Resident Evil 9 leak suggests Capcom will take an urban-legend approach to horror

Last year's Resident Evil Village delivered yet another stellar entry in Capcom's long-running survival horror series. The new DLC story and extra content coming later in 2022 seemingly indicate the end of the road for the title. As such, fans are now looking forward to the next entry in the franchise, which would be Resident Evil 9.

New leaks have popped up that paint an interesting picture regarding the potential project. The information presented in the Reddit post attached above comes via the online forum 4chan, so it is fairly possible that the details could be fake. That said, here is what the information has to say about the alleged next installment.

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Resident Evil 9 will be titled Apcalypse

Keeping in line with last year's installment, this new entry will not be numbered either. It seems to be titled Resident Evil Apocalypse. If true, it would be interesting to see how the team fits the number 9 into the Apocalypse title as they did with Villages' first three letters spelling out the Roman numerical VIII (8).

Other details highlight a "ghost town in the West" that will perhaps be surrounded by dense forests. The narrative seems to be centered around an investigation of some sort, as well as something called the 9th Moon Phase. The main environments for gameplay will contain environments involving caves and rivers. Enemies have always been a highlight of the series, and a new type is suggested for this entry.

Seemingly inspired by mythological creatures, these enemies will likely be horned and deformed, "with an emphasis on body horror," and will be labeled "Wendigo" and "Goatman," according to in-game lore.

They can also apparently shapeshift into friendly NPCs whom they have killed, suggesting a pretty dynamic AI at play. Audio also is crucial for a good horror experience and can be employed masterfully, with elements that keep players on edge, such as the sound of footsteps.

The antagonist will be a woman called Glaistig — it, interestingly, is a term for a malicious female spirit from Scottish folklore. However, not all monstrosities will be bad. A new female NPC called Hulder will provide moments of respite, thanks to her status as a bioweapon, thus keeping the dangers that lurk at arm's length.

On that note, Hulder is another female mythological creature, this time from Scandinavian folklore. A Barghest is also described as one of the bosses and will be portrayed as a large black dog with "a twist."

The only gameplay aspect depicted was the ability to lock and barricade, as well as the return of breakable melee weapons.

The rumored Resident Evil 9 content for the next entry seems to be inspired by horror stories and legends one would expect to hear while in a rural area or the countryside. If the leaked information is fake, someone definitely had a lot of fun reading up on folklore to come up with these ideas.

Interestingly, no clue was offered about the potential protagonist. Is it a returning one or a brand new character like Ethan Winters from Resident Evil 7? How much of this leak is true, if at all? Only time will tell.