New details have emerged of Resident Evil Village's setting and characters, in the form of a map and what looks like a portrait Mother Miranda.
The images, which IGN initially posted on April 9, show off four different locations within the game's map, one of which is Castle Dimitrescu. They also offered an apparent first look at Mother Miranda. At this time, not much is known about the mysterious new character.
"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 videogame out of," said Morimasa Sato, the game's director. "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."
Named after the primary antagonist Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, who's seen in gameplay videos and trailers and who is causing quite a stir online, Castle Dimitrescu is the setting of the PS5 exclusive demo. Aside from this location, the other three — marked by different emblems — have been identified: House Beneviento, Heisenberg's Factory, and Moreau's Reservoir. Eight smaller marked locations are visible, but a bit harder to decipher.
Fans have compared Resident Evil Village's setting to that of Resident Evil 4, similarly a village with a castle in the heart of Europe. The eighth installment of the franchise's map even shows a water monster within Moreau's Reservoir, similar to the lake boss, Del Lago, in Resident Evil 4. What sets this map apart from the fourth game's rural location is the abundance of snow, which plays a big part. According to Sato, the team traveled to Europe during the spring to research the location but found it covered in snow, inspiring them to implement the idea as a visual presentation and gameplay element.
While gamers haven't seen Mother Miranda in any official capacity, her name is clearly heard being chanted by the villagers in some kind of ceremony. Lady Dimitrescu is also heard speaking with the mysterious entity over the phone in gameplay footage. Eagle-eyed fans also noticed a background character briefly shown in one of the trailers that resembles the person in the Mother Miranda portrait, donning a robe and a circular headdress, leading some to believe we've already had a glimpse of the character.
Source: IGN