After the well-received Resident Evil: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village, Redditors think they know what's in store for the 9th installment.

The Resident Evil videogame series has gone through numerous changes throughout its run. Beginning as horror-focused, fixed-camera games, RE gradually evolved into a more action-oriented franchise. The perfect merging occurred in Resident Evil 4, which was also the culmination of the switch to an over-the-shoulder camera style.

It was with the 7th and 8th installments, Resident Evil: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village, that there was a switch to the first-person shooter format. After Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, fans and critics appreciated the change, as well as the series' rediscovery of its horror roots.

It Will Be FPS

The best way to see Resident Evil's scariest villains is up close and personal. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village took this to the next level by changing the presentation to a first-person view.

Osterlay said, "From history, it'll be first-person since Capcom mixes up the gameplay elements for their main numbered series. 1-3 was fixed, 4-6 was OTS, and 7-9 will likely be first-person. The real question is what will 10 be?" It's true that there are certain patterns within the franchise, but they're mostly coincidental. However, given the popularity of Biohazard and Village, it would make sense to stick with the FPS format.

There Will Be Less Emphasis On Horror

Vredesbyrd67 agreed that the game's narrative and action will be shown via a first-person perspective. However, they added, "but even less emphasis on horror. It's going to be more action-focused. They set the expectation up throughout Resident Evil Village and in the epilogue after the credits by talking up Rose and her 'abilities.'"

Biohazard and Village found an action/horror balance that worked for the first-person shooter format. Namely, it leaned towards providing scares just over providing firefights. This return to the series' original focus was appreciated by fans, so this Redditor's theory is only a maybe.

There Will Be An Alien Conspiracy

Mr-Industrial gave their thoughts on the series' influences up to this point, and what subgenre they think the eighth installment will be influenced by: "Alien conspiracy. 7 was chainsaw massacre/slasher vibes, 8 was Dracula, Frankenstein/medieval fantasy, 9 should be SciFi aliens and s***...Do I want it to be that? Not necessarily but the pattern is there for it."

The Redditor's equating of Biohazard to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is fitting, as is Village to folklore, so it does stand to reason that the next installment will hold another specific influence. And, by this point, there are probably ways to pull off Sci-fi conspiracy vibes.

It Will Be Rose Or Mia's Story

Doggo108 believes RE8 will pick up directly where Village left off, thinking its purpose will be to explore "Rose's mold abilities that she threatens to use in the post-credits scene, or Mia's story. This would give us the 'daughter's story' or the 'mother's story' considering that after Village it says 'the father's story is now finished.'"

While that's one of Resident Evil Village's best quotes, it's also fairly telling foreshadowing. There's no reason to believe a main entry in the RE series would say a character's arc is finished, only to extensively revisit it.

Chris Redfield Will Have A Substantial Role

Chris Redfield just made a moderately well-received appearance in Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (even if he wasn't one of the film's most intelligent characters), but he hasn't been the central protagonist in an RE game for a few installments. However, he was a playable character towards the end of Village and had a heavy presence over that game's narrative.

Another Redditor, Doktor_Wunderbar, posited that this franchise stalwart will make an appearance in RE9 as well: "I expect RE9 will address some of the loose ends introduced in RE8 (Village), so I expect Chris to play a big role." Some other Redditors speculate that Chris' time is coming to an end, but the user doesn't think so, adding: "I don't think they can kill him any time soon, though, based on the post-credit sequence from RE8." The Redditor is referencing how someone called Redfield (a male) lands in an Umbrella helicopter.

Either Rose Will Save Chris Or Chris Will Save Rose

The plot of RE9 is a mystery, but there have been sprinkled hints about which characters are the future of the franchise (even if it's just for the time being).

Fadeddreams555 thinks it will go one of two ways: "It could be a Chris solo story, in which he fights to uncover the secrets of the BSAA, as well as save Rose from them. That said, saving Rose would be a rehash of RE8, so maybe she should be playable. Maybe it'll be the other way around, and Chris goes missing, so she needs to find and save him."

Jill Valentine And Claire Redfield Could And Should Return

The long-running Resident Evil series has its fair share of popular zombie-fighting protagonists. Two of the most popular are the ever-quotable Claire Redfield and Jill Valentine. One Redditor, theratedrpoet, thinks the two legacy characters should return in RE9. In their words, "Don't really know what's in store but I would love to see Jill and Claire return. Jill has been out of the picture since 2009 (RE5) and Claire since 2011. It'll be a bonus if they partner up for the first time ever."

The Redditor then mentioned how they're tired of the male Redfield, to which JeopVEVO replied: "I think Capcom wants a character that ties all the games together and they chose Chris." This is a fair point, Chris is a popular character, but the same could be said of Jill, Claire, and Ada Wong. For Jill and Claire, though, as theratedrpoet puts it, "It's now or never."

Resident Evil: Crucifix

The seventh installment of the Resident Evil game series was titled Biohazard, but its stylization is interesting. Essentially, it's Resident E-VII, with the "vil" being the roman numeral for seven. Then, Resident Evil Village was stylized as VIIIage, with "vill" serving as the roman numeral for eight.

Hastylez thinks this will continue with RE9 in the form of "Resident Evil: CrucifIX." Even if they don't go with this fitting title, it stands to reason that Capcom will keep going with the stylization in some form or the other.

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