It's kill or be killed in Resident Evil Village. Just like its predecessors, the most recent installment pits players against impossible threats that hardly have any capacity for mercy.
Resident Evil Village is no exception to this rule, and it might just be the bloodiest of the bunch. It seems like everywhere Ethan Winters goes, death follows. This can be seen in every character's death in Capcom's latest survival-horror adventure, but readers should be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS ahead.
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Resident Evil Village wastes no time getting to its inciting incident. A quiet night in for the Winters family is disrupted when Chris Redfield breaks in and appears to kill Mia Winters in cold blood, and then abducts Ethan along with his infant child, Rose.
However, Chris later reveals that it wasn't actually Mia that was shot, but rather Mother Miranda — Village's main villain who disguised herself as Mia in order to kidnap Rose Winters. However, Mother Miranda still survived the attack. The real Mia was actually being held in captivity inside the village, and was later rescued by Chris.
Early in Resident Evil Village, Ethan helps bring a woman named Elena and her sickly father, Leonardo, to safety. The pair lead Ethan to a house where a group of survivors are holed up; these are the last remnants of the village. Unfortunately, a brief respite from the other-worldly horror is broken up when the reason for Leonardo's ailment is revealed. He's infected, and undergoes a violent transformation into a Lycan before murdering everyone inside. Ethan was the only survivor.
The daughters of Lady Dimitrescu have their fair share of run-ins with Ethan. If players hear flies buzzing about while exploring Castle Dimitrescu, they can be almost certain that the daughters are close by. Each of the daughters meet a similar fate. Ethan discovers they're all weak to the harsh, cold climate of the village, and finds creative ways to expose them to it. Eventually, each of the daughters' bodies crystallize and crumble to dust.
Resident Evil Village's breakout character bites the bullet pretty early into the game following an intense game of cat and mouse with Ethan Winters. When she finally catches him, she's more than ready to exact vengeance in the name of her daughters. Little does she know, Ethan previously procured a poison blade from the castle, but when stabbed with the blade, the bloodthirsty Lady Dimitrescu takes on a new, more monstrous form.
After morphing into a dragon-like creature, Dimitrescu and Ethan go head to head on top of Castle Dimitrescu. Ethan eventually shoots her down, putting an end to the first of Mother Miranda's four children.
Ethan's bout with noblewoman Donna Beneviento mixes things up a little by not being a test of Ethan's skill in combat. Rather, Beneviento first tasks Ethan with a puzzle involving a doll of Mia Winters, which concludes with a chase involving a giant fetus-like monster attempting to devour Ethan. Once he's completed her test of wit, she then challenges Ethan's observation skills. Beneviento disguises herself as a doll and hides inside a house full of them, so it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. However, Ethan perseveres, locates Beneviento, and puts an end to her by stabbing her through the head with a pair of scissors.
The third of Mother Miranda's quartet of super-powered servants is Salvatore Moreau, whose encounter starts off with a chase. Having grabbed a flask belonging to Moreau, the villain tries to put up walls constructed of an organic, fleshy substance to box Ethan in. After Ethan escapes, Moreau transforms into a giant fish-like monster. Similar to his fight with Lady Dimitrescu, Ethan unloads a heavy amount of firepower onto Moreau, eventually causing the foe to violently explode, creating a disgusting mess of flesh and blood in the surrounding area.
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Karl Heisenberg is one of the first people Ethan meets upon entering the village. He confronts Ethan with all manner of deathtraps and hordes of Resident Evil Village's rabid werewolves, but the hero still pulls through. Realizing Ethan's combat prowess, Heisenberg tries to team up with him to take down Mother Miranda, but Ethan refuses, prompting yet another conflict between the two.
Heisenberg transforms into a giant, grotesque monster composed primarily of metal. To penetrate his heavier defenses, Ethan is equipped with a custom tank, courtesy of Chris Redfield. Ethan valiantly fights against Heisenberg, ultimately finishing him off with a heavy explosive blast.
The final boss of Resident Evil Village, Mother Miranda plans to use Ethan's daughter, Rose, as a vessel to revive her deceased daughter. As mentioned before, Chris Redfield attempted to assassinate her in the beginning of the game, but his efforts were fruitless. Refusing to let his daughter go, Ethan hunts her down, and the two parents engage in a ferocious fight for the fate of their children. Ethan unloads virtually his entire arsenal on her, eventually causing her to crumble into dust as Ethan recovers his daughter.
Ethan gets brutalized quite frequently throughout Resident Evil Village, but he always shrugs off even the gravest of injuries like it's nothing. It may seem like he's heavily clad in plot armor, but Resident Evil Village explains that Ethan is so hard to kill because he's already dead. It's revealed he actually died during the events of Resident Evil 7, and that the mold, which previously infected the Baker family, has also infected Ethan. It's what kept he alive for so long.
The faceless hero seemingly dies again following his battle with Heisenberg when Mother Miranda rips out his heart. However, the mold saves him, ensuring he'll be able to fight another day. After retrieving his daughter, an ancient fungal colony awakens beneath the village, and grows so quickly that it threatens to consume the entire village, and maybe more. Ethan is weakened from his fight against Miranda, and rather than slow down Chris Redfield, who has come to assist him, he convinces Chris to take Rose to safety. Ethan stays behind to see to it personally that the horrors he's seen will never leave the village; he triggers an explosion, bringing an end to the evil, as well as his own life.
Resident Evil Village is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.