Resident Evil Village is launching this week, and despite Capcom dropping the numbering system for the latest instalment in the series, the game is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.
The title is actually the second part in a trilogy starring Resident Evil 7's Ethan Winters, according to leakers. That means a passing knowledge of Resi 7 will set you in good stead to dive into Resident Evil Village. If you played the game at its 2017 launch, it's likely you're hazy on the finer details. If you skipped it completely, we heartily recommend you give it a go, especially now that you can pick it up for just £5.99 on PC. But regardless of your situation, we've packed all of the essential plot points into this handy Resident Evil 7 recap.
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Simply read on and you can get up to speed with what happened before you run off to live out your dream of getting stomped on by a giant vampire lady. And don't forget, you can pick up Resident Evil Village from eBay with 20% off this week only, so don't miss out on those savings.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard — Ethan and Mia Winters
Ethan isn't the most charismatic protagonist the Resident Evil series has ever seen, but a bland vessel is as good as any to get you from point A to point B. You play as Mia for a portion of Resident Evil 7 as well, shedding light on what happened prior to Ethan setting out to look for her, and setting the game as we know it into motion.
Both characters are new to the franchise, and in a departure from the usual formula, they're being trotted out immediately after their debut for a follow-up — a first for the series. The couple are married, and after Mia goes missing, Ethan sets out to search for her, which is where we join him and start the game proper.
But Ethan is unaware of Mia's actual job at the time she goes missing, which is essentially babysitting Satan incarnate. The 'little girl' Mia is looking after is actually a biological weapon codename E-001. As usually transpires when transporting dangerous cargo like resurrected dinosaurs, cursed artefacts and the like, it all goes horribly (and inevitably) wrong.
Eveline, as she's referred to, ends up going on a rampage, the ship crashes, and a local family who was trying to help gets infected with the 'mold' you see throughout the game. Mia ends up in a makeshift cell in their basement, and under the influence of Eveline, sends an email asking her husband to come find her. And so the game is afoot.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard — Plot synopsis
The highlights of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard are neatly presented in Capcom's Remembering Resident Evil 7 YouTube recap. In short, after receiving an email from his missing wife Mia, years after her disappearance, Ethan sets out to find her. Spurred on by the hopes that she's still alive, he heads to the depths of Louisiana alone, with no backup of any kind. That would be too sensible.
What he finds is a house of seemingly insane people, including Mia. After rescuing her from a basement dungeon, Mia turns on Ethan and he has no choice but to fight back — getting his hand lopped off by a chainsaw in the process. Ethan ends up apparently killing Mia, is knocked unconscious, and wakes up at the Baker family dinner table with his hand reattached. It's at this point we figure out he's also infected with the mold and has regenerative capabilities as a result. Which is always handy when you're a video game protagonist.
The family is infected and too far gone to be saved at this point, and later transform into monsters themselves. Ethan escapes the dinner, and is pursued around the house and grounds by Jack Baker, his wife Marguerite, and their son Lucas. Their daughter Zoe is the only friend Ethan makes along the way, guiding him to freedom via various means of communication. Zoe is also infected, but has managed to resist Eveline's control.
It all culminates in Ethan using one of two serums containing a cure to kill Jack Baker. The remaining serum can be used to cure Zoe or Mia, who has resurfaced and remains infected, but not beyond saving. After making that monumental decision, the gameplay switches to the perspective of Mia, who has to save Ethan after the boat he was escaping in (either with Mia herself, or Zoe, depending on who the player chose to cure) is capsized.
Meanwhile Mia regains her memories of what exactly she was up to on the crashed tanker, where events are now unfolding. She finds and rescues Ethan and the gameplay switches back to him in time for a showdown with Eveline. Ethan leads her back to the Baker estate where she eventually transforms into a colossal monster. Resident Evil series veteran Chris Redfield shows up during the final boss fight to help dispatch Eveline, and whisks Ethan away to safety with or without Mia, depending on the choice you made earlier in the game.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard — Does it matter who you saved?
In short, no. No it doesn't. If you, like me, decided that Mia's continued lying throughout your marriage is what lead to these shenanigans, and gave the cure to Zoe, it's not canon.
Resident Evil Village instead decrees that the player cured Mia, following on from Resident Evil 7's End of Zoe DLC that made the same assumption.
In fact, in Resident Evil Village, Ethan and Mia have moved on and are raising a baby. Rosemary Winters seems integral to the plot of Resident Evil Village, but her exact role is still a mystery.
Resident Evil Village demo
Resident Evil Village launches Friday, May 7. Capcom launched an early access demo for PS4 and PS5 gamers, followed by a demo for players on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and PC.
The demo has since been extended, running up until May 9, 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET. In Europe and the UK, the demo ends on May 10, 1 a.m. BST / 2 a.m. CEST.
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