Capcom has certainly revived the Resident Evil series that many were slowly losing faith in. With the release of Resident Evil 7 and the RE2 and RE3 remakes, the series has definitely made a few new fans along the way. There are also many new players that jumped in right in time to have Resident Evil Village be their entry into the series.
However, the players that didn't play RE7 and opted for the quick summary at the beginning of RE Village may actually be missing out on a few key plot points. Resident Evil Village is a direct sequel/continuation to Ethan's story in RE7. Ethan's time at the Baker residence was eventful, to say the least, so it'd be difficult to fit in every single detail. For all the new fans coming into the story with RE Village, here are a few of the most important details the recap at the beginning of the game happened to leave out.
7 Mia's Lies About Her Job And The Connections
The catalyst that began Ethan's entire journey was ultimately Mia's deceit about her career. While under the guise of a simple babysitting job, Mia actually worked under a shady company, The Connections, involved with the likes of bio-terrorism, drugs, and money laundering. Her "babysitting" job was ultimately what lead to Ethan's trip to the Baker estate in Louisiana.
Without Mia's lies, Ethan's entire story wouldn't have ever happened in the first place. Players never actually get to see the confrontation about Mia's deception and it would have made the recap more realistic if Ethan at least mentioned the gigantic bump in their relationship.
6 The Introduction Of Blue Umbrella
The jarring image of Chris Redfield coming out of an Umbrella helicopter at the end of Resident Evil 7Â was a difficult bit of information for fans to swallow and probably should have been mentioned in Resident Evil Village's recap. The main story of RE7 doesn't quite explain the origin of the Umbrella Corporation, a.k.a Blue Umbrella, but the "Not A Hero" DLC featuring Chris offers a bit more information.
Blue Umbrella is an American private military company, made in response to the havoc caused by the original company, Umbrella Pharmaceuticals. Blue Umbrella chose to keep their logo as a means to show that they take responsibility for the mess they've created. Blue Umbrella's formation is a key part of the overall Resident Evil storyline and definitely should have been mentioned during the recap to avoid confusion in the event Blue Umbrella shows up again in future Resident Evil titles.
5 Meeting And Helping Rescue Zoe Baker
Zoe was the sole survivor within her immediate family after the events of Resident Evil 7. It's also apparent that without Zoe's aid, Ethan and Mia may not have made it out alive at all; she was the one that instructed Ethan on where to find the materials needed to create a cure and was even the one that helped the protagonist retrieve his severed hand.
However, the most important reason why Zoe should have been mentioned in the recap is that she may make a reappearance one day. Some fans were even anticipating Zoe to make a return as soon as Resident Evil Villageif not another future title.
4 Eveline Hiding As The Mysterious Grandma
Fans that played Resident Evil 7 were likely to be suspicious of the true identity of the Old Lady roaming around the village. The Baker's "grandma" from the previous game turned out to be Eveline all along, so it wasn't too far off belief to think that perhaps the Old Lady around the Resident Evil 8's village had a secret identity as well.
For most of the game, Eveline hiding in plain sight was an important detail that could have led new players to uncover the secret behind the Old Lady and her role in Ethan's journey much earlier.
3 Ethan Didn't Find A Vaccine For Himself
A strange detail that doesn't seem to be addressed within the 7th game is the fact that the only two vaccines left were administered to a heavily mutated Jack Baker (in an attempt to kill him) and the other (canonically) to Mia. It was clear that everyone in the Baker estate was infected and considering he can safely reattach his limbs after dismemberment, Ethan must have been exposed as well.
However, the protagonist doesn't receive a dose. Knowing that Ethan didn't actually get a vaccine dosage on-screen during Resident Evil 7 may have given new players a heads up about the twist near the end of Resident Evil Village.
2 Eveline Imprinting Mia And Ethan As Her Parents
The whole plot of the game revolves around Eveline, a bioweapon in search of the perfect family. Although a powerful and dangerous bioweapon, Eveline still had the mind of a little girl and simply wanted Mia to be her mother figure; and thus leaving Ethan to be her projected father.
It was one thing for Ethan to continue his relationship with Mia after her lies and the traumatic experience, but for them to decide to have a child only a few years after the events of the Baker house was a bit of a questionable decision. Players that knew about Eveline and her obsession with having a family to call her own knew that Rose's birth would be trouble right away. It seems as if this curse follows Ethan and Mia around and poor little Rose is now caught up in the mess as well.
1 Ethan Reattaching His Hand And Leg
This is likely the most important piece of information players are missing out on in the Resident Evil 7 recap. The twist at the end of the game definitely makes much more sense to fans that played the previous installment. It was always strange that after getting his hand chainsawed off by his possessed wife, Ethan's limp seemed to work just fine after Zoe quite literally stapled it back on. Consequently, the first time Lady Dimitrescu slices off Ethan's hand in Resident Evil Village shouldn't faze RE7 fans; Ethan losing his limbs isn't exactly new.
This detail about Ethan having the ability to reattach his limbs makes the first time it happens in RE Village much easier to digest and maybe should have been included in the recap. One would think that Ethan would mention the fact he has this god-like ability but perhaps he's merely trying to forget the trauma altogether.