Summary
Resident Evil 7’s impact can’t be overstated concerning how it propelled the survival horror franchise even further into the stratosphere and allowed it to reinvent itself once again. TheResident Evilremakes definitely had a helping hand to lend in that reinvention, but withoutResident Evil 7’s drastic swing back toward legitimate horrorit’s unclear ifResident Evilwould be nearly as prominent as it is today.Resident Evil Villagewould then follow it with another dramatic shift and it’s interesting to see how well one worked compared to the other and what aResident Evil 9could learn from both.
Resident Evil Villageis easily one of the wildest direction transitions the series has taken thus far with a fantastical landscape and monstrous enemies. Here, it’s perfectly evident howVillagelearned fromResident Evil 7when it came to buffing its enemy variety. LikeResident Evil 7,Villageis also primarily a dysfunctional family drama where its key antagonists are interconnected. At face value, though, some villains or bosses in the series’ seventh and eighth mainline entries deserved one another’s role; for example, Jack Baker arguably overstays his welcome while Lady Alcina Dimitrescu is underutilized.
Jack Baker is Around Nearly Every Corner in Resident Evil 7
Jack has three boss fights—five includingResident Evil 7’s End of Zoe and Nightmare DLCs.
To be fair, a single antagonist having multiple boss fights and at different stages of evolution isn’t uncommon forResident Evil. In fact, it’s a classic trope of the series dating back to theoriginalResident Evil 2with William Birkin. Plus, many players may adore Jack and therefore admire how often he reappears inResident Evil 7, showcasing his hilarious unwillingness to die and how malignant the Mold is as a newfound bioweapon variant.
So to say Jack overstays his welcome may be undeserved, though when Marguerite’s lone boss fight is debatably far more engaging and memorable than any of Jack’s it points to an issue withResident Evil 7regurgitating Jack ad nauseam and to the point of becoming a trivial foe. Jack’s resiliency is narratively significant but results in him not being as impactful in gameplay, particularly because his boss fights in the base game are all toe-to-toe bouts in claustrophobic rooms with a new gimmick involved in each one.
Lady Dimitrescu is Buried Beneath Other Antagonists in Resident Evil Village
If Lady Dimitrescu served Jack’s role inVillageand had multiple boss fights with new gimmicks in each,Villagewouldn’t have had to rush her transformation into a hulking white dragon-esque creature.Villagetechnically featured repeat boss fights with the Dimitrescu daughters who are all individual characters sharing near-identical fights in unique locations, whereas no other boss has multiple fights of their own.
That said,Villagealso has more antagonists thanResident Evil 7and consequently more charismatic personalities that the sequel needs to split time between. But whileDonna Beneviento and Moreauare more or less fleeting spectacles, Lady Dimitrescu had an incredible presence without even considering why she enamors many fans in particular.
Lady Dimitrescu’s regal rage makes her a phenomenal antagonist, even if her pursuer role in Castle Dimitrescu isn’t nearly as intimidating or challenging asMr. X’s in theResident Evil 2remake. As a polar opposite to Jack, Lady Dimitrescu’s terror and intrigue are almost fully derived from how little players see her. Having much more of Lady Dimitrescu in Village might’ve sullied this mystique around her, so perhaps it was the right choice on Capcom’s part; still, it’s difficult to imagine that’s possible with Jack being such a beloved, fan-favorite character despite how oversaturated he is inResident Evil 7and its DLCs.
Resident Evil Village
WHERE TO PLAY
Ethan Winters finds himself in an entirely new nightmare in Capcom’s latest installment of the acclaimed Resident Evil franchise. Whether you’re defending against Lycans in the grim dwellings of the village or exploring the lavish Castle Dimitrescu, the meticulously designed environments immerse you in this eerie world, powered by Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine. Run from, hide or face off against a diverse cast of terrifying village inhabitants in dream-like - no, nightmarish - situations and fight your instincts to push through classic horror-based sequences. Also, be sure to check out “The Mercenaries” that unlocks once you’ve finished the campaign, a fast-paced and arcade-like game mode which challenges players to blast away enemies against the clock.
