Resident Evil 8 was one of the big surprises of the PS5 event, especially since its official name is Resident Evil Village. The game follows up on the events of Resident Evil 7, and once again puts players in the shoes of Ethan Winters.
One of the biggest surprises of the trailer is when Chris Redfield bursts into Ethan's house and brutally murders his wife Mia. The reason for this is still a mystery, but equally mysterious is Chris' new and updated design, which was immediately memed.
This isn't the first time that Chris' design has been drastically changed, as the character has sported quite a few looks over the years. There isn't some big overarching motivation behind Chris' redesigns, but there are a few reasons Resident Evil keeps changing it.
Capcom Used Facial Capture Technology in Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil 7 brought a big twist to players when Chris Redfield swooped in with a new corporation called Blue Umbrella to save the day. Equally surprising was the fact that Chris looked like a completely different person, leading to multiple theories about the character being an imposter. These theories were put to rest by Koshi Nakanishi, the director of Resident Evil 7 when he confirmed Capcom used new photo-scan technology in the game.
Using photo scan meant that characters were based on real models, and thus looked a little more realistic compared to the hand-created characters of the past. The Not a Hero DLC confirmed that RE7's Chris is indeed Chris Redfield, but the character has seen changes before RE7. The original Chris was a much skinnier more clean-cut character before Resident Evil 5 made him bulk up like a bodybuilder. Up until Resident Evil 7 Chris really only changed one or two times, which could easily be explained as simply updating the character design.
RE8's Chris Is Likely An Attempt to Fix RE7's Design
Chris' look in Resident Evil 7 was a bit divisive among fans, and it doesn't seem like Capcom's intention to foster theories about him being a fake. With the Resident Evil 8 trailer, it's clear that Capcom has redesigned Chris once again, and it's likely a way to rectify the change from Resident Evil 7. This version of Chris is once again bulked up, and the haircut falls more in line with the version of the character from Resident Evil 5 or the CGI movies. It's not clear if Capcom is using photo scan technology again, but either way, this version of Chris falls more in line with the rest of the series.
Resident Evil 8 launches in 2021 for PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.