Jack and Marguerite Baker in Resident Evil 7. Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil 8. Mr. X in the Resident Evil 2 Remake. Nemesis in the Resident Evil 3 Remake. After four entries, you might expect the formula to feel a bit routine—maybe even dull. You step into the role of a (somewhat) powerless survivor, dropped well outside your comfort zone, while something supernatural and hostile tries to wipe you out. Sounds like rinse and repeat, doesn’t it? Except it isn’t. Each of these games brings something genuinely different to the table.
In Resident Evil 7, the moment Capcom first tried this renewed approach, Jack and (for a while) Marguerite landed as frightening foes—recognizably human, but still dangerous, unstable, and full of flaws. Their AI and the basic mechanics left openings you could exploit, yet the straightforward way you were forced to deal with them set a solid foundation (and Jack’s characterization helped a great deal, too).
When the remakes rolled around, Capcom seemed to be going further again. I think Mr. X—his unsettling theme, the ominous footsteps that echo across the whole Raccoon City Police Department, and that unmistakable outline—stands as the strongest “stalker” figure the series has offered so far. In my view, it’s his relentless pursuit that really separates him. Nemesis follows a related structure, while also honoring the stalker-style enemy from the original game—a notion that didn’t feel truly surpassed until Alien: Isolation. Still, it’s a shame you can’t take him down in the remake.
As for Lady Dimitrescu, I suspect part of her impact was dulled by how heavily the internet latched onto her. I know, based on anecdotes, that many people sought her out to admire her and to hear Maggie Robertson’s perfectly performed voice lines. Still, her AI is formidable. And while her section in Resident Evil Village is fairly short, turning the difficulty up to Village of Shadows gives her more freedom, making her a far more stubborn and threatening presence.
With all of that, it’s not surprising that Resident Evil 9 is leaning on a similar idea once more. In this case, though—at least in the demo I played before Gamescom—the stalker feels more rooted in a “survival horror” mood. As the new protagonist, Grace Ashcroft, you’re forced into tight surroundings (seemingly a mansion that’s been converted into a medical facility), where unreliable power systems and narrow corridors limit your options. Waking up in a dim room, alone and hanging upside down while you’re drained as if from a Dexter scene, Grace manages to break free and races for the exit.
Classic Resident Evil puzzles slow you down—you’re going to need a key, a fuse for a breaker box, and other items before you can get out of this strange, primitive setup. But while you scramble through the dark to figure out where you are, one truth becomes clear: you’re not dealing with this alone. The “stalker” here is a bug-eyed, mutated woman who’s clearly the product of experimentation, likely carrying an experimental offshoot of the T-Virus as well.
You’ve seen how this works by now. She’s closing in, so keep moving. Duck into different rooms, don’t travel in a straight line, and stay alert. The interesting part is that Capcom seems to understand this whole rhythm, too—it feels like the developer is already two steps ahead of you. “Ah, she hates the light—I’ll head to the illuminated room and—” Nope. She’s already slipped into the ceiling vents and cut off your route. Oh no. Oh no.
So you switch tactics, thinking, “Okay… there’s another light over there, but it’ll probably be a dead end.” You go anyway, and in the shaky cover offered by a single flickering halogen bulb, you pause to consider what comes next. I tried to outthink Capcom and my new hunched-over opponent several times in this section, and each attempt ended in one of a handful of brutal death animations. The developer seems to read your approach, noticing you’ve almost certainly played the earlier games—and that comes through in the gameplay: “that strategy won’t work this time.” That psychological back-and-forth between cat and mouse, paired with the improved lighting system (which I suspect will matter a lot across future encounters), leaves me feeling optimistic. This latest take on Resident Evil should feel noticeably different from what came before.
I brought up Alien: Isolation earlier, and it really is the same kind of energy here. You don’t have any real way to defend yourself against this latest threat. At least in the 20-minute demo I tried, the only options Ashley had were to grab objects and run. Honestly, it feels more believable than any other Resident Evil entry I’ve played in recent years—because it’s exactly what I’d do. You can take a single “hit” from Mrs. Zombie Nightgown (the name I’m using since there’s no official one), and then, that’s it.
On paper, the differences between earlier Resident Evil stalkers might look small. But layering the survival horror tension of Resident Evil 7 onto an environment—and new graphical tech—that makes everything feel even tighter and more suffocating is a smart move. No one can say yet how much further this evolves as the full game continues, but from my demo, I came away thinking that Resident Evil 9 could blend the mood of Alien: Isolation with the unease of PT. Big praise.
Several procedural details in the demo made it feel like horror was catnip. An unreliable lighter delivering the only illumination, a stalker whose behavior never quite plays fair, and my own repeated, doomed attempts to outsmart the game all came together to produce fear on par with the tense first hours of Resident Evil 7. Again: high praise.
And I didn’t even get to experience the game from a third-person perspective. Would that feeling of dread hit as hard if you had an even clearer understanding of your surroundings? Who knows. But Capcom clearly brings confidence to this release, and even the choice to introduce yet another stalker again suggests the developer is still far from running out of ideas within its design philosophy.
I felt Resident Evil 8 started to lose momentum as the story moved along, leaning into a more action-heavy direction. Let’s hope Grace’s portion of the game—at minimum—continues to highlight those survival horror elements as you rack up more time with it. Because it’s clear Capcom is still setting the pace when it comes to crafting situations that torment fresh-faced, wide-eyed protagonists.