Capcom finally unveiledResident Evil 8: Villageat the PS5, proving that much of the rumors over the last few months appear to be spot-on in truth. PreviousResident Evil 8rumorsmade many claims about the game, the most prominent among them claimingResident Evil 8would take place in a remote village with werewolves. That all appears to be confirmed, based on what is shown in the newResident Evil 8trailer.
But many fans may be wondering whetherResident Evil 8’sstoryline, setting and enemies will be of a new flavor with supernatural origins, or stick to biological-based horror. No doubt,Resident Evil 8has its own unique flavor that looks and feels detached from the main storyline of previousResident Evilgames.
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There is a case for the possibility thatResident Evil 8could take its universe and its canon in a new supernatural direction, especially given the presence of what appear to be werewolves in theResident Evil 8trailer. However, more evidence is still needed to make a persuasive case that Capcom is moving in a new supernatural direction. Such a move could be controversial to some long-timeResident Evilfans who want a plot that is constructed on the trajectory that the Umbrella corporation and its downfall set in previousResident Evilstories.
Resident Evil 8: The Case for Supernatural horror
TheResident Evil 8trailer starts with a narration of a story about a village girl searching for berries in the nearby forest, a long time ago. It is not clear how long. However, it sets a tone for a storyline with origins that date back to older times, seemingly or strongly possiby long before the fundamental plot-themes andorigins of theResident Eviluniversewere set in motion by the Umbrella corporation. The trailer’s short story concludes itself with a grown woman, the female narrator, explaining that the story of the village girl is a “local tale” which strongly suggestsResident Evil 8could have a more self-contained story set in a mysterious village, similar toResident Evil 4.
The originalResident Evil 4was also set in a village plagued by cultists infected with deadlyLas Plagas parasiteswhich, up until recently, were believed to stand on their own as separate monstrosities unrelated to previous elements ofResident Evil’sbiological terrors. But new revelations fromResident Evil 3 Remake’sdesign team have confirmed the parasites inResident Evil4 are connected to the overaching story.
By having a more self-contained story set in this isolated village with its own internal strife and issues,Resident Evil 8can more easily dabble in the realm of supernatural horror and could take the series in a new direction. Set in its own enclosed space, the village,Resident Evil8can build its own roots without the overarching storylines of previous games interfering with a potentially supernatural paradigm present inResident Evil 8, including a new set ofResident Evilvillainswith their own origins potentially.
Still, the notion that Capcom is actually taking the series in a supernatural direction, despite the aesthetics and themes shown in the trailer, needs more evidence, and seems unlikely. To takeResident Evilin such a completely new direction would run contrary to the architecture and mythos of the series and its canon as a whole, which is themed around biological-terror. In other words, in theResident Eviluniverse and its reality-paradigm as we know it, based on all previous titles, the supernatural realm simply does not exist.
However, the possibility for a supernatural direction is still present. While it is rare, other games have experimented in overhauling their worlds in drastic ways. One such title that comes to mind isRed Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, which turned its semi-realistic cowboy-themed base game into a zombie-apocalypse set in the wild west.
Resident Evil 8: The Case for Biological Horror
Overall, it would be very surprising ifResident Evilwent into the realm of the supernatural for the aforementioned reasons. Furthermore, at the two minute mark in the trailer, there appears to be a horse’s corpse, with dark liquid strewn all over which resembles some of the visual aesthetics fromthe fungus inResident Evil 7, better known as the mold.
Some fans believeResident Evil 8is heading in a supernatural direction because of its inclusion of werewolves, which are normally creatures of the supernatural. If the enemies in the game are indeed werewolves, or werewolf-like creatures, theResident Eviluniverse can easily explain the matter using the themes of its biological-fiction. Actually, very long ago,Resident Evil: The Official Comic Magazineincluded a werewolfin its series, themed around mysterious night-time murders of students on Raccoon City’s college campus.
The idea of humans mutating into wolf-like humanoids would not by any means be the first timeResident Evilhas introduced monstrosities that were biologically engineered through some sort of fusion between animal and human biological matter, or DNA. In theory, a human could essentially be turned into a werewolf-like creature in similarity to the way Umbrella’s T-Virus works as a bonding agent between different species to create monsters such asResident Evil’sHunters, which are various hybrids of humans and amphibian animals.
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Take, for example, theC-Virus inResident Evil 6, which portrayed many insect-like properties among the infected. The C-Virus was created using a sample of the T-Veronica virus, the latter of which required the DNA of a queen ant to create. Furthermore, it appears Capcom is making moves to deepenResident Evil’sroots in its core canon, as a recent meeting withResident Evil 3’sdevelopment team revealed that the Las Plagas parasitic creatures inResident Evil 4have previously unknown historical links to Umbrella corporation and the original creation of theNemesis monster inResident Evil 3.It would seem unlikely that Capcom would tightenResident Evil 4’slore to the rest of the series, while sendingResident Evil 8off in a totally new direction.
One very likely scenario forResident Evil 8is leading the players to believe there is a supernatural essence in their presence, but upon further investigation, it may be discovered to actually be biological horror when the full picture and story becomes clear.Until Dawndid this very well, in convincing both players and in-game characters that the game’s main threat could be supernatural, which turned out to be a totally different case in the end.
Resident Evil 8: A Case for Psychological Horror?
Another likely scenario is thatResident Evil 8delves into psychological horror. This allows Capcom to tell a story that sticks with biological explanations for the villains and threats encountered, while providing a ghostly experience that lets players experience the world through a protagonist who is going through very dark mental tribulations. In cases such as this, they may be seeing, hearing, and experiencing matters that may appear supernatural in the character’s mind. One could argue thatResident Evil 7took the series in a new direction that also had elements of psychological horror, especially in changing the game into first-person view, which is the common camera style for most modern psychological horror games such asAmnesia, Outlast,Layers of Fear,Silent Hillsdemo and others.
In moving further into the past, at one point Capcom had shown strong interest in moving theResident Evilseries in a direction that was more reminiscent of psychological horror. Take, for instance, the original alpha version ofResident Evil 4,which was never released and was cancelled, but released a trailer from 2002. In the trailer, a black fog is shown trying to chase afterLeon Kennedyand engulf him. In the plot for this never-released version ofResident Evil 4, Leon is infected by a virus which would thereby play tricks on his mind and influence his brain’s functions, causing horrible hallucinations.
Ultimately, the original version ofResident Evil 4was scrapped and the fog monster was removed from the series altogether, because the animation technology at the time was not sufficient enough to efficiently create it the way Capcom envisioned it. In the new trailer ofResident Evil 8, there is a particular snippet after the two minute mark which shows what could be mistaken for hundreds of bats flying around a room in close density. Comparing it to animations of the originalResident Evilfog creature from 2002, there is a very close resemblance, and perhaps it is not a coincidence that both games include a giant medieval castle where it seemingly appears.
While some fans ofResident Evilmay be feeling worried that the series is changing course altogether, it is still too early to make the case thatResident Evilis becoming supernatural horror. Psychological horror is a strong possibility, andResident Evil 8certainly appears to focus itself in themes that may be reminiscent of folk-horror and the supernatural, with the trailer’s snippets of werewolves, what appears to bea witch inResident Evilof sorts, and other cues that suggest miscellaneous forms of occultism, such as an ominously dark looking goat.
But this style and formula is actually very much a routine forResident Evilgames, which typically lead the player to believe the titles' premise is based on one particular notion, only to surprise players and quickly put to rest all that is assumed about the matter.Resident Evil 7did this most boldly, leading players to believe their biggest danger was acrazed Baker familyreminiscent of characters from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, only to discover the danger was a failed biological-weapon that had used the family as puppets. Similarly, fans may very well discover thatResident Evil 8’ssupernatural vibes and visual aesthetics on the surface are not all that they seem, and like all previous games, the culprit is likely bio-terror.
Resident Evil 8will launch in 2021 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
