In just over a month, Capcom is releasingResident Evil Village: Gold Edition, which is set to release three new pieces of content:Shadows of RoseDLC, The Mercenaries Additional Orders, and Third Person Mode. While theDLC expansionShadows of Roseholds much of the anticipation for the Gold Edition, the third-person mode also sparked some excitement within theResident Evilcommunity.
It is no secret that theResident Evilfranchise has gone back and forth regarding the perspective the games are played in.Resident Evil 7andVillageintroduced the first-person perspectiveto mainline entries in the series, allowing fans to experience a new way to play aResident Evilgame. However, while first-person did intensify the horror aspect, it also had several disadvantages, which is why adding a third-person mode toResident Evil Villagemay signal the franchise’s return to its previous form.
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Third Person Allows Players To Have a Deeper Connection with Resident Evil Characters
When Capcom releasedResident Evil 7in 2017, players were introduced to a new set of characters led by the protagonist Ethan Winters. Ethan’s journey continued inResident Evil Village, making him one of the few main characters in the franchise to appear as the main playable character in consecutive games. However, despite Ethan’s long exposure in the spotlight, his popularity still fell behindResident Evil’slegacy characters, such as Leon Kennedy, Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, and Chris Redfield.
Of course, each player would have their reasons for liking a character. The story, dialogue, and personality are the most significant factors contributing to a character’s likability. However, there’s no doubt that seeing their face makes them more real rather than a mere vessel that allows players to experience the game. Given this, Ethan’s lack of a head made it difficult to relate to him, given that for most of his time as the protagonist, players didn’t even know what he looked like. Thankfully, Ethan’s missing head will finally reveal itself once Capcom releases the third-person mode inResident Evil Village.
Third Person Allows Resident Evil to Keep its Mainstream Appeal
It remains a mystery which perspective Capcom plans to keep for theResident Evilfranchise moving forward. However, with the main campaign ofResident Evil Villageand the upcoming DLC in third-person, it is safe to say thatfuture installments would retain this very perspective. At the moment, Capcom hasn’t offered any official explanation regarding the perspective switch, but it is likely a move to keepResident Evil’smainstream appeal. It is worth remembering that whileResident Evilbelongs to the horror genre, the franchise, except for a few games, is survival horror at heart. This means that most ofResident Evil’shorror factor is derived from how players will manage to survive by balancing several gameplay elements to allow characters to live through the end.
It is no secret that the big switch from third-person to first-person inResident Evil Villageand7intensified the physical horrorexperienced by players, given that first-person makes players feel that they are actually the ones in the game experiencing all the terrifying things it has to offer. While bothResident Evil 7andVillageare great and successful games, first-person made them less accessible to some players. While a scarierResident Evilexperience is not necessarily a bad thing, it is essential to remember that the franchise, unlike the majority of horror games, is mainstream, which is why it needs to be accessible to all players, even those who don’t relish an intense horror experience.
Resident Evil Villageis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
