Resident Evil: Village Is Heavily Inspired By RE4

In an interview for PlayStation Official Magazine's March 2021 issue, as quoted by Wccftech, producer Peter Fabiano has confirmed that Resident Evil: Village takes a lot of inspiration from Resident Evil 4, one of the most critically well-received games in the entire franchise. He's also dropped a few more hints about Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters, as well as building up some high expectations for the next main-line Resident Evil game.

"You'll notice we took a lot of inspiration from Resident Evil 4," Fabiano explained. "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."

At a superficial level, there are quite a few obvious parallels between Resident Evil 4 and Village, from the European rural village setting to the kidnapping of a character's daughter as the central plot drive. It'll be interesting to see how much further the Resident Evil 4 inspiration goes beyond those plot similarities, however.

As might be expected after Lady Dimitrescu became a fan-favorite character, the interview also discusses the vampire-like antagonist and her supernatural daughters. "Dimitrescu and her three daughters all harken back to what you might expect from vampire lore," Fabiano explained. "We're not saying that's what they are, but there's certainly something that feels supernatural about what's going on."

"We don’t want to spoil too much of the story," he added. "But what I can say is that the creatures all fit within the context of Resident Evil’s world. We can assure you that Resident Evil Village takes into account the overall world and history of the series."

The producer also said that the concept for Village sprung up around the end of development for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. "The team grew quite attached to Ethan as a character so we knew we wanted to continue his story arc," he explained. "We wanted to continue to have players experience the game through the eyes of protagonist Ethan Winters. 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."

Resident Evil Village will release on May 7 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. For more about how the game stacks up, be sure to read our review. And if you picked up Resident Evil Village, then be sure to check out our guides roundup, which includes our spoiler-free walkthrough, essential beginner's tips, treasure guide, and more. Otherwise, read up on why you should start the game on hardcore difficulty.