The next entry in the Resident Evil series is right around the corner, continuing the first person horror trilogy, which started with 2017's Resident Evil 7.
Here is everything we know so far.
Resident Evil 8 Trailer
A new trailer was released for Resident Evil 8, giving us a greater insight into who the mysterious tall woman is, as well as more backstory between Ethan and Mia.
Resident Evil 8 Release Date
The release date for Resident Evil 8 is May 7th 2021 and will release worldwide across all platforms.
Pre-orders are available now on all platforms.
Resident Evil 8 Platforms
The game's director has announced that Resident Evil 8 will be coming to PS4 and Xbox One, despite being told previously it wouldn't be released on last-gen hardware.
PS4 users will be able to the PS5 version for free, while Xbox One users will be able to upgrade via Smart Delivery.
Pre-Order
Pre-orders are now live for the game on all digital platforms, as well as your favourite game store.
Here are the links for the digital platforms,
RE8 Gameplay
During the RE Showcase, we got a first look at the gameplay for Resident Evil 8, which features a similar menu screen as RE4, along with a new crafting menu which will allow players to craft ammo and healables.
The Merchant will be making a return, having not been seen since Resident Evil 4.
His appearance is vastly different than what we saw in RE4, and he will now be known as The Duke, but the concept is the same.
Demo
During the RE Showcase, it was announced that a PS5 demo would be released after the event, this is now available to download.
The PS5 demo doesn't contain gameplay from RE8, instead, it is similar to RE7 where it acts as more of a prologue.
In the demo, players play as Maiden as she tries to escape from the castle.
A second demo will be released for all platforms in Spring 2021.
RE:Verse
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Resident Evil, a new multiplayer game called Resident Evil RE:Verse will release for free alongside Resident Evil 8.
This game is a cel-shaded deathmatch style game, bringing characters from across the Resident Evil series to battle it out in iconic locations.
In the trailer, we got to see Leon, Claire, Jill Valentine, Jack Baker and others fight it out in locations such as the RPD from Resident Evil 2.
Check out the reveal trailer below.
Engine
RE8 will continue to use the RE Engine, an engine developed by Capcom themselves, rather than them having to use a third party engine such as Unreal Engine or Unity.
RE Engine was first used in Resident Evil 7, the prequel to RE8, and has also been used on Resident Evil 2 & 3 Remake, and Devil May Cry 5.
The engine is incredibly optimized and has allowed Capcom to push boundaries when it comes to textures, lighting, and shadows, which for a horror game is important
Characters
Players will once again control Ethan in the next instalment of the series.
Ethan was the protagonist of Resident Evil 7, as he searched for his girlfriend Mia.
We will get to see the continuation of his story in the upcoming game, along with Mia and Chris Redfield returning, as well as a new character called Emily who will play a key role in RE8.
There has been no news on whether any other classic characters, such as Jill, Leon, Barry, or Claire, will making an appearance and it is unlikely that they will be.
Chris Redfield
Chris Redfield is a staple of the Resident Evil series, having made his first appearance in the original 1996 game.
Since then he has been in various games such as Resident Evil Code Veronica, 5, 6, and 7, as well as appearing in numerous Resident Evil movies, both live action and CGI.
His appearance in Resident Evil 7 was very unexpected, as he had changed appearance completely, going from a bulked-up bodybuilder to a slender build.
In Resident Evil 8 he appears to look more like his bodybuilder appearance and seems to play a big role in the next game.
In the games reveal trailer we see him kill another main character but we don't know why.
People have speculated that he has joined the bad guys, but maybe there is something more to it.
