While Resident Evil Village has a great, branching narrative, the game could have been better if it had allowed players to make story-changing choices, specifically during the Heisenberg arc. After winning multiple awards, the horror game has proven to be a new fan-favorite for the series, with free DLC and expansions being announced. Despite being a great addition to the Resident Evil storyline, Village's narrative does have a few missed opportunities that could have made the game better.
The story of Villages follows Biohazard protagonist, Ethan Winters, on his quest to find his missing daughter, Rose, encountering four lords of the village along the way. Upon entering Heisenberg's part of the story, Ethan is given a choice: ally with the lord and use Rose to defeat Mother Miranda, the main antagonist of the story, or reject Heisenberg's offer and survive in his twisted factory of cyborg zombies. The game makes the choice for the player, having Ethan reject the offer and be thrown into his Heisenberg's Factory, a painfully long part of Resident Evil Village.
Capcom should have allowed players to make the decision instead. Siding with Heisenberg would have drastically changed the original ending of the game, quite possibly for the better. Having a choice that late into the game would have not only made Heisenberg's Factory a much more engaging part but also given players more variety and replayability once they had finished Resident Evil Village. Many fans have even taken it upon themselves to imagine what siding with Heisenberg would have looked like, with tons of fanart and fanfiction of the idea being made since the game's initial release.
Ethan Helping Heisenberg Could've Made RE Village More Interesting
In Resident Evil Village, Heisenberg was a very intriguing character with motives that differed greatly from that of his fellow lords. While characters like Lady Dimitrescu wanted to avenge her daughters and serve Mother Miranda, Heisenberg wanted to kill Miranda from the inside. Details throughout the game and in lore entries prove that he had been planning to snuff Miranda out for years, but lacked the materials to do so until he met Ethan.
Apart from his unique mannerisms and hate for Miranda, there really isn't a lot to Heisenberg's character. This was truly a wasted opportunity on Capcom's part. Heisenberg had the potential to be a more fleshed-out character, rather than being used as just another boss for Ethan to defeat, and having the option to help him would have made Village's story more interesting.
Heisenberg's Abilities Could Have Been Used In Resident Evil Village
Heisenberg arguably had the coolest ability of the four lords. His ability to manipulate metal with magnetism added a lot more flair to his character, making players want to see more of him. Resident Evil has an ongoing trope of switching characters, with Village continuing the trope in the scenes where the player is able to play as Chris Redfield. An ending in which the game switches the player character to Heisenberg for a while would have been a treat to see. Allowing players to use his abilities and giant hammer to smash Lycans and monsters would have made the alternate ending a lot more fun than trudging around Heisenberg's Factory.
Having a part of the game where the player is able to control Heisenberg would have also allowed Capcom to test new mechanics for future games. Rosemary Winters has some type of ability from the Cadou parasite. Considering how Village ends by alluding that Rose will be the protagonist of the next installment of the series, Capcom could have used a Heisenberg-focused level to test how audiences would react to supernatural abilities in Resident Evil.
New Story Paths Could've Made Resident Evil Village More Replayable
Resident Evil is a series that has been known to change the way it's played over the years. With each installment, the series has been used as a basis by many for how to make a proper horror game. Adding some RPG elements to Village, like actual player choices, could have made the game a lot more replayable and the story even more interesting. There wouldn't even have to be a lot of choices. Just choices determining the fates of the lords, specifically Heisenberg, would have been great to see. It could have also added onto some amazing entries in the lore of Resident Evil Village.
Heisenberg could have definitely been a great help for Ethan in his endeavors and rejecting his help seemed a bit unrealistic. Having a metal controlling buddy - even one that's a bit sadistic - would definitely have its perks. There are points in the story where many fans have even felt guilty about killing Heisenberg, who was also a very likable character. On top of this, many of the other lords, like Lady Dimitrescu, were also somewhat sympathetic, likable characters that were killed off too soon in the story. Capcom making the story so that the player had to kill them without having choices to spare them was one of its biggest mistakes. Fans are hoping to see more of the four lords, who should return in Village's DLC.
Resident Evil Village brought new mechanics and ideas into the series and had a great narrative. Despite all of this, there were a lot of missed opportunities in the story that could have made it even better, like giving players the choice to join Heisenberg. Heisenberg was an interesting and unique character and his charm and love for metal bending chaos struck the hearts of many players. Capcom should have given players the opportunity to join him and provide an alternate ending to the storyline, instead of trudging around a boring, unoriginal factory. This could have also given fans new memorable moments to play as Heisenberg, which would have in turn given Capcom a good reaction to supernatural abilities being introduced into the series. Hopefully, players will see more of Heisenberg and the four lords in the upcoming Resident Evil Village DLC.