objective. On the other hand, if you guide the player too much, you lose that sense of freedom.