Resident Evil Village, the preview from the new showcase
Resident Evil Village
Another round, another showcase, another race. Resident Evil Village is getting closer and closer and in recent days, between the coverage of GameInformer and Dusk Golem spreading information everywhere, the curiosity around the new chapter is growing more and more. The dedicated presentation, at midnight, offered us not only a new, excellent in our opinion, trailer but also unveiled the mode that many fans have longed for and is ready to make its welcome return: the Mercenaries. Let's proceed with order on what is shown, exploiting where possible what little that our overseas colleagues are starting to share with their coverage.The plot thickens
The new movie dedicated to the story opens , no less, with a place that the most attentive fans may have recognized from the scans of the fabric map contained in the collector's edition of the game: it is the Ceremony Site, located near Castel Dimitrescu and point of convergence of the four main locations. Without wandering too much with the imagination, it is undoubtedly the place where the famous ceremony will be held, which Mother Miranda and Alcina Dimitrescu discuss on the phone (with a certain scorn on the part of the latter, in the full version of the video available to IGN US): we cannot know what the detail consists of and rightly so, but it is impossible to miss the detail for which the pedestal with the five coats of arms already shown long ago is right there.Especially because if four are the representation of their respective houses (clockwise from top left, Dimitrescu, Beneviento, Moreau and Heisenberg), the fifth is the one that messes up the brain of every fan for at least two main reasons : first, the Umbrella logo would imply a collaboration of some kind between the company and the families, but its foundation dates back to the 1960s while Alcina Dimitrescu should be placed well before since in 1958 it "vampirized" its three daughters Bela, Cassandra and Daniela. Of course, nothing prevents either a subsequent agreement or the possibility that the coat of arms refers to the Spencer family and not to Umbrella itself - considering that it was used as the basis for the creation of the logo that we all know. If this were really the case, however, why not use the original coat of arms?
Resident Evil Village, the pedestal at the center of the Ceremony Site Furthermore, the fact that Alcina Dimitrescu is placed before the discovery and subsequent use of the Progenitor does not open wide few doors on what she and the other nobles actually are. Excluding the fourth chapter, which introduces Las Plagas, until now the entire series has been based on the Progenitor and its derivatives: without it, in essence, Resident Evil does not exist. Placing one or more characters clearly mutated, or in any case beyond the concept of human, in a period of time prior to both the discovery of the virus and the founding of Umbrella is one of the biggest questions of Resident Evil Village.
Followed by the fact that, and here the second motivation comes into play, the emblem in the center of the pedestal does not represent the original Umbrella but the Red Umbrella: although the more regular form reminds us of the pharmaceutical company, the colors are reversed precisely as in the Red Umbrella logo. It could be objected that it is enough to simply turn the emblem to make it the same and it is actually true, yet we have chosen to show it in a certain way: maybe Capcom is just playing with us, or the alleged agreements between the houses and Umbrella are really recent, or it is another story altogether. The only certainty is that in a world where at least the shadow of Spencer and her atrocities seemed to have disappeared, the threat that gave life to everything resurrects, moreover in a place of primary importance like the Ceremony Site. Something of utmost importance to Mother Miranda, another key figure mentioned in that sort of prayer at the beginning of the video and whose appearance was revealed recently: a woman with a raven mask on her face, whose influence on the nameless village it's total - a distant reference to Resident Evil: Revelations 2 and Alex Wesker being worshiped as a goddess on the island of Sushestvovanie, as is the concept of ceremony. In short, once again a few seconds were enough to raise hypotheses and questions.
Resident Evil Village, Alcina Dimitrescu discusses with Mother Miranda The trailer continues with a series of quick glimpses of characters and settings: let's see something more about Karl Heisenberg, a man who seems to find amusement in a sort of spectacle of death, now making Lady Dimitrescu's phrase clearer when he points out how Ethan escaped his brother's stupid game - and here by the way the question arises as to whether he intends of blood or a conception of family due to similar conditions, both no longer human in their own way. Moreover, the Lycans seem to respond to him, or even to him, since in the scene in which both Alcina and Mother Miranda are seen the creatures are a threatening but immobile presence.
Very interesting is also the very short piece in which Ethan takes from the hands of a corpse in a sarcophagus a strange dagger, which has all the air of not being an ordinary object: that sarcophagus had already been presented to us in one of the previous trailers and, considering Alcina's vampirism, we came to think that it was his resting place (although, let's face it, it didn't quite match his size). It seems not to be so and therefore here is another mystery ready to unravel: who is the corpse and why does he keep the dagger with him? The Heisenberg Factory is then shown just as briefly, where you can see very clearly hanging corpses being transported who knows where: considering his sadism, it is no longer surprising to see rows and rows of victims pass right through his ... let's call it the area of competence, however, the usual question cannot be missing. The bodies are so many, how is it possible that everything has passed in silence or almost until then, regardless of where the unfortunate victims were taken?
Resident Evil Village, Ethan retrieves the mysterious dagger In some clues scattered by Capcom on social networks mentioned investigations linked to unresolved disappearances and, according to the police, to be linked to the occult trail; in addition, a confidential report appeared, it would seem, drawn up by Beneviento again regarding the aforementioned disappearances, which casts a strange shadow on one of the two nobles still in the dark. What is his role in all this and is it possible that, among the houses, there is not that complicity thought at the beginning?
Heisenberg himself, returning to him for a moment, is difficult to frame: in the part of the trailer in which many characters mention Ethan, looking closely you notice, beyond a more "friendly" attitude or in any case devoted to dialogue, a series of photos including that of Alcina Dimitrescu with a red cross on it. Probable sign that the lady of the castle was eliminated at that point. Given that killing her is pretty obvious for the game, the idea that Heisenberg is playing a game of his own is very strong. The roles are far from clear here, and the line between friend and foe is incredibly thin. After all, despite seeing him having fun with Ethan, on the official website Karl Heisenberg is not really defined as an antagonist and his position is questioned.
Resident Evil Village, Heisenberg's role is at least enigmatic Finally, Chris Redfield. The trailer closes with a scene that we didn't expect, where he is the one to be found by Ethan (or rather, to knock him out through a third party) and come up with some considerations rather difficult to contextualize: he says he is surprised by his resilience and that it would be a shame if anything happened to him at that point. So in a way he's protecting him? Does he want to make sure he takes certain steps before eventually getting rid of it? His character is undoubtedly the most intriguing of the entire screenplay, because the symbol of the fight against bioterrorism seems to have succumbed to the darker side of him, staining himself with the murder of Mia Winters and the kidnapping of Rose - of which, moreover, there is no 'is more track. Still, he seems to want to make sure Ethan gets somewhere safe and sound.
Given his momentary involvement with the Blue Umbrella in Resident Evil VII, it's impossible to really tell what his role will be in Resident Evil Village and up. how far he may have gone to do whatever he has to do. We even doubt that the phrase "How far would you go to save someone you love?", In the description of the latest trailer posted on YouTube by Capcom, could even refer to him and not to Ethan. There are many, too many pending questions and many threads to pull, by the admission of Capcom itself which has stated how this eighth chapter will serve to close several issues. No clue, however, as to what they might be. This trailer was great, loaded with the right amount of action and mystery, capable of making the game even more desirable as much as the wait for the demos is strong.
Resident Evil Village, Chris Redfield is the most desirable character. intriguing of the script
The Mercenaries are back
As a side dish, another surprise: the much requested Mercenaries mode, which also looks very good and ready to give players the adrenaline given by surviving , apparently alone, to the beasts that populate Resident Evil Village within certain time limits and following as many precise guidelines. The main difference with the homonymous modes encountered in the previous chapters, and the game for 3DS, is not only in the setting of the challenge (in the past we had to survive to accumulate the score that would have made us climb the ranking) but also in the fact that, this time, we will be able to manage our arsenal as we please: if previously our loadout was linked to the chosen character, skills included, the new Mercenaries mode revolves around the character of Ethan alone and allows some tweaks.Starting from the shop, a feature completely absent before: again thanks to the extremely available Duca, between one area and another there is the possibility to buy weapons, sell useless objects and buy upgrades that will give us greater chances of success in the sections following. An interesting approach, which seems to shift the focus of the mode not so much on a single level at a time as on a series of missions one after the other with the aim of arriving alive at the end. Furthermore, seeing the video, the pace seems to be considerably more sustained than in the past and everything is accompanied by a strategic component that revolves around choosing the best weapon and the appropriate skills to make it more efficient, or improve oneself; yes, because within a level you can also find special "totems" from which to choose one of three skills that will affect either us or our equipment. Judging from the presentation and considering the Mercenaries mode as a huge level interconnected by multiple areas, it seems that these skills accumulate and become permanent, without canceling themselves out at the beginning of each stage.
We can't wait to see try it as much as the main game, because we have long felt the lack of one of the most popular modes of the series and a return in style, including appreciable news, only increases the enthusiasm: above all knowing that, coming out victorious, we will come properly rewarded.
Resident Evil Village shows itself, step by step, more and more convincing. From an evocative setting to a style of play that seems to take the best from past chapters, such as the most adrenaline-pumping action of the fourth and the tension mixed with the solving of the puzzles of the first three, to recur in a familiar but at the same time experience new. It is difficult to go further without having tried it firsthand but, right now, the sensations are still largely positive. The doubt remains as to how Capcom intends to manage the various outstanding issues, whether it will close everything in this chapter or think of reserving something for the next in order to conclude a supposed trilogy, and above all if it will be able to dilute the game in the most balanced way possible so as to keep the right pace from start to finish. It must be said that lately Capcom is hardly missing a shot, which is why our confidence in it is very very high. At this point, we are waiting to have Resident Evil Village in our hands to see if it has achieved yet another center.
