According to Capcom producer Peter Fabiano, the Resident Evil Village development team believes the forthcoming title is “the best survival horror game to date,” adding that they have been greatly inspired by 2005’s Resident Evil 4, Capcom’s highest-rated game of all-time, according to Metacritic.

In an interview with Official PlayStation Magazine, Fabiano said, “You’ll notice we took a lot of inspiration from Resident Evil 4. The team has put a ton of effort into creating a truly authentic feel. There are plenty of surprises to keep you on your toes; players will find a balance of combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving.”

RELATED: Resident Evil Village's Lady Dimitrescu Was Inspired By Morticia Addams

Resident Evil Village’s story begins a few years after the events of Resident Evil 7. Players once again take on the role of Ethan Winters, who is happily living with wife Mia. Their lives are shattered when Chris Redfield appears and kidnaps Ethan, taking him to a mysterious European village.

Prior to its release for PC and consoles, Fabiano said, “Concepting and planning was something going through our developers’ minds since towards the end of Resident Evil VII: Biohazard. The team grew quite attached to Ethan as a character, so we knew we wanted to continue his story arc.”

“This really helped to keep our vision on target. And since we are constantly sharing information across Resident Evil teams, that really helped inform us in making what we consider the best survival horror game to date,” he added.

Resident Evil Village will give players “a lot more freedom” when facing challenges than Resident Evil 7 did, game director Morimasa Sato said. “We want players to experiment, to figure out things that work for them. We want everyone to think of Resident Evil Village as a horror movie that you can play.”

In January, Capcom released a PS5 exclusive Resident Evil Village demo, which had players take on the role of the Maiden, a character who attempts to escape from Dimitrescu Castle, the home of nine-foot tall vampire Alcina Dimitrescu. The new antagonist is based on the real-life 16th century Hungarian murderer Elizabeth Báthory, the Japanese urban legend of Hasshaku-sama, and the character of Morticia Addams from The Addams Family.

Resident Evil Village is the tenth major installment in the Resident Evil series, and the sequel to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. It is scheduled for release on May 7, 2021, for Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. A second demo is also set to be released for all platforms this spring.

Source: VGC

READ NEXT: Resident Evil 2 Remake Is Now Capcom's 3rd Best-Selling Game Ever