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Watch this video for every Resident Evil Village monster ranked worst to best!
Transcript
00:00Resident Evil Village, the only game in the series that features a 9-foot-6 vampire lady,
00:05has a host of creepy creatures ready to kill protagonist Ethan Winters.
00:10We're breaking down everything you need to know about every monster in Resident Evil
00:13Village, ranked from best to worst.
00:16Look, every game has to have its cannon fodder, the basic and familiar enemy that's easy to
00:21defeat and annoying to repeatedly encounter throughout the game.
00:24Lycans are that enemy for Resident Evil Village.
00:27They're one of the first monsters that players encounter in the game, and they appeared early
00:31in promotional material.
00:32That being said, Lycans aren't that scary, all things considered.
00:35Well, except for…
00:42They appear as partially transformed men, mostly shirtless, with gray skin and animalistic
00:47features.
00:48Lycans growl, slash, and snarl at Ethan, but don't seem to do much damage.
00:52Ethan can withstand a good number of Lycan attacks before needing to use healing supplies.
00:58Even though Lycans aren't incredibly frightening, and even though they are weak in comparison
01:01to other monsters in Resident Evil 8, the sheer number of Lycans often proves intimidating
01:06for poor Ethan.
01:08"...Come… here."
01:12Although they aren't exactly vampires, Mawika have a lot in common with their pointy-toothed
01:17cousins.
01:18For one thing, Mawika have shriveled, pale bodies that resemble corpses.
01:21In fact, many of them seem to be corpses, lying on the ground motionless until triggered
01:26to life by Ethan's proximity.
01:28After they're up, though, they're not much of an issue to deal with.
01:31A few well-timed handgun blasts or one particularly close shotgun shot seems to be all that's
01:36needed to take down a Mawika.
01:38Sometimes it's even possible to line them up in a row and take down several at a time.
01:42Mawika most likely came from Moroi, a type of vampire.
01:46Moroi are just one type of revenant from Romanian folklore.
01:50Tradition seems to indicate that Moroi are the earthbound souls of unbaptized babies,
01:54but the Mawika from Resident Evil Village certainly don't appear to be babies at all.
01:59Instead, they're fully-formed horrors, ready to take a bite out of Ethan.
02:03Haulers look a bit like Mawika, except modified with cybernetic gear.
02:07They wear high-tech visors around their heads, giving them a look reminiscent of Geordi Laforge
02:12from Star Trek The Next Generation.
02:14There's nothing Lava Burton-esque about these monsters, though.
02:17They're just as annoying as the Mawika, but there are far fewer of them.
02:21Haulers have a bit more stamina than other monsters that appear earlier in Resident Evil
02:25Village, making them more of a pain to deal with and harder to take down in a fight.
02:30Even so, Haulers don't pose much of a threat in the long run, and Ethan can easily take
02:34them down, despite their increased health.
02:36Unlike the Mawika, Haulers seem to have a more obvious and troubled backstory.
02:41Ethan encounters them in Heisenberg's lab, and they also appear to be the result of years
02:44of experimentation.
02:46Their mechanical attachments were hardly added consensually, which makes Haulers a sad case.
02:51They didn't ask to be made into horrifying creatures, and yet they must bite.
02:55Samka, like Haulers, also resemble Mawika in many ways.
02:59However, they also have wings, can fly, and suck out Ethan's life with strange, slippery
03:03tongues reminiscent of another iconic Resident Evil monster.
03:07You know the one.
03:09All in all, the Samka are just the kind of casual friends one meets in Lady Dimitrescu's
03:19castle.
03:20From a distance, they resemble gargoyles, their large, bat-like wings flapping out behind
03:24them.
03:25Once you get closer, it appears they also have those nasty-looking tongues.
03:28Each Samka has a remnant of a shackle around one of its legs.
03:31It's difficult to say if the Samka are experiments that were imprisoned after their creation,
03:36or if the shackles are related to some unknown, darker tale.
03:39Just when players think they've mastered Lycans, Armored Lycans show up.
03:43Sure, underneath all the gear, these Lycans are the same as their weaker counterparts,
03:47but those few layers of protection really do make a difference.
03:50Armored Lycans wear scrap metal and accentuate their already fearsome claws with long metal
03:55strips, effectively giving them talons that rival Lady Dimitrescu herself.
03:59One Resident Evil Village player said it's best to avoid Armored Lycans altogether, and
04:04explained that they managed to lure one Armored Lycan away from its post, revealing that it
04:08was guarding pretty basic crafting materials, like a chicken.
04:11In other words, the treasures that the Armored Lycans protect aren't anything worth wasting
04:16ammo over.
04:17Chickens are plentiful, and the long game of attracting an Armored Lycan out just to
04:20use countless bullets to defeat them feels fruitless in the end.
04:24Still, Armored Lycans seem awfully intimidating when players first meet them, making them
04:29more memorable than the less-buffed werewolves that populate other areas in Village, who
04:34wouldn't be a little afraid of a decked-out Lycan with long claws and an iron will.
04:38Varkaloks are also related to werewolf lore, but as noted by The Conversation, these creatures
04:43follow more traditional depictions of the bloodthirsty creatures, and are more beasts
04:47than man.
04:48The Varkalok is big, walks on all fours, and has shaggy hair all over its body.
04:53It also has a gaping, snarling mouth, ready to take a chomp out of Ethan.
04:57Like many creatures in Village, Varkaloks also play a role in traditional Romanian folklore.
05:02In folkloric texts, Varkaloks are spirits trapped within the bodies of dogs, which makes
05:07sense, considering their wolf-like appearance.
05:09However, all ties to legitimate mythology end with the Varkalok's appearance.
05:14The beast has one specific purpose within Village — to scare the daylights out of
05:18players.
05:19Treasure Giants are completely optional bosses that guard, well, treasure.
05:23They're tall, with blunt faces and horrible haircuts.
05:26Even though these brutes look like any typical bridge troll, they're extremely hard to kill.
05:31If you plan to face one, bring lots of ammo.
05:33You'll need it.
05:34Killing a Treasure Giant grants players a giant crystal axe, which can be traded to
05:38the juke for a tidy sum of money.
05:40In replays, some players have said the money isn't worth it, though, and suggest finessing
05:44one's way around the Treasure Giant in order to steal the goods and make a run for it.
05:48Whether one chooses to fight the optional Treasure Giants in Resident Evil Village or
05:52not, their design and sheer stamina make them a couple of the more memorable lesser
05:56monsters in the game.
05:58Einz Savaii and Jet are the three most common forms of Soldat, which translates to Soldier.
06:03All three of them feature some variation of a drill arm, glowing red targets on their
06:07chests or backs, and, as always, the urge to kill Ethan Winters.
06:11Technically, Einz Savaii and Jet are all distinct, but they're more or less the same type of
06:16enemy, just in slightly different forms.
06:18While the Einz Soldat has a glowing red target on its chest, which players must shoot in
06:22order to down it, the Savaii and Jet Soldats have a much more complex pattern of targets
06:27to blast.
06:28While the three variants aren't that fast, their approach still feels menacing.
06:31They are, like so many things in Heisenberg's factory, the result of experiments in making
06:36the perfect super soldier.
06:38Each Soldat has a Cardo parasite in its chest in lieu of a heart, and Ethan often earns
06:43a crystal mechanical heart as a prize for his efforts in defeating one of them, which
06:47can be sold to the juke.
06:48The Soldat Panzer, or tank soldier in German, on the other hand, is more heavily armored
06:53than its numbered siblings.
06:55Players have to use a lot of ammo to take down a single Soldat Panzer, and even then
06:59it's not a guarantee that the metal beast won't claim Ethan's life in the process.
07:03These creatures are faster than their Einz Savaii and Jet counterparts, making them difficult
07:07to outrun.
07:09Lady Dimitrescu's daughters, Bella, Daniela, and Cassandra, look normal enough upon first
07:13inspection, if a little bloody.
07:15Soon, players realize that they're made up of flies that buzz uncontrollably whenever
07:19they're near.
07:20Oh, and they're also hungry for blood.
07:24"...man blood."
07:26An interview with the director and art director of Resident Evil Village revealed that the
07:30three sisters' looks, like that of Lady Dimitrescu herself, are based on fashion designs from
07:35the 1960s.
07:36Though their clothes may be black and brooding, each dress actually has an intricate embroidered
07:41floral design.
07:42Each daughter has a different look, yet they fit cohesively together.
07:45Overall, Lady Dimitrescu's daughters don't pose much of a threat, accounting for their
07:50mid-tier ranking in terms of monsters.
07:52A blast of cold air and a few well-placed bullets is all it takes to defeat them.
07:57Tragically, actress Jeanette Maus, who played sister Cassandra Dimitrescu in Village, passed
08:01away before the game was released.
08:03Her excellent voice acting skills live on through her work as one of Lady Dimitrescu's
08:07intimidating daughters.
08:09Uriahs, a giant lycan with a mean hammer, appears in the very first fight of Resident
08:14Evil 8, when Ethan first arrives in the titular village.
08:17However, players don't actually have to defeat him until later in the game, when they're
08:21working their way through Heisenberg's stronghold.
08:24Uriahs' sudden appearance always invokes chaos and panic, considering his large frame occupies
08:29most of the player's screens.
08:31There are a few things his hammer can't reach.
08:33There's nothing particularly abnormal about Uriahs' boss fight in the stronghold.
08:37The fights are straightforward, shoot-him-until-he's-dead sort of battle, and Resident Evil Village
08:42gives players a lot of ammo to do so in the arena where they face Uriahs.
08:46However, the fight still drains precious resources that aren't easily recovered, which immediately
08:51puts players on edge.
08:53Then there's Uriahs' big brother, Uriah Strager, who attacks towards the end of the game in
08:57an amped-up mini-boss battle.
08:59This time, players get to battle one of these hulking beasts as fan-favorite Chris Redfield,
09:04who steps in to save the day with his crew of special forces and seemingly limitless
09:09ammo.
09:10Compared to the battle against Uriahs, this is a much more claustrophobic encounter, and
09:14players must expertly dodge out of the way in order to avoid being killed.
09:19Let's get one thing out of the way.
09:20Sturm is not smart.
09:21A document players find in Heisenberg's factory before facing Sturm indicates that the propeller-headed
09:27drone cut his own arms off after sticking them too close to his fan-blade head.
09:31Even though Sturm isn't going to win any spelling bees or quiz bowls any time soon,
09:35he's still a worthwhile enemy.
09:37Aside from his intimidating design, Sturm is nerve-wracking because he doesn't take
09:40damage easily.
09:42Players must shoot a glowing red disc on his back in order to defeat the burly creature.
09:46Luckily, Sturm is easy to trick.
09:48He loves to run into walls and get stuck.
09:50In German, Sturm means storm, a nod to Sturm's unpredictable nature.
09:54Throughout the factory level, Sturm chases Ethan.
09:57Players can hear his propeller head whirring in the distance, adding to the overall atmosphere
10:01of fear that permeates the dark, mechanical setting.
10:04When Sturm gives chase, there's little left to do but run.
10:07Not every monster wants to be horrific.
10:09Poor Salvatore Moreau was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and fell victim to a series
10:13of experiments that left him deformed, monstrous, and desperate for a mother's love.
10:18He's the most sympathetic lord in Resident Evil Village, constantly vying for Mother
10:22Miranda's attention even as Ethan kills him.
10:25R.O.B.I.N.G.
10:27M.O.N.S.E.R.S.
10:29R.O.B.I.N.G.
10:31M.O.N.S.E.R.S.
10:34Moreau has a clinic where he performs experiments on villagers, infecting them with the parasitic
10:38Cadeau and often killing them in the process.
10:41Those who didn't die turn into lycans, or worse.
10:44Moreau's clinic establishes him as part mad scientist, part ignorant fool, making him
10:48one of the more interesting monsters in the game.
10:50The boss battle with Moreau is unconventional, requiring players to be light on their feet
10:54and clever, relying on tricks rather than firepower.
10:58Moreau provides a welcome break from the heavy firepower featured in much of Resident Evil
11:02Village.
11:03Don't leave.
11:04I can't let you.
11:06Resident Evil 8 doesn't reveal much about Donna Beneviento, one of the four lords working
11:11for Mother Miranda.
11:12In fact, she only has one line of dialogue — the one you just heard.
11:16Instead of putting Beneviento at the forefront of her own story, players interact with her
11:20through a puppet named Angie, a ball-jointed doll wearing a wedding dress and veil.
11:24Everything would be better if Rose wasn't a f-----g monster.
11:32Beneviento herself wears all black, her face shrouded by a dark covering.
11:37Donna Beneviento's home, which Ethan must journey through in order to save his daughter,
11:41is the setting for one of the more interesting encounters in the game.
11:44Instead of fighting Donna Beneviento and Angie, Ethan must outsmart them in a deadly game
11:49of hide-and-seek.
11:50Before my friends murder you!
11:55A note players can find in Mother Miranda's lab indicates that Donna Beneviento developed
12:00severe mental illness from being infected with a kudu.
12:04It's not clear what that mental illness was, but players quickly discover that Donna Beneviento's
12:08true talents lie in emotional manipulation and the alteration of perception.
12:13In other words, her entire home will mess with players' heads, not their trigger fingers.
12:17A name like Baby shouldn't accompany one of the most terrifying monsters of Resident
12:21Evil Village, and yet it does.
12:23Players encounter the hallucinatory monster dubbed simply Baby in Donna Beneviento's home,
12:28where it proceeds to chase them around the building and threatens to take Ethan into
12:32its gaping maw.
12:41Baby is quite literally a massive baby, although in a fetus-like state.
12:45It crawls down hallways with its gargantuan mouth opened wide, giggling and crying all
12:49the while.
12:50Ethan can only run from Baby, since Donna Beneviento took his weapons away upon entering
12:55her home.
12:56Players found Baby very unsettling.
12:58One gamer posted a meme indicating that saving Rose isn't worth encountering Baby or going
13:03into the Beneviento mansion at all.
13:05Another editor responded that, quote,
13:07"...this place needs a healthy dose of gasoline and napalm,"
13:11Quoting,
13:12"...Ethan might have been better off just blowing up the building in the first place."
13:15Mother Miranda is a vague presence for most of Resident Evil Village, someone that characters
13:20often discuss but never seem to engage with directly.
13:23Aside from one or two scenes early in the game, Mother Miranda doesn't have a physical
13:27presence in Village until the final act.
13:29Of course, she's always there in spirit, infecting the lore of the world and driving Ethan mad
13:33with her wild schemes.
13:35Don't worry, your death will come quick.
13:38You will join the Megamycete's records."
13:45Because Mother Miranda is so interconnected with the plot of Village, it's impossible
13:49to give her a low ranking among the game's monsters.
13:52She has solid character motivations and a dramatic, beautiful character design.
13:55Oh, and she's absolutely willing to burn down the village in order to see her dreams realized.
14:01Part of what makes Miranda so memorable is her unwavering desire to bring her daughter
14:04back to life, and her determination to see that dream realized no matter what.
14:09Oh, be careful what you wish for, Ethan Winters.
14:13Lady Demitrescu is absolutely the face of Resident Evil Village.
14:17Even though she appears early in the game and only for a brief time, Lady D has won
14:21players' hearts with her character design, height, and interesting origins.
14:25In Castle Demitrescu, the Lady is Queen.
14:28She chases Ethan throughout its many halls, seeking to put an end to the man who killed
14:32her three daughters.
14:33Eventually, Lady Demitrescu transforms into a horrific, monstrous being, ready for one
14:38last fight.
14:39Ethan must shoot at Lady Demitrescu accurately in order to win the battle, all while managing
14:43to stay atop a tower off her lovely castle.
14:46Even though Lady Demitrescu isn't the most imposing or frightening monster in Resident
14:50Evil Village, she's easily one of the most iconic.
14:53Players won't soon forget her style, her imposing nature, and her tall, tall frame.
14:58Karl Heisenberg is the last of the four lords Ethan must face, and his boss fight is, hands
15:02down, the most memorable moment in the entirety of Resident Evil Village.
15:07From the moment Heisenberg is introduced, players are drawn in by his charisma, mysteriousness,
15:12and — let's be real here — his sweet, frickin' sunglasses.
15:15"...Mother Miranda's gonna love you."
15:23After a chaotic run-in with Heisenberg early in the game, Ethan eventually returns to Heisenberg's
15:28factory to defeat him once and for all.
15:31In the end, Ethan has to use a cannon attached to a cart to defeat Heisenberg, who has used
15:35magnetic powers to bolster himself with metal.
15:38It's pretty damn disgusting, we're not gonna lie.
15:40"...Don't.
15:41Come.
15:42Back.
15:43Here."
15:49Ethan's experiences with Heisenberg make for some of the coolest moments in Resident Evil
15:53Village, cementing his spot as the best monster in the game.
15:57Without Heisenberg, players wouldn't have as much insight into the other characters
16:00as they do, or get to experience the awesome excitement of blasting away at a metal behemoth
16:05with a small tank.