Warning: this article contains scenes of explicit spoilers.
Resident Evil Requiem launches on the Switch 2 in just under three months, but even now, the game is heavily shrouded in mystery (well, a little less so after the accidental reveal of Leon).
Judging from the trailers so far, one of the biggest draws of this new title is the inclusion of Raccoon City, the primary location of the original trilogy, and a town now in ruins following a calculated nuclear explosion.
There’s no doubt that Raccoon’s return is to partially evoke a sense of nostalgia with long-time fans, but there also needs to be a legitimate reason as to why the series is going back to its roots. What evil is lurking in the decimated ruins? What secrets can still be unearthed? And who is behind what will no doubt prove to be a deadly new viral threat?
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That last question is going to be particularly crucial, as the series has, in my opinion, suffered from a severe villain problem since the death of Albert Wesker in Resident Evil 5. Ever since Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar fired two rockets at the slick-haired scoundrel while he was *checks notes* floundering in a pool of lava, it seems Capcom has struggled to settle on a new, enduring antagonist.
Things got off to a rocky start with Revelations in 2012, during which it was revealed that Morgan Lansdale was the architect behind the game’s events. Remember him? No, no one else does either.
Resident Evil 6 launched the same year and featured dual antagonists: Derek C. Simmons and Carla Radames, the latter of which had mutated to become an exact replica of Ada Wong. While the game certainly dumped a healthy load of exposition on you to explain Simmons and Radames' roles, you’d be forgiven for thinking that their presence was a mere afterthought from Capcom. They added nothing of substance to the story, and Simmons in particular felt like the most generic evil-doer in the series’ history. A poor showing, indeed.
There was a glimmer of hope with Revelations 2, which introduced Alex Wesker to the series. As the sister of Albert, Alex demonstrated a similar sense of mystique and menace, even if some of her lines were ripped straight from her sibling. Alas, it wasn’t to be, with Alex mutating into a grotesque monster and winding up on the receiving end of yet another rocket launcher. Like brother, like sister, I suppose.
With Resident Evil VII, the Baker Family proved to be a solid set of villains that genuinely stoked fear in my heart as I roamed about their dilapidated estate. Yet as the story would eventually reveal, the Bakers were merely pawns acting under the influence of Eveline, a bioweapon presenting itself as a young girl who just wants a family to call her own. Cool, I guess?
Yes, it’s an interesting hook, but it hardly leaves much room for development. And, much like previous titles, Eveline is dispatched at the end of the game, proving to be yet another disposable ‘monster of the week’ villain. I’m sensing a bit of a pattern here.
Finally, we have Resident Evil Village. Oh boy. This one introduced Mother Miranda as the primary antagonist, a cult leader who, in an effort to revive her lost daughter, infected the local populous with 'Mold' and — because Capcom simply has to tie everything back to Umbrella — supposedly mentored Oswell E. Spencer, the company’s founder.
Okay! That sounds pretty neat actually, right? Well, no, because RE Village put far too much focus on Miranda’s assistants: the Four Lords of the Village. Chief of these was Lady Dimitrescu, who gained so much popularity in the weeks and months leading up to release that Capcom focused almost all of its marketing efforts on her. Surely that means that she’ll take over as the overarching villain of the franchise, right? Again, no. She dies very early in the game. Poof, gone.
As for Miranda, she — like every major villain since RE5 — perished at the hands of the protagonist at the end of the game. Since then, Capcom seems to have finally recognised the value in having a compelling villain, going right back to Lady Dimitrescu to market Requiem, a game that, as far as we know, has absolutely nothing to do with the events of Village.
Something needs to change – we can’t just keep starting from fresh with every mainline entry. There’s a reason the original trilogy (and, by extension, Code Veronica) remains so popular. There's a clear through line with those games; a shadowy organisation at the heart of the narrative with Umbrella, and an incredible villain with Albert Wesker, who returned stronger than ever in Code Veronica after being presumed dead.
So, can we expect something similar with Requiem? Is Lady Dimitrescu actually dead? Or is there yet another member of the Wesker family waiting in the wings? The pre-release footage so far has focused quite heavily on what fans are referring to as 'The Hooded Man', and it seems clear that Capcom is keen to keep the real identity of this mysterious figure a complete secret for the time being.
Whatever the potential solution, Capcom needs to not only make us care about the events of Requiem, but keep us excited for the future of the series after the credits roll. If we get yet another disposable mastermind who bites the dust in the last act, I'm not sure how much longer I can stay invested.
What are your thoughts on Resident Evil's villains? Do you have a particular favourite that you'd like to see make some sort of return? Let us know with a comment in the usual place.