A lack of enemy variety may have been an issue in Resident Evil 7, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to be the case in the upcoming Resident Evil Village. We’ve already seen a great variety of enemies that we will be fighting in the game, which includes werewolves- or monsters that are close enough to werewolves, in any case. Game Informer’s recent issue features a massive cover story on the upcoming survival horror game (with key points summarized in this massive Twitter thread by AestheticGames aka Dusk Golem), and many new details on it have been dropped within- including a bunch of information on how these enemies, called Lycans, are going to function.
Essentially, you should be prepared for highly capable of enemies that can behave in a number of different ways depending on the situation you find themselves in. Lycans are fast and strong, and they can jump higher and run faster that most enemies RE fans will be used to. In particular, Lycans are capable of climbing structures, so if you find yourself on a rooftop, you’re still not going to be safe, while if you find yourself inside of a house, Lycans can still climb up onto the house and try and break in. Ethan can try and barricade himself inside houses to hold back oncoming Lycan crowds, but they’re capable of smashing through things, so it’s still going to be a challenge.
Specifically, Capcom has noted that Lycans were designed to leverage the more vertical level design of Resident Evil Village, evidenced by how they can sprint and climb up buildings and structures. One section of the game sees Ethan close to a wheel barrow and surrounded by a wheat field, with Lycans coming in. Players can only spot them by their sound as they run through the fields, or through the sight of the fields being disturbed. Players here also have to decide how they want to approach the combat situation- you can try and take down the Lycans as they rush through the fields, or you can wait for them to get to you.
Interestingly enough, one section of the game also takes heavy cues from Resident Evil 4 (like the rest of the game, in fact), calling back to RE4’s opening village fight. Players are swarmed by Lycan mobs in an open environment, and they only back off once a bell has been rung. Meanwhile, Lycans are capable of non-aggressive behaviour as well- they operate differently when they’re alone than they would if they were in a crowd, and can also adopt different strategies. For instance, they can stay perched on vantage points and wait for you to get close to them, and can even wait and hide inside of bushes and wait to ambush you.
Resident Evil Village launches for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia on May 7. New gameplay footage and details will be dropping in tomorrow’s RE Showcase, and it’s likely a second demo of the game will be going live tomorrow as well.
