Resident Evil Village has proven to be a powerful concoction of old and new, combining the best elements from games across Capcom's long-running survival horror franchise, most notably Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 4, and repackaging them in a way that feels fresh and unique. It's no surprise then that the game is breaking records for the series, having already sold more than 3 million copies in just four days.
[WARNING: Spoilers for Resident Evil Village below]
Part of the game's appeal is its lore-heavy story. Resident Evil Village is a game filled with major revelations about the history of the Resident Evil universe. But while it answers questions fans didn't even know they had about the origins of Umbrella and the mysterious Mother Miranda, it raises plenty more questions on where the series goes from here and what exactly transpired over the course of the game, questions that don't exactly get answers.
Of course, Resident Evil Village not giving up all the answers is by design. Players need to scrounge the game's environments for documents, notes, and other hints on what is truly transpiring in the remote European village where the game takes place. But even so, there's still plenty left to the imagination when it comes to some of the game's major plot moments. Here are the biggest questions Resident Evil Village leaves unanswered, and what they could mean for future installments in the Resident Evil series.
RE Village Question: How Exactly Is Ethan Still Sane?
Resident Evil Village's biggest twist is the revelation that protagonist Ethan Winters technically died towards the start of Resident Evil 7, killed by the Baker family. It's then revealed he's been infected with the same mind-altering mold that gave the Bakers their various powers. The mold is what has kept him alive for so long and allows Ethan to sustain some serious hand injuries over the course of the game.
But Resident Evil Village never explains when or how he was infected. Did the Bakers infect Ethan on purpose, or did it simply happen by accident due to Ethan being inside the Baker's mold-infested home? And why doesn't Ethan become a violent monster like seemingly ever other mold-infected person does? The answer, most likely, is that he's simply a special case and the mold doesn't affect him like it does others (similar to how Mother Miranda has an extreme ability to transform and control the mold) but it does all seem a little too good to be true and is given no real explanation.
RE Village Question: How Did Ethan's Infection Go Undetected?
It's made clear that Mia knows about Ethan's mold condition, though for unclear reasons she decides not to tell her husband. But how do other characters, including Ethan himself, not know already? Documents in-game show both Ethan's wife Mia and his daughter Rose undergo various tests and doctor visits to make sure they are healthy, so it seems safe to assume Ethan, who battled through mold-infested hell to save Mia in Resident Evil 7, would also be tested.
Did Mia simply cover-up all evidence of Ethan's condition, or is it just medical malpractice that saw Ethan go undiagnosed for so long? The game never says.
RE Village Question: How Long Was Mia Replaced By Mother Miranda For?
Towards the end of the game it's revealed Resident Evil Village's shape-shifting antagonist, Mother Miranda, had essentially swapped places with Mia in order to kidnap Rose. But it's never clear how long Mother Miranda was impersonating Mia for. Surely, if it was for a long period of time, Ethan might notice something is off with his wife? This is perhaps hinted at in Ethan's diary, where he remarks on Mia's apparent anger issues, but it's never made clear if this was due to Mother Miranda impersonating her or Mia just having a lot going on in her life at the moment.
RE Village Question: What Did Mia Go Through As Mother Miranda's Prisoner?
Resident Evil Village's Mother Miranda doesn't kill Mia when she replaces her, but instead locks her away in a dungeon to be experimented on. This already doesn't make too much sense. If Mother Miranda is experimenting on Mia, how can she also be at the Winters' family home impersonating Mia? Regardless, it's unclear what exactly Mia went through during her time in captivity. After being rescued by Chris Redfield, who asks Mia what happened, Mia pretty quickly glosses over what transpired and simply says she was experimented on with no further explanation. Earlier in the game it's made clear Mia is on some special medication following the events of Resident Evil 7. One would assume not having those medications while in captivity could do some serious damage to Mia's health and mental stability, but the game makes no further mention of that, either.
RE Village Question: Why Is The Duke Helping Ethan?
The Duke, Resident Evil Village's merchant, is one of the game's more mysterious characters. He always seems to know more than he should and is willing to help Ethan out for reasons that aren't entirely clear. Presumably Ethan is the Duke's best (only?) customer, so perhaps it makes sense he wants to keep Ethan alive by supplying him with home-cooked meals, guns, and blueprints, but it's all a little strange. It's never revealed what the Duke's true motives are or even who he is, but here's hoping he makes a return in a future Resident Evil installment.
RE Village Question: Why Are The BSAA Now The Bad Guys?
This one is a bit of a carryover from Resident Evil 7. At the end of that game, it's revealed that Chris Redfield is now working for an organization known as Blue Umbrella. That appears to still be the case in Resident Evil Village. Towards the end of the game the BSAA (an anti-bioweapon organization) appears at the village with helicopters and armed soldiers, looking to battle Mother Miranda.
Chris and his squad are not happy about this and treat the BSAA as enemy combatants despite the fact that Chris worked for the BSAA in both Resident Evil 5 and 6. Even more confusing is the fact that one of Resident Evil Village's final moments reveals the BSAA is employing bioweapons themselves. When did the BSAA become evil? Is that why Chris left and is now working for Blue Umbrella? None of these questions are answered, leaving fans to wildly speculate about what is going on in the Resident Evil universe.
RE Village Question: What Is The Megamycete, Actually?
A big deal is made out of the megamycete towards the end of Resident Evil Village. It's a massive, heart-like fungus that grows underneath the game's village, and is the source of the mold infection and Mother Miranda's powers. But it's never made entirely clear what exactly it is or what it can do. Mother Miranda makes reference to it being able to store the DNA and memories of those it infects, making it some kind of hive-mind organism, but this is never explained in much detail and leaves plenty of unanswered questions. Can it actually bring people back from the dead? Does it have a mind of its own? It's all a mystery for another time.
RE Village Question: What Are Rose's Powers?
In the game's final epilogue, Resident Evil Village flashes forward a number of years to a teenage Rose wearing her father's jacket. It's clear she's under constant surveillance and has a security detail. When one of her security guards makes a bad joke, Rose threatens that she has powers nobody but her knows about. What exactly are Rose's powers? It's obvious she has some of the regenerative powers of her father thanks to the mold (and the fact that she was taken apart as a baby and somehow put back together again) but is there more to it than that? Can she shapeshift like Mother Miranda? Mind-control victims like Eveline from Resident Evil 7? Time will tell, but fans are dying to know more.
Who Is Walking Towards Rose's Car At The End Of The Game?
At the very, very end of Resident Evil Village, Rose rides away in a black SUV with her security detail. If player's squint, as the car is driving into the distance, a lone figure can be seen approaching the vehicle, and the vehicle seems to stop or slow down as a result. Who is this mysterious figure? Thanks to modders, it's been revealed that the actual character model for the lone figure used in this scene is none other than Ethan Winters, who presumably dies earlier in the game after blowing himself up to destroy the megamycete. It's unclear if Capcom is simply using Ethan's character model as a placeholder, assuming nobody would be able to tell who the character was from such a far distance, or if Ethan truly is alive and well. Players will likely have to wait until the next installment in the franchise to find out.
No doubt there are even more questions Resident Evil Village poses that go unanswered, but these are simply some of the biggest ones fans are dying to know more about. Not knowing all the answers is part of the fun of Resident Evil, and perhaps it's why Resident Evil Village continues to do so well, breaking the franchise's concurrent player record on Steam shortly after its release. It might be somewhat unsatisfying to have so many unanswered questions, but fans will simply have to be patient as they wait for the next game in the series to, hopefully, reveal more information.