Summary
Resident Evilis making its way steadily to its ninth numbered mainline installment and with that comes a lot of expectations.Resident Evil 9could follow Chris Redfield in Europe, Rose Winters far into the future relative to the present day, or any new direction Capcom wants to take; meanwhile,Resident Evilhas held onto a bunch of features and mechanics between recent entries and it’d make sense to at least see most of them inResident Evil 9.
Resident Evilgames are fairly unpredictable apart from how remakes have been churned out, though, withResident Evil 7andResident Evil Villageboth taking incredibly wide swings and eclectic influences. It’s not certain whetherResident Evil 4’s parry orVillage’s first-person perspective will return inResident Evil 9, for instance, but an intricate map system is one feature that is sure to be reprised, and hopefully with as much beauty and reverence toward atmosphere as the map fromVillagehad.
Resident Evil’s Maps are a Cut Above the Rest
Maps aren’t necessarily essential inResident Evilonce players are more familiar with one of its entries. But, as theResident Evil 2remake demonstrated, a detailed map can be paramount for managing resources and knowing if players had missed something since it pinpoints and labels items players had passed by and not picked up.
Resident Evil Village’s mapis doubly special because Capcom took the time to give it a lovely design that matched the game’s fantastical setting, rather than simply boxing areas in nondescript, inartistic geometry like mostResident Evilmaps.
Resident Evil 9will hopefully elect for the former design in its map as opposed to the more basic design whether it features an open world or not, especially if it perpetuatesVillage’s newfound genre blend of fantasy and horror. In fact, if anything, the artistry that went into makingVillage’s map look as incredible as it does should inspire Capcom to spruce up its default maps to be unanimously extraordinary. The bar is now high and to reach that rungResident Evilshould put as much care as it did inVillagetoward every map going forward. Each map could bear a distinct visual style as long as an illustrative touch doesn’t make it illegible.
A Good Map is Vital if Resident Evil Delves into Open-World Territory
LikeElden Ringenforcing an illustrative map on FromSoftware,Resident Evilwould’ve needed a map for its open world anyhow.Resident Evilhas proven it can adapt pretty well to any perspective, direction, or genre, with each new game instilling a bit of new adaptation and skill on display.
Indeed, an open-worldResident Evilgame could surely be constructed from the bones ofResident Evil 7,Village, and theResident Evil 4remake concerning narrative pacing and side quests contributing to optional exploration. Of course,Resident Evil 3: Nemesiscame as close as it could in its opening Raccoon City portion to a mini-open world, and seeing that open level design extrapolate intoa fully open world of Raccoon Cityto traverse would be thrilling.
Speaking ofResident Evil 3, its remake was a highly abridged take on the classic and while it didn’t get to receive the same faithful revival of content from its predecessor as otherResident Evilremakes have, it would be a great redemption story ifResident Evilreturned to Raccoon City somehow for its ninth installment and portrayed it in an open world. That said, rumors suggestResident Evil 9will still be in the realm of dark fantasy horror, and if so its map will hopefully continue to look like a beautiful painting as all futureResident Evilgames should.
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.
