Player Notices Resident Evil Village Reference In Resi 7
Even though players have got some black mould spray and seemingly eradicated the fearsome fungus that's been wreaking havoc over the past two Resident Evil games, eagle-eyed Resi fans have noticed a potentially massive reference hiding in the background of Resident Evil 7.
The 2017 game was a much-needed return to form for the shuffling shooter series and threw the rulebook to the window after criticisms that RE6 played out like a movie rather than a game. Picking up with a new protagonist and new first-person perspective, we got to grips with Ethan Winters and the horror of the Baker Ranch in the Louisiana swamps. The game was dubbed the "scariest" entry yet and rightly led to this year's Resident Evil Village.
Even though Village was always billed as a full sequel to RE7, a sneaky Easter egg could prove the two are more connected than we first thought.
What is the Resident Evil Village reference in Resi 7?
In Village, Ethan Winters is back as possibly the unlikeliest man alive (well, not quite alive). The story follows Ethan and his wife Mia, as their happy ending is shattered and the villainous Mother Miranda kidnaps his daughter. Rose Winters becomes a major part of the story and looks like she could bookend the Winters trilogy with the upcoming Resident Evil 9.
Although Rose was new for Village, redditor u/videogamessuckbutt, spotted a clever reference that seemingly teased her inclusion four years ago. When on the RE7 pause menu, players are faced with options for "Retry", "Options", "Stats", and "End". Is it just a coincidence that the first letters of these words spell out ROSE?
Others were suitably impressed with the spot and quickly took to the comments to congratulate the OP. One fan wrote, "Quick, everyone go back through every RE game pause menus!" Someone else said Dead Space followed a similar formula as they explained, "Fun fact, another game that does something similar is Dead Space 1. The MC goes to this ship looking for his girlfriend Nichole. And if you take all 12 chapters and take the first letter from each chapter, you get the sentence Nicole is Dead".
What does the Resident Evil Village reference mean?
While there's a chance the Resident Evil Village reference is just a coincidence, it's more likely that the writers have been plotting the Winters arc from the start. Work on Village started three years before its June 2020 announcement, meaning it was being sketched out about six months prior to RE7's release. For a while, we've known the next game will finish the trilogy, however, it looks like RE9 will shift focus to Rose.
The end of Village had Ethan sacrifice himself to save Rose, with the post-credits scene presumably jumping to the future with a teenage Rose working for/against the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSSA) and Chris Redfield. There was also the ominous tease of "the father's story is now done", however, let's remember Ethan could've popped up at the very end.
Whatever the writers have planned for Chris, Rose, and possibly Ethan, we're betting the story has been in the works for a while now. Considering Village added a touch of Resident Evil 4-inspired gothic horror to the franchise, we can't wait to see what RE9 brings to the table.
Images via Capcom