Small Details You Missed In The Resident Evil 8 Trailer

The first trailer for Resident Evil 8: Village was revealed during yesterday's Future of Gaming presentation and it was a doozy. It seemed to confirm all of those insane rumors we heard in the past, but raised a ton of new questions. Let's take a look at some of the finer points of this trailer and what it could mean for the Resident Evil franchise. 

First of all, let's get one big thing out of the way: Chris Redfield appears to have broken bad. He didn't seem at the end of the trailer killing somebody. No it is not entirely clear who Chris is shooting, if you listen closely, it may be pretty easy to figure out.

After Chris unloads his clip into his victim's face, the main character asks him why in a panicked voice. Chris refers to the man as "Ethan," which tells us that the woman who was just killed is probably Ethan's wife, Mia.

This is a huge reveal, considering the majority of the plot of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard centered around finding and rescuing Mia. It also means that Capcom considers the ending where Mia is saved to be the canon version of RE 7's events.

Also, it's easy to overlook the fact that Chris Redfield's physical appearance has changed quite significantly since the last time we saw him. He's bulkier and sports a more close-shaven hair cut. He also appears to be much older and more gruff, but the official description of the game from Capcom says that only a few years have passed since the events of Resident Evil 7. What has happened to Chris to make him look and behave so differently? Has he fallen victim to the same E-type infection that plagued the Bakers and kicked off the horrors of RE 7? Pairing this with a piece of key art for the game that appears to show Chris covered in the mold from RE 7, it may be inferred that Chris has indeed been turned evil or been infected somehow.

The subject of Chris Redfield also leads us to the Umbrella Corporation logo we see at one point in the trailer. The logo appears to have a bit of a blueish tint to it, which seems to call back to the mysterious splinter cell to which Chris now belongs. Since the beginning of the franchise, the Umbrella Corporation has been the evil company pulling many of the strings behind the horrific events of the series. However, Chris showed up working for Umbrella in the finale of Resident Evil 7, giving Ethan an experimental gun to take down the final boss. 

Since then, fans have been trying to figure out how Chris came to seemingly work for the enemy. The logo that Chris wears in RE 7 is a blue version of the Umbrella logo. This seems to indicate that either the company has been reformed or there is a separate sector of Umbrella that is dedicated to cleaning up the Corporation's messes. Whatever the case, the logo's appearance on what seems to be an ornate chest or plaque of some kind seems to indicate that "Blue Umbrella" has been around for longer than we realized. It's one puzzle that seems to the be on there verge of being solved in Resident Evil 8.

Speaking of puzzles, there also appears to be a brief glimpse at a literal puzzle at one point in the trailer. We see a massive door with demonic symbols etched into it. Even more interesting than that is the presence of two empty indentations in the door, which appear to be places where something can be slotted in. This brings to mind the kinds of puzzles we've seen in entries like Resident Evil 2, where statues must be completed by inserting missing tablets. In particular, it is reminiscent of the statue in the police station in Resident Evil 2. It can be assumed that finding the missing pieces will allow this particular door to be opened. 

Lastly, there is a recurring bit of imagery in the trailer involving babies. The trailer opens with Mia seemingly reading a bedtime story, possibly to hers and Ethan's child.. There are also a few moments in the trailer that seem to depict some corrupt versions of babies. An effigy hung up in the village has the appearance of a zombified newborn. Meanwhile, an occult symbol drawn on the floor later in the trailer looks like it also features a similar child figure in the center.

What does it all mean? Is Ethan up against some kind of cult that wants his child? Is it related to the E-type infection suffered by both Ethan and his wife in Resident Evil 7? And speaking of which, why does it look like Ethan gets shot at point-blank range at one point, but is totally fine? Is the cure for his infection wearing off? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, though: the new trailer is absolutely chilling.