The story of Resident Evil Village concerns Ethan Page as he ventures to the titular location and encounters werewolf-like beings, Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters. However, figure named Mother Miranda seems to be at the center of it all. Thanks to IGN, we can see Mother Miranda’s appearance for the first time along with a map of the “Village.”
The map showcases several key locations like Castle Dimitrescu along with a factory, windmills and a reservoir (that seems to have a monster lurking within). Comparisons can be made to Resident Evil 4 and director Morimasa Sato is seemingly targeting the same kind of variety.
“When you hear the word ‘village’, you might imagine quaint houses lined up along a street, but that’s not really enough to make a video game out of. Especially in a horror game, I think it’s important to keep providing new experiences along the way. Within the village, it’s important to keep delivering new surprises to the player.”
As for Mother Miranda, a portrait of her has been revealed. Though she has a deity kind of status in the village, Sato doesn’t want to spoil everything. “For Mother Miranda, I think it’s better for the players to find out for themselves by playing the game. But I’ll say this: Mother Miranda and the inner side of her character are extremely important factors in the game.” This is further reinforced by concept art which features Chris Redfield, Ethan and an imposing Mother Miranda.
Her mask, along with the general motif, is based on crowds. As art director Tomonori Takano reveals, “The mask resembles a crow’s beak. As a symbol of horror, crows function as a theme for Village in its entirety as well, and they appear in the actual game. Since she has a symbolic role within the village, we implemented that same design theme for Mother Miranda.”
As for Ethan, it’s been revealed that he’s out to save his daughter (who Chris carrying and seemingly responsible for kidnapping). Sato is looking to show more of a personal side for Ethan this time. Interestingly enough, the concept art provides the first details of the protagonist’s face. “Ethan is a character without a face, which makes him very difficult to design,” says Takano. “If I make his character art… he still does not have a face.”
“That makes it pretty hard, but even in first-person there are moments in which you can see his clothes. We’ve also challenged ourselves within the cutscenes, so I hope you look forward to that.”
Resident Evil Village is out on May 7th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Stadia and PC. A new trailer and gameplay will be revealed at the Resident Evil Showcase on April 15th so stay tuned.