Resident Evil 8 Villagehas certainly made a strong impression with its recent reveal trailer, showcasing a more supernatural or folklorian horror aesthetic and direction, with werewolves and other ominous themes. But underneath its surface are the apparent visual and thematic similarities in some ofResident Evil 8’strailerand game content cut from earlier versions ofResident Evil 4a long time ago. This may suggest where some ofResident Evil 8’sinspiration was drawn from, in speculation any way.
Hallucinations and insanity characteristics are rumored to play a strong role inResident Evil 8 Village. This rumor comes from Dusk Golem, also known as the AestheticGamer, so there is some room for credibility given much of his past rumors turned out to be true regardingResident Evil 8, including its overall setting. It may just be a coincidence, but one of the original versions ofResident Evil 4, a 2003 build, is known as the “Hallucination build.”
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Earlier Resident Evil 4 Builds
Resident Evil 8also shares some thematic characteristics with the scrapped versions of the earlierResident Evilbuilds, the earlier one known as the “Castle build” before the “Hallucination build” ofResident Evil 4. Both versions would have included some of the same plot elements, such as taking place in a castle, so there may be some inspiration forResident Evil 8’sthemes which may have drawn from these concepts.
The “Hallucination build” ofResident Evil 4was essentially going to have developers create a hallucinatory version of each area or room in the game, with hallucinatory enemy encounters which could happen randomly. Due to memory issues with the GameCube hardware at the time, the technology made this theme difficult to bring to fruition and it was ultimately scrapped. With next-generation technology, such a system could be deployed much more easily to create a dynamic village full of terror andexploration inResident Evil 8.
Hiroyuki Kobayashi, the original Producer ofResident Evil 4, stated that he initially wantedResident Evil 4to have more supernatural horror elements similar to theSilent Hillfranchise as a means to makeResident Evilmore atmospheric. Given the capabilities of next-generation technology and much speculation ofResident Evil 8’svillage being a living and breathing life of its own, it sounds to be a ripe ground for triggering confusion and distress in players.Resident Evil 8’saesthetic and art style certainly look to be heading into similar directions of psychological horror which earlyResident Evil 4builds aimed for, and they all include a large medieval castle.
Furthermore, there are other rumors as well which seem to resemble much similarity to other scrapped themes and content fromResident Evil 4’searlier builds. Another rumor from AestheticGamer suggests thatResident Evil 8will have a castle siege that will include zombies with armor and swords.Armored versions ofResident Evil 4’sGanado, the enemies infected with the Las Plagas parasites inResident Evil 4, were also included in some context at some point inResident Evil 4’searly game development, but were scrapped.
Also, there is a short clip in theResident Evil 8trailer showing a woman, presumably a witch, with a tornado of insects buzzing around her in mass. This matches other previous rumors by the AestheticGamer thatResident Evil 8will include an invincible Witchthat “turns into a swarm of insects if you shoot her enough.” Graphically, the technology and theme looks similar to the “black fog” monster from another scrapped version ofResident Evil 4. The original “black fog” creature was also scrapped due to technological limitations at the time, and the graphics required to present it properly. Though fog and insects are very distinct from each other, obviously, the graphical technology used to design the concept looks to share some similarities.
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Furthermore, in the original plot for this version ofResident Evil 4,known as the “mist version,” it was revealed to be a new virus created byAlbert Weskerand his HCF. Rumors suggest thatResident Evil 8will be a direct sequel toResident Evil 7and will address the origins of the Mold fungal infection, as well as Eveline. It may be relevant to note that the Mold’s original creation had involvement of Albert Wesker’s HCF paramilitary force, though the exact capacity and involvement is a mystery thus far.
Resident Evil 8 Utilizes Psychological Horror
Depending how and if hallucinations are used, this could present an additional theory for some of the game’s more supernatural elements, such as the inclusion of what appears to be werewolves and occult themes. It may be possible that some of the supernatural elements may be hallucinations, and they may actually be something else in reality. It is also yet another possible explanation forhris Redfield’s violent behaviorin which he seemingly murders Ethan’s wife, Mia, with a pistol. That, too, could just be a hallucination of sorts. For example, it may not really be Mia or it may not actually have happened at all. It may even be one of many psychological tricks or mind games projected by the Mold or its leader, in order to turn allies on each other. It should be noted that Ethan is still likely infected with the Mold at the end ofResident Evil 7.
Whatever plot elements transpire, it is clear thatResident Evil 8will be delving deeper into the dire of psychological horror, which the originalResident Evil 4aimed for long before its final version. Another rumor from the AestheticGamer also stated thatResident Evil 8 Villagewas originally going to beResident Evil Revelations 3. The case for psychological horror becomes stronger in taking into account the rumor thatAlex Wesker is a returning antagonist inResident Evil 8, and she was the main antagonist inResident Evil Revelations 2. Her style, technique and strategy in deployment of bio-weaponry has always been one of psychological tactics.
It should first be mentioned that Alex Wesker was part of Project W, which was a eugenics program byUmbrella’s founder, Oswell Spencer. She was part of an experiment, along with Albert Wesker, to become superhumans who could lead and shape mankind’s future, according to Spencer’s twisted vision for the world.
Are Alex Wesker’s Mind Games Back Too?
InResident Evil Revelations 2,Alex Wesker created the T-Phobos viruswhich would only mutate human hosts into zombies if their mentality could not handle a certain threshold of fear when they endure it, with the emotion of fear being the mutation’s trigger point. The island setting ofResident Evil Revelations 2became Alex Wesker’s testing grounds in order to identify hosts with the psychological temperament to handle more powerful experiments which require certain psychological thresholds, such as the Urburus virus.
PerhapsResident Evil 8’svillage is yet another one of Alex Wesker’s self-contained experimental simulations for bio-weaponry, and the psychological properties of the Mold and its ability to remotely interfere with the thoughts of hosts would certainly fit in well for this type of horror architecture. It may also explainResident Evil 8’ssupernatural elementsas a means to foster psychological horror, but without abandoning biological and scientific explanations for their existence, rather than delving into the supernatural realm.
In all the ofResident Evil 4’searly builds, which were scrapped, the castleLeon Kennedyis shown exploring is one that belongs to Oswell Spencer, the founder of Umbrella. Given some of the similarities betweenResident Evil 8and scrappedResident Evil 4content and themes, including a large castle overlooking the village, along with an Umbrella emblem shown in the trailer, it is entirely possible thatResident Evil 8’strailer may be referencing Oswell Spencer in promising that “his story comes to a close,” and it may be his castle as well. This is despite more popular belief that the trailer is referring to Chris Redfield or Ethan Winters story.
While it may just be a coincidence in regards to some of the similarities between scrappedResident Evil 4content andResident Evil 8’s,it is apparent that in the most general sense, Capcom is takingResident Evil 8in a direction that the originalResident Evil 4at least aspired to in some factor originally.
Resident Evil 8 Villageis set to release in 2021 for the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
