Summary
TheResident Evilfranchise has been finding innovative ways to take its thematic elements to the next level, and the disturbing world of its titular Romanian village inResident Evil Villagesets a high bar forResident Evil 9to clear.Resident Evil Villageoffers a particularly grizzly approach to its enemy design, with the terrifying Lycans and cyborg-like Soldats creating an atmosphere of grotesque body horror. However,Resident Evil 9could top these enemies by taking a page out of FromSoftware’s book and follow the disturbing cosmic horror-esque enemy design ofBloodborne.
AlthoughResident Evil Villagehas drawn a lot of comparisons toResident Evil 4with both games being set in small European villages overrun by a plague affecting their inhabitants,Resident Evil Villagesets itself apart by leaning harder in to the body horror elements of the series. The game achieved many iconic moments with this design approach, including Lady Dimitrescu’s transformation and the infamousBaby in Donna Beneviento’s doll workshop. However,Resident Evil 9could take these elements to the next level by evolving its body horror into cosmic horror, much likeBloodbornedoes over the course of the game.
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Resident Evil 9 Could Stand Out From Village By Going Full Cosmic Horror
Given the ending ofResident Evil Village, many fans have been speculating thatResident Evil 9will star Chris Redfieldonce again. Given Chris' reputation in the series up to this point, the game will need to go big in order to achieve the same level of tension a novice would face while taking the perspective of a hardened veteran. As such, the enemy design forResident Evil 9will have to be like nothing the series has seen before, and creating more grotesque monstrosities could be one way of achieving this feeling.
Bloodborne’s enemy design would be a great model to follow since the early-game enemies fall into a similar category asResident Evil 4’s villagers, with most being humans that have set out to hunt Yharnam’s beasts. As the game progresses, players start to encounter huntsmen that have mutated into beasts themselves, much like theLycans ofResident Evil Village. By the end of the game, players are fighting all sorts of bizarre and alien creatures like Celestials and Brainsuckers, and these types of cosmic horror-inspired enemies should form the basis forResident Evil 9’s creature design.
WhileResident Evil Village’s Megamycete is a gargantuan horror on its own, Chris Redfield would need to face even more horrifying creatures to top his and Ethan’s take-down of the source of the Mold. Some ofResident Evil 9’s bosses should take on unfathomable forms likeBloodborne’s Great Ones. Enemies like Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos and Amygdala are some ofBloodborne’s weirdest and most unsettling bosses because they tap into the realm of cosmic horror that preys on the player’s fear of the unknown or unknowable, which would be the perfect source of tension and fear for a man like Chris Redfield who has basically seen it all by this point.
Resident Evil 9will need to be a dramatic escalation fromResident Evil Villageif it is going to stand out in the series, and following in the footsteps ofBloodbornemight be the way to do this. MirroringBloodborne’s escalation in enemy typesfrom humanoid, to mutated humans, and finally full-blown cosmic entities would be a natural progression for theResident Evilseries after the events ofVillage. AlthoughResident Evilusually stays grounded in human-caused catastrophe,Resident Evil Village’s use of cult-like themes surrounding the mysterious origin of the Megamycete sets the stage perfectly for the next game to follow up with aBloodborne-like cosmic horror atmosphere.
Resident Evil 9is rumored to be in development.
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