Resident Evil has been on a roll these past few years with annual releases that all knock it out of the park. This winning streak continues with Resident Evil Village. The game is pretty short, taking only about ten hours to complete, so plenty of fans have already gone through it about two or three times.
Looking to the future, we hope the next mainline entry continues this upwards trajectory. If they include at least a handful of the entries below, then fans should have no reason to worry about Resident Evil 9. It is still a mystery if they'll try to pick a subtitle to fit in the Roman Numeral "IX", though.
10 Culmination Of A Trilogy
The seventh mainline entry introduced numerous new characters and concepts, including Ethan Winters, the Mold, Blue Umbrella, and the Connections. Resident Evil Village expands upon most of these ideas while adding a few twists. Everything seems to be leading towards a third game becoming a culmination of all these elements. Obviously this would not be a culmination to end the series, but an end of an era and specific storyline, similar to how Resident Evil 5 finally ended Albert Wesker.
9 It Should Be Scarier Than Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is one of the scariest games of the last generation. While it says nothing negative about the overall quality of the sequel, Resident Evil Village is notably less scary than its predecessor. While the over the top nature of the new title is appreciated, we want the spine-tingling terror of the seventh game, something we also saw in the originals and the remakes.
8 A Dedication To The Time Jump
Resident Evil Village ends with several shocking and ridiculous twists. Most notably there is a significant time jump where Ethan's daughter Rose is a teenager.
The next game better stick to this change and show us how the world has changed in the at least thirteen year interim. There is always a chance not as much time has passed and Rose simply grows at an accelarated rate due to her powers. Either way, the next game needs to follow up on it.
7 We Want More Ethan Winters
The end of the post-credits sequence shows a suspicious figure approaching the vehicle Rose rides away in. People have already figured out the model is Ethan Winters, implying he is still alive in some way. Given the mysterious data storage abilities of the Mold, Ethan's consciousness could still be locked away somewhere. Perhaps he is with Mia already. They have yet to explore all the capabilities of the Mold, so the possibilities are endless.
6 Attache Case Inventory
People generally agree on Resident Evil 4 having the most engaging inventory system. Inventory is a case with multiple blocks and every item takes up a specific number of space, forcing you to often rearrange the order of items and weapons inside it. Resident Evil Village replicates this, though most players rarely found themselves hurting for space. A sequel should retain a similar system for holding weapons and valuables.
5 Chris Redfield Versus The BSAA
Resident Evil Village shows a shattered relationship between Chris Redfield and his former organization, the BSAA. He is vehemently against the use of B.O.Ws for any purpose, and the BSAA sends them into the village during the game's ending. Why is an organization made to combat bioterrorism using the same tools as their enemies. Maybe they want to fight fire with fire. Whatever the reason, Chris vehemently disagrees.
4 We Want Old Faces To Come Back
There are several Resident Evil characters we have not seen in years, and some we saw in the remakes whose modern whereabouts are a little blurry. We don't really know what Jill Valentine has been up to since Resident Evil 5. If the sequel really does take place more than a decade later, it will be great to see where everyone is as older people. Considering the shady dealings of the BSAA with B.O.Ws, will some of these old friends become enemies?
3 Evil Mia
Everybody seems to forget that Mia was a scientist working for the Connections, an organization dealing exclusively in black market research and dealing of B.O.Ws.
Mia is always portrayed as an innocent victim in the middle of all this trouble. A third game should bring to light what Mia has really done and make her pay for her crimes. Maybe being kidnapped by the Bakers is punishment enough, but we should remember her hand in creating Eveline.
2 VR Support
Playing Resident Evil 7 in VR made an already scary game all the more terrifying. Resident Evil Village skips out on this feature. With PS5 receiving a new VR headset in the near future, it only makes sense for them to bring back VR for a sequel. It should not be at the expense of a non-VR experience, but horror is the perfect genre for the platform and people had so many positive experiences with Resident Evil 7. It does not seem outside the realm of possibility for Resident Evil Village to receive VR support in the future, either.
1 Cooperative Play
While some bemoan the Resident Evil games between 4 and 7, most have to admit that Resident Evil 5 is one of the finest linear co-op campaigns. Maybe the ninth game does not have to be a full co-op experience like the fifth entry, but having some sort of co-op component would be incredible. The recent success of It Takes Two shows how gamers are still more than willing to eat up a compelling cooperative adventure.