Resident Evil 7 was a drastic departure for the series, putting the view into first-person and focusing on an average person as a protagonist, instead of some trained specialist. Based on its reveal during the PS5 event Resident Evil 8 is going to be just as big of a departure, if not more so.
As the reveal trailer shows, Resident Evil 8 will once again follow Ethan Winters, years after the events of Resident Evil 7. As Ethan and Mia settle into a new life, things are upended when Chris Redfield shows up out of nowhere and brutally murders Mia. Outside of the setup, Resident Evil 8 takes place in a creepy European village, and the trailer is filled with occult elements, magic, and even werewolves.
It’s all stuff that’s very atypical to the traditional Resident Evil style, but it’s certainly bold. Resident Evil 8 embracing magic and the occult could help push the series into new levels of horror, and enhance the psychological effects of the game even more.
Magic Could Enhance Psychological Horror in Resident Evil
Resident Evil has always been a fairly traditional horror series, and it’s known for being incredibly campy. Its brand of horror has clearly worked well, but Resident Evil 7 started branching off into different types of horror and adding in more psychological elements. Resident Evil 8 already raises a lot of questions, and the main story will hinge on Ethan Winters finding out the truth. It seems like a big part of the story will be figuring out what’s real and what isn’t, as well as who to trust. The game embracing magic and the occult can add to that sense of confusion and mystery even more.
Look back at Resident Evil 4, the game that changed everything for the series. Part of what made that game so memorable was the mystery. Leon traveled to a small European village, where all the villagers have gone insane. The key is that the villagers weren’t just mindless zombies, they had some sense of intelligence, and many could even still speak. Players would, of course, find out that they were infected with the Plagas virus, but Resident Evil 4 was a wild tonal shift from the rest of the series.
Resident Evil 8 looks to be doing the same thing, and it gives off some serious Van Hellsing kind of vibes. There’s going to be a lot of psychological elements in Resident Evil 8, and having a world filled with magic would blur the line between reality and fiction. Using magic could push Resident Evil into a new brand of western horror, and add even more variation to the series.
Resident Evil 8, known as Resident Evil Village, is set to release in 2021 on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.
