Resident Evil: Village is the eighth installment of the popular survival horror series. It triumphed in expanding on what made Resident Evil 7 great and stroke a fairly equal balance of horror and action – harkening back to the series’ roots. Things seem to be on the up and up for Capcom’s pioneering survival horror series.
With Village DLC and a Resident Evil 4 remake, fans of the series have got a lot to mull over before Resident Evil 9 emerges. And when it does, here are several things we’d love to see in it.
10 Horror Orientated, Action Supported
Horror vs action is an age-old debate when it comes to the RE games. Village never really tipped the scales too harshly either way, but it didn’t reach the terrifying heights seen at the Baker’s house in RE 7. RE 9 would work well asserting itself as a horror game first with supporting action elements.
Village struck gold with the terrifying sequence at House Beneviento, and more carefully crafted sections like this wouldn’t go amiss in RE9. Elden Ring has set the bar for open-world design, and RE 9 could easily do the same for modern survival horror.
9 An Intimate Open World
RE 9 could be a perfect opportunity to dip its series’ toes into true open world design. RE: Village has laid the blueprints for such a thing to happen, with it having a centralized hub area that you return to in order to progress to other areas.
A fully explorable, open-world horror experience could be just the ticket to avoid the series falling stagnant, as is often the case with RE third installments. This approach hasn’t really been seen since The Evil Within 2, so RE 9 could bring the series to a whole new level.
8 Maintain Consistent Quality
RE games always seem to drop in quality when playing through the final third acts. From RE 4’s gun-blazing island to RE 7’s strange Mia covert mission, it seems RE can't help but arm you with more bullets than you could ever need and instruct you to blast away the remaining minutes of their game — which is rarely as fulfilling as the gameplay that’s come before.
The meticulous quality of RE is always demonstrable in the opening segments. Nothing wrong there, but we implore RE 9 to take a more quality-assurance route and carefully assess the entirety of the experience.
7 A Longer Length
A typical RE title can be beaten within three hours. In fact, the games often encourage this feat. However, RE 9 could buck this trend by vastly expanding the content.
RE 4 introduced a chapter system, which not only bolstered playtime but helped tell the story better. With RE looking to move into even more bombastic ideas (Village literally introduced a virus that gave you superpowers), a longer time spent in its universe could see these ideas even more fully realised — if the game itself is decent.
6 Character Diversity
The RE universe is consistently introducing new characters — most of which are humans from all over the world. However, there has rarely been an opportunity to play a diverse range of characters. Therefore, RE 9 should do more to consider representation — and RE: Village's conclusion already sets the stage for this.
With the ending of Village hinting towards the involvement of the BSAA, Capcom should bring back Sheva Alomar, of RE 5 fame, and could even make her the main playable character. Sheva was an excellent combatant alongside Chris Redfield, and since the story is setting up his involvement, it makes complete sense to have her return.
5 Bring Back Ink Ribbons
Ink Ribbons were a staple in the earlier RE games and were essential to save your progress at a typewriter. Village opted to dispose of ink ribbons yet, puzzlingly, brought back the typewriter – giving you unlimited save opportunities.
RE 4 did this as well, but allowing you to save infinitely without consequence dulls the incentive to be cautious. It would be a welcomed inclusion to have some form of finite save item to challenge you further, especially if said item costs a valuable inventory space.
4 Limited Inventory
Speaking of inventory, ditching the RE 4-inspired briefcase inventory in RE 9 would be a fantastic choice. Inventory management is an essential quality when talking about survival horror and making us choose between potentially carrying health or ammo is common practice.
Exploring a destitute environment full of scary biological weapons means little in terms of fear if you’re able to carry an armory’s worth of bullets and enough healing to tank every attack.
3 Better Narrative Connectivity
RE has mastered a formula in which each game feels like its own residential horror experience that eventually ties into an overarching plot. However, it’s the ties themselves that would benefit from a more meticulous approach in RE 9.
Rather than having a lore dump towards the finale as seen in previous titles, if RE 9 could bake its mystery and its narrative connectivity better within the experience, this would make for a more tenable story.
2 More Puzzles And Upped Puzzle Difficulty
RE is no stranger when it comes to giving players puzzles to solve. It would be great if RE 9 implemented more puzzles and conundrums. Village’s puzzle offering was limited, and they were all complete no-brainers.
It’d also be great if these puzzles were more on the deadly side of things. Time-sensitive additions that warrant you thinking fast or else being squashed like a sandwich.
1 Say “Resident Evil” When You Press Start
Probably the simplest inclusion of RE 9 would be employing a voice actor to boldly deliver the line of the title when the player boots the game up. It was a classic addition to any new RE game and, since its departure, it is sorely missed among fans.
It's simple yet effective, and signals to fans and newcomers alike that this is indeed a Resident Evil game. One of the best voice-acted titles has to be Resident Evil: Outbreak File 2 – and yes, he does say the whole thing!