Despite its often shaky and frequently retconned nature, I’m a big fan of Resident Evil’s lore. Though the games are full of impossible, nightmarish, fantastical creatures, Capcom has always crafted a backstory that tried to present a scientific explanation for them. Despite sometimes sharing similarities to beasts from other works, the BOWs of RE had original enough designs that they didn’t evoke any specific mythology (minus the zombies). That’s why Resident Evil: Village’s vampires and werewolves seem a bit wacky to me.
Why are there vampires and werewolves in Resident Evil: Village?
In the latest Resident Evil: Village trailer, we got our first proper look at the factions in play at Castle Dimitrescu. We see that Countess Dimitrescu (and presumably her “daughters”) has a taste for blood, while her “brother,” Heisenberg, is a “Lycan.” Like with Mother Miranda, we can assume that these familial titles are religious in nature and that Dimitrescu and Heisenberg aren’t close relatives.
Countess Dimitrescu and Heisenberg aren’t shown to be enemies. On the contrary, they seem to be allies. Regardless, the whole thing still gives me Underworld vibes. Maybe it’s because we’re coming off of the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes, two of the more “scientific-based” entries in the series with their labs, but I’m not sure how they’re going to explain away vampires and werewolves. Sure, maybe there’s some virus that provides Dimitrescu and Heisenberg with their abilities. Perhaps they’ll even present it as being the root of the vampire and werewolf mythologies, but that would be kind of hokey.
We know that Umbrella is somehow involved with the area’s history. Heisenberg’s factory definitely looks like a location the company would dig. That seems to indicate that the creatures found here have some “logical” explanation behind their origin. Given that Dimitrescu and Heisenberg make the Tyrant line look like toys, there must be some weakness to their power.
I’m excited to play Resident Evil: Village, even if it ignores explaining the whole vampire and werewolf goofiness. The game seems to mirror the style of Resident Evil 4 a bit, which means it’ll likely be more eccentric than its predecessor. I just hope it doesn’t go too far off the deep end and retcon Umbrella as a mythical beast manufacturer.
