Not that it needed pointing out, considering the obvious parallels, but Resident Evil Village shares much of its DNA with previous games in the series.
Shinji Mikami’s acclaimed fourth entry, in particular, has been specifically name-dropped on numerous occasions as an inspiration for Ethan Winters’ upcoming horror story, with even the eighth installment’s titular starting area bearing more than a passing resemblance to the location of Leon’s first encounter with the Los Illuminados. Environmental similarities aside, though, the team responsible for bringing this fictional piece of hellish countryside to life has also opted to lift several mechanics from past releases.
One of these, of course, is the Attache Case inventory last seen in Resident Evil 4 which affords the freedom to manipulate weapons and items as part of a pseudo mini-game where the ultimate goal is to make efficient use of space. Another, as revealed by Sony yesterday, confirms the return of an iconic saving system.
Like its forebears, Village will require that players manually record their progress via the use of typewriters found throughout the world. By interacting with the mechanical device, Ethan will be able to make note of his current whereabouts and possessions, locking them in should he succumb to Mother Miranda’s hostile forces.
As a noteworthy aside, the PlayStation Blog post details that in this instance, Ink Ribbons – a consumable item used to interact with typewriters in older titles – won’t be necessary, making unlimited saves possible. What isn’t known, however, is whether this will remain in harder difficulties, which often up the ante by reintroducing the feature. Resident Evil 7‘s incredibly tough Madhouse mode, for example, mandated that Ethan find blank cassette tapes in the Baker Mansion before being able to access the appropriate menus.
You can expect confirmation on that front in the near future, but in the meantime, see here for all of the latest Resident Evil Village news, including how to take part in several ongoing demos.