Resident Evil Village - Everything you need to know

Having escaped the Baker family and their dreaded lands somewhere in southern United States, Ethan and his wife Mia have decided to escape the drama and start afresh in a wintry European village… well, it’s not called Resident Evil City, is it!

From the official story trailer, it was also confirmed that Ethan and Mia had a baby called Rosemary, how cute!

However, their lives are once again about to be turned upside down. Chris Redfield, another Resident Evil series regular, will also be appearing in the game - but from the trailers that we’ve seen so far, he seems quite sinister.

Chris, from how it’s portrayed in the trailers, shoots Mia and takes Ethan’s baby away… come on Chris, we get that you’ve gained some extra muscles for this outing, but you don’t have to be so aggressive.

Ethan will venture deeper into this snowy-esque environment, presumably to locate his missing child, while unfortunately uncovering the horrors that lurk within. The game features a chilling village setting, as well as a grand castle that looks stunningly detailed thanks to Capcom’s powerful RE Engine.

With a new Resident Evil game comes a fresh batch of enemies hoping to rip us limb from limb. If you played the previous installment, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, you’ll be more accustomed to the stranger, unique enemies lurking in the darkness. If you’re more used to the classic Resi titles and the recently remastered Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, you’ll be surprised to hear that the flesh-eating T-Virus zombies won’t be making the trip over for this one… something about needing new passports?

However, from early footage of the enemies appearing in the game, there appears to be a human-like horde of enemies wearing hoods and bearing tattoos that act very zombie-like - they can even wield swords!

Aside from creepy monks in a castle basement, werewolves have been highlighted as one of the main enemy types in the game. From the PS5 First Play video where pro tennis player Naomi Osaka got to try a bit of the game, it looks like mini horde battles - similar to those seen in Resident Evil 4 where you attempt to barricade windows to slow down an onslaught of baddies - may also feature.

There’s one particular antagonist who has truly taken the limelight during the pre-release build-up, and that is the one and only Lady Alcina Dimitrescu (Dimi-tres-ku) also known as tall vampire lady to some of you!

Standing at 9 feet 6 inches tall, the Lady of the castle has captured the hearts of gamers across the world, with Art director Tomonori Takano confirming that the team “didn’t see this coming” in an interview with IGN when referring to the extravagant character’s newfound fame.

Lady Dimitrescu isn’t alone in her persistent quest to thwart Ethan’s rescue plans, as her three witch-like daughters are on the prowl. They’re able to disperse and quickly travel in a swarm of thousands of insects, as well as using a Sickle to cause some nasty damage… Ethan’s already had to staple his hand back on, give the guy a break!

Heisenberg is another mysterious character who has featured briefly in a couple of the trailers so far, wielding a hammer-type weapon. This also appears to be the same weapon that a huge boss-like werewolf is swinging around… a coincidence perhaps?

It's interesting that the Resident Evil Village - Deluxe Edition artwork also depicts Chris Redfield with half of his face as a werewolf. Could our muscular hero be turning bad? We'll soon find out!

There are bound to be some tasty new features that we haven’t yet seen in Capcom’s pre-launch period of pure hype, but we have seen a couple confirmed so far. Firstly, Resident Evil Village is set to feature a Photo Mode, which will allow you to take striking images of heated battles - or just sit and stare at Lady Dimitrescu.

A 'sort of' new feature to this branch of the Resident Evil series is The Duke, a larger-than-life merchant who will be selling you some valuables and helping you upgrade your weapons and items. Yes, we know, we haven’t forgotten about the classic “What are you buying?” from Resident Evil 4 - but in terms of the first-person generation of Resi games, this is a first.

Resident Evil Village will also include a new online multiplayer mode called Resident Evil Re:Verse, in which you’ll test your skills against other players in four to six-person deathmatch battles. Characters from a variety of Resi games will be available to use in this mode - and when your chosen character is taken out, their body transforms into a powerful bioweapon that can be used against other players.