Small Details You Missed In Resident Evil Village

At first, the recent "Resident Evil" games were divorced from the larger series canon. That illusion was shattered when Chris Redfield tossed Ethan Winters an assault rifle at the end of "Resident Evil 7." Since Chris is a narrative impetus behind "Resident Evil Village," the game drops all pretense and directly references previous games' events and characters through cheeky quotes.

The first quote comes from the game's dedicated gun runner, The Duke. Even though "Resident Evil Village" is a direct sequel to "Resident Evil 7," "Village" shares a lot of DNA with "Resident Evil 4," as both games involve old European villages and castles, cults, and merchants. 

At first, The Duke from 'Village" seems like a larger clone of the Weapons Merchant from "RE4." Every so often though, The Duke will initiate a transaction by uttering, "What're ya buyin?" Not only does he mimic the Merchant's unmistakable accent, but The Duke also explains he was quoting "an old friend," indicating a shared history between characters.

Another quote lurks later in the game, when you fight a heavily mutated Karl Heisenberg. Partway through the battle, Chris Redfield blows up Karl's factory, who responds by saying he will "murder that boulder-punching a***hole." This statement clearly references the final battle of "Resident Evil 5," in which Chris punches a boulder to drown Albert Wesker in lava. Chris' face might have changed a bit, but his history sure hasn't.

When setting a tone, video games need to make players face the welcoming committee. In past "Resident Evil" games, that honor fell to a zombie munching all by its lonesome, and "Resident Evil 7" went the Nemesis route with evil, immortal hillbillies that stalk you at all times. "Resident Evil Village" made an entire village of werewolves attack audiences, which should feel familiar to long-time "RE" fans.

Whether by design or coincidence, the initial lycan attack in "Village" shares a few elements with the initial Ganado assault in "Resident Evil 4." Both events take place early in the game when you have little in the way of ammo and healing items, and they both force unwilling participants to fend off waves of preternaturally durable townsfolk.

If those similarities aren't enough, these two onslaughts make you contend with more than just bog-standard beginner enemies. During the "RE4" attack, the Ganado are backed up by the legendary Dr. Salvador and his infamous decap-o-matic chainsaw, while the lycans in "Village" are led by an extra-giant monster named Uriaş who wields a meat tenderizer-like hammer.

The final nail in the coincidence coffin is that both events are unwinnable. There are too many enemies and not enough bullets to go around, so players just have to survive an invisible timer in "Village" and "RE4". Intentional or not, there's more than enough details to link the "Village" attack to the Ganado assault in "RE4."

While each "Resident Evil" game has a self-contained story, the series tells a meta-narrative of survivors living to tell the tale and learning from their experiences. Each zombie infestation is an extra physical and mental scar for characters such as Leon Kennedy, while Ethan Winters earns a few trophies. Sort of.

At the beginning of "Resident Evil Village," you can wander Ethan's new house and find several notes and trinkets. One item sitting on a shelf is an unpleasant reminder of his horrific time in the Baker Ranch: a Mr. Everywhere bobblehead. These collectibles items were, well, everywhere in "Resident Evil 7," and if you found and destroyed all 20, you were rewarded with an achievement and unlockable item. When interacting with the bobblehead in his house, Ethan remarks he doesn't know why he keeps it around.

Much, much later in "Village," after you defeat Salvatore Moreau and obtain the crank, you can lower a bridge and do a bit of exploring. In a cave only accessible by boat, you will find a treasure trove of items, including a shotgun attachment and, curiously, an Antique Coin. What is a coin that used to litter the Baker Ranch doing all the way out in Romania? Whatever the reason, once you find it, you can sell it to The Duke for a sizable payout.

What kind of food does The Duke like? Early concept art depicts him as being surrounded by raw meats of every kind, but as the character's design was refined, so were his tastes. The Duke was given a palate that reflected his title, and his favorite meals were drawn from the country where "Resident Evil Village" takes place: Romania.

In "Village," The Duke offers several services, including buying and selling items, upgrading weapons, and cooking. If you bring him specific ingredients, he will create dishes that permanently increase Ethan's stats. What you may not know is that many of his offerings are based on actual traditional Romanian recipes, including Tochitura de Pui and Sarmale de Peste.

Granted, much like the general crafting system, the recipes are gross oversimplifications. For example, The Duke only asks for "Poultry," "Meat," and "Juicy Game" when cooking Tochitura de Pui. He doesn't even request that you remove the bullets from the ingredients. If you want a genuine Tochitura meal, you will need properly prepared foodstuffs such as pork, sausage, chicken livers, mushrooms, tomatoes, rosemary, and paprika. Perhaps The Duke keeps those items stored in the back?

Since "Resident Evil Village" is a survival horror game, you will need every item you can scrounge to get by. It doesn't matter if you want bullets for shooting, herbs for crafting, or trinkets for selling; you need to open every cabinet and examine every crevice you can for resources. Thankfully, the game has a built-in feature that tells you when a particular resource well is all tapped out.

To help Ethan navigate the village and surrounding castles, you can use a built-in map function that automatically keeps track of where you have been and where you have to go. But most important of all, the map magically knows if you missed an item in any given room or building. It doesn't matter if you forgot to smash a vase or shoot a ceiling cache; the map knows all.

The game's magical map usefulness doesn't end there, though. The system also includes a handy tool that tells you if secret passages, puzzles, or other important locations requiring a key are in the vicinity. If you pick up a crucial item during your journey, check the map and see if there are any locked doors. You never know what your new key can open.

"Resident Evil" likes to recycle certain ideas. This usually isn't due to laziness, just worldbuilding. After all, when developers want to create a consistent world, it's a good idea to make certain enemies and weapons, like zombies and the Samurai Edge, respectively, into recurring elements. Of course, not all of these repeating ideas are diegetic. Sometimes, Capcom likes to produce a feeling of nostalgia by reusing music tracks. Well, the good ones anyway — nobody wants a remix of "Mansion Basement."

If you go through the main "Resident Evil Village" campaign, you probably won't hear any music you recognize, but the returning Mercenaries mode holds a secret. While you catch your breath and stock up on supplies between missions in The Duke's room, if you take your time outside of his store menu, you will hear a haunting melody that might not mean anything to franchise newcomers. But, if you have been with "Resident Evil" for a while, you will most likely recognize it as a remix of "Safe Haven," the save room theme from the first "Resident Evil."

It's not every day that a "Resident Evil" title reuses old music, but it's fitting that "Village" rekindles feelings of safety in the one location where the game's enemies can't follow, and does so with a retread of a familiar track. Few things calm the nerves quite like some relaxing tunes.