Resident Evil Village is a right rollercoaster, introducing werewolves, witches, vampires, mermen, and even vengeful ventriloquist dolls into the mix. Unfortunately, it looks like one of the monster designs might have been pinched from a horror film, and honestly, they've got a good case.
Spoilers for Resident Evil Village are under this video, so if you're planning on playing, return here once you've seen the credits roll. If all that talk of mythological creatures has thrown you, it turns out that Capcom does know what it's up to and Village is an exhilarating and terrifying descent into a new type of Resident Evil experience. Watch our review of the game below.
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In Heisenberg's factory, which is one of the last sections of the game, the player will encounter a mini-boss named Sturm. He's a human that's been infected with the Cadou parasite, and then metal components, including a giant fan, have been grafted onto his body through Heisenberg's experiments. Sturm is lethal with his charging attacks and he'll even throw out an arc of flame at you to corner you into a death trap. It's an awesome design and very memorable, so it's disheartening to know that the artists might have nicked the inspiration from Frankenstein's Army, a found footage horror film from 2013.
Director Richard Raaphorst drew attention to the striking similarities in a post to his LinkedIn account. "It's a crazy monster movie filled with my own creature designs, one of which has been used - completely without authorization or credit in the newest Resident Evil game," they said, offering side-by-side images of his own creature and Sturm. It's difficult to disregard what Raaphorst is saying: both creatures have a big propeller where their head and chest would be, and a scene in the film sees the creature set on fire like the second stage of the mini-boss battle.
CloneKorp on Twitter has taken this further and pointed out that quite a few of Heisenberg's soldiers look like monsters from Frankenstein's Army. "Oh dude, this is worse then [sic] I thought. First I felt angry, then proud, but now I see this, I feel sad," replied Raaphorst to the thread. VGC has contacted Capcom for a comment on these allegations but it hasn't heard back yet. One of Resident Evil Village's greatest strengths is in its exciting and distinct designs across the four houses that define the setting, giving each chapter of the game a specific air to it. It'd be a shame to find out that the studio didn't adequately credit where it had gotten its influences from, so we'll keep you in the loop when we know more.
Featured Image Credit: CapcomTopics: News, Resident Evil, Resident Evil Village, Capcom