Cog Considers: What Does it Mean?
The latest Resident Evil game drops next month, and it has all the potential to be among the greatest in the series. You like monsters? We got ’em. Deathtraps? We got ’em. Nine-foot tall quasi vampiric ladies? You better believe we got ’em.
We got a new trailer at yesterday’s showcase and it did what the best trailers do: ask questions. Here’s just five of the biggest ones.
1- Are those real werewolves?
Let’s face it – despite the fact that the wolf-like enemies are as close to werewolves as we’ve come in the series yet, nobody actually believed that Resident Evil would go the supernatural route. It’s more than likely that whatever quasi-supernatural goings-on are the result of a disease of some sort.
Still, to quote the hammer-wielding man: Lycans and Gentlemen, thank you for waiting. If you’ve boned up on your monster mythology you might be aware that werewolves go by another, more technical name: Lycanthrope. Is this a pun, is there a mystical explanation, are the creatures locked in this form or does the disease let its victims transform?
What’s going on with the Village?
We’ve already had a glimpse of at least one survivor of the events of the game, but the trailer shows that there are many more, holed up in the house of someone called Luiza. While the fact that the village is occupied shouldn’t come as a big surprise, what is notable is that, unlike Resident Evil 4, at least some, if not most of the inhabitants seem to be holed up – at least until, predictably, they bite the bullet. Has Mother Miranda been keeping the monsters in check? What about Lady Dimitrescu, who has been killing off people for a long time, and potentially converting at least some into vampires.
Basically, why would you want to live in the village? Are they being kept there against their will by the lycans? Are they being forced to sate Dimitrescu’s desires? Why do they worship Mother Miranda?
What’s up with Ethan?
Okay, this one is two questions, one of which can (probably) be explained pretty easily.
First off, why is Lady Dimitrescu tasting Ethan’s blood to see how special he is? Obvious answer – and probably the same reason that Chris shot Mia five times in the head – he was infected with a disease that lists “the ability to instantly reattach limbs” as a symptom. No matter what, it’s understandable for Dimitrescu to be curious.
The second question: why is he telling Chris to kill him and finish the job, even if his daughter, Rose, is in danger? It’s possible that this scene is early in the game, before he learns Rose is in danger.
What’s up with Chris?
This is a question we’ve been asking since the first trailer showed beloved hero Chris Redfield seemingly murdering returning antiheroine Mia: What exactly is going on? Capcom have already confirmed that it is, indeed, Chris, which means either two things: He’s gone evil, and the supposedly heroic Blue Umbrella, is anything but… or he has some motive for killing Mia.
Reports suggest that he brings Ethan to the village, but does this mean that he gives Ethan’s daughter to the villains?
My opinion? It’d be extremely out of character for Chris to work with Dimitrescu or a villainous Umbrella. He has to have an angle here – either that, or Lady Dimitrescu is a doubt agent, which is even more unlikely. Some theories suggest that Chris and Mia are working together and faked her death, so perhaps there’s more to the situation than meets the eye.
And speaking of Umbrella…
Are Umbrella involved?
Okay, so we know that Blue Umbrella are involved insofar as Chris has been working with them, but the start of the trailer shows a very familiar logo on a plinth at the village. Given that Umbrella did so much research on diseases, it’s likely that they had some interest in the village, but how far does that interest reach – and since Blue Umbrella are good guys with access to a highly trained militia, why are they seemingly relying on a relatively untrained civilian to solve whatever new crisis is cooking?
We have a lot of questions, and not many (definitive) answers – but the good news is that with the game dropping on May 7, we don’t need to wait long to find out what the hell is wrong with this place. Let us know your theories in the comments, on Twitter, or on Facebook.