There’s an abundance of directions the upcoming DLC forResident Evil Villagecould go. It could pick up whereResident Evil Villageleft off, possibly set the stage for the rumoredResident Evil Outrage, or even try to further tieVillage’sstory into other games in the series. However, perhaps the most entertaining route it could take is to double down on the series’ penchant for ridiculousness by reintroducing an estranged member of the Baker Family.
Joe Baker made his debut inResident Evil 7’s“End of Zoe” DLC, which took the already-eccentric series to some zany new heights. He’s an old man with a heart of gold who fights zombies with his bare hands and somehow comes out on top. He just might be the most absurd character to ever headline aResident Evilstory, which makes him a perfect fit for the quirky, bizarre tone ofResident Evil Village.
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Resident Evil 7: Who Is Joe Baker?
Joe Baker is the older brother ofResident Evil 7’smenacing Jack Baker. Unlike the rest of the Baker family, he’s not around during Ethan Winters’ nightmarish trip to Dulvey. Prior to the events of the game, he lived an isolated life in a Louisiana swamp near the family home. As such, he’s the only member of the family not to be infected by the Mold.
Despite the Mold contaminating the area surrounding him, Joe refused to let it drive him out of his home. Instead, he valiantly fought the infected, often bare-handed. FollowingEthan Winters’escape from Dulvey, Joe was drawn back to his family after coming across his niece, Zoe, close to death outside of the Baker household.
Joe sought out to find a cure for Zoe’s ailment, fighting against all manner of Mold-infected enemies along the way. He also, notably, put an end to Jack Baker, who was thought to have perished in his battle against Ethan Winters. In the end, Joe discovered a cure and was able to save the last remaining member of his family.
Why Joe Baker Is A Good Fit For Resident Evil Village DLC
Resident Evil Villageis a very strange game.Lady Dimitrescuis a 9-foot-tall vampire who has outgrown the mansion she lives in. Karl Heisenberg has the powers of Magneto and the over-the-top mannerisms of Nicholas Cage. Additionally, Ethan Winters can easily re-attach severed limbs by essentially gluing them back on with hydrogen peroxide.Resident Evilis no stranger to oddball characters, butVillageups the ante by making virtuallyeverycharacter stand out thanks to a unique and/or strange quality.
That appetite for the unusual is what would make Joe Baker such a good fit forResident Evil Village. The official in-game description forResident Evil 7’sDLCexplicitly states that Joe must “put an end to his family’s suffering” using his bare fists. Throughout the mini-campaign, Joe does just that; he obliterates Mold-infected enemies near effortlessly with powerful bare-handed strikes and pulls off daunting feats such as killing a Mold-infected alligator. Joe even defeats the nigh-invincible Jack Baker in hand-to-hand combat, something Ethan could never do.
Upon release, one ofVillage’sgreatest strengths was its quirky cast of characters, so it would make sense for an upcoming DLC pack to attempt to bring them back in some way, shape, or form. As most of them are dead, this would likely call for Capcom to make some changes toVillage’sstory, but it’s important to note that a similar thing was done before in the “End of Zoe” DLC. Players were previously led to believe that Ethan killedJack Baker inResident Evil 7,but the DLC revealed that he actually survived, and that gave Joe a rival to fight throughout his story.
It’s not hard to imagine a similar circumstance arising inVillage’supcoming expansions, and if futureResident Evil VillageDLCsees a protagonist other than Ethan facing off against Mother Miranda or any of her cronies, it might as well be Joe Baker. In a word, he’s absurd, and that quality alone would make him mesh well with the rest ofResident Evil Village’sludicrous cast.
Resident Evil Village DLC: Vengeance For The Baker Family
As forwhyJoe would travel from the Louisiana swampland to an Eastern European village, it’s simple: It’s a matter of family. Despite not keeping in touch with the rest of theBaker family, Joe still maintained the belief that family is among the most important things in one’s life. Unfortunately, that part of Joe’s life was largely taken away from him thanks to the Mold.
Villageunveils that its antagonists are closely tied to the origins of the Mold. Mother Miranda was the one who discovered this bacteria, and herCadou Parasites, which reside in each ofVillage’svillains, resulted from experiments with the Mold. Should Joe Baker somehow discover where this force that destroyed his family came from, it would stand to reason he would make his way there for some sweet vengeance. As Joe puts it, “family is a righteous cause.”
This might not be the most desirable route forResident Evil Village’sfuture expansions to follow, as fans are surely more interested in something that expands onVillage’ssurprise, cliffhanger ending. But it’s hard to deny that a mini-campaign starring an old man demolishing a village filled with werewolves and parasites using only his bare fists all in the name of family sounds like an absurd, hilariously entertaining endeavor. All things considered, fans probably shouldn’t expect Joe Baker to make a return inResident Evil Village’sstory DLC, but in the unlikely event he does, it would make for a pretty good time.
Resident Evil Villageis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A DLC is currently in development.
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