Back in July 2024, Capcom officially confirmed that Resident Evil 9 was in development, and that it was being headed up by Koshi Nakanishi, Resident Evil 7's director. It's not confirmed yet what type of game Resident Evil 9 will be, but based on Nakanishi's previous work, it'd make sense for RE9 to focus on tight, claustrophobic spaces.
Koshi Nakanishi's experience seems to be antithetical to the rumors that Resident Evil 9 could be going open-world, but all rumors and leaks should always be taken with a pinch of salt. Regardless of what type of game Resident Evil 9 ends up being, and what type of gameplay it'll have, there's one iconic sequence from Resident Evil Village that it should take inspiration from.
Resident Evil Has a Brutal Mountain to Hike
The Resident Evil series is currently on top of the world, but if it wants to keep it that way it may need to make a big decision about its gameplay.
Resident Evil 9 Should Borrow One of RE: Village's Best Sequences
Resident Evil Village's House Beneviento Was a Concise Burst of Horror
After Resident Evil Village's rather lengthy prologue, players venture to Castle Dimitrescu in search of the scattered pieces of Ethan Winters' baby. This sequence sees players sneaking around a fairly large open area that consists of the castle's grounds, its lavish interior, and its dingy dungeons, all of which are patrolled by the terrifyingly tall Lady Dimitrescu.
Rather than follow up that long sequence of open-ended exploration with another just like it, Resident Evil Village instead delivers a short and sweet burst of horror that's just as memorable. Built atop a snowy cliffside, House Beneviento is home to another one of the vials Ethan needs to restore his baby back to life. After tentatively exploring the house's eerily empty hallways and bedrooms, players will find themselves traveling down to the basement.
Here, they'll find a workshop with a creepy doll named Angie sitting on a chair, who's holding the vial Ethan's searching for. As players go to interact with the doll, the lights in the room suddenly go dark, and when they come back on, players will find the room empty (aside from a life-sized doll on the workshop table) and all of their gear missing.
From this point on, Resident Evil Village becomes a sort of horror-themed AAA virtual escape room, where players need to find various objects to unlock doors and gradually solve the puzzle of the life-sized doll on the table, all the while creepy noises can be heard and unexplainable phenomena keep occurring. Upon completing the doll puzzle, the room goes dark once more, and a trail of blood appears on the floor.
A gigantic baby-like monster emerges from the darkness, and what proceeds is an incredibly intense game of cat-and-mouse, where the player needs to use the house's furniture to avoid the monster's gaze. Making it back up to the main floor of the house will begin the climactic boss fight against Donna Beneviento and her living doll, Angie, which sees players finding her various hiding spots throughout the house.
The whole sequence lasts just 45 minutes or so, but it's one of Resident Evil Village's most iconic levels, delivering some truly terrifying moments and containing some really satisfying puzzles.
No Matter Its Focus, Resident Evil 9 Should Have Its Own House Beneviento
It's currently unconfirmed whether Resident Evil 9 will be more action-focused like Resident Evil 4 and 5, or if it'll be a more traditional survival horror experience like most recent RE entries. But regardless, RE9 should feature a sequence similar to House Beneviento. If it's already a horror-focused game, this sequence could turn the scares up to 11, and if it's a combat-heavy game, this sequence could act as a nice change of pace that hearkens back to the series' roots.
Resident Evil Village
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 92%
