Resident Evil Village Teases Ada Wong DLC
It's a case of right place "Wong" time for one Resident Evil stalwart. By now, we're sure you've rattled through Resident Evil Village and started to make the most of this hand-chopping horror. With Capcom dishing up the carnage on a silver platter, the eighth entry in the long-running Resident Evil franchise (unsurprisingly) has ties back to the early days of the Umbrella Corporation and its shady dealings.
We won't spoil the ending here, but with the return of fan-favourite Chris Redfield, we always knew Village would settle into the complicated lore of the Resi name. While Village once again focuses on Ethan Winters - who is possibly the most unlucky man in the world - his story neatly intersects with Redfield, the colourful cast of Village villains, and some nice throwbacks to his debut in 2017's Resident Evil 7. Hardcore fans had hoped for a few more familiar faces could pop by for a natter, but unfortunately, the writers apparently cut the return of Ada Wong from the main campaign.
What's the Resident Evil Village Ada Wong DLC rumour?
First introduced in 1998's Resident Evil 2, Ada was revealed as a covert agent for a rival company to the Umbrella Corporation. She's played an antiheroine role in the franchise ever since, and was last seen in 2012's Resident Evil 6. Considering Village is the current endpoint of the series' continuity, Ada might've been primed for a return. Sadly, the game's Trauma Pack DLC confirms Ada's potential appearance was cut.
The Trauma Pack came bundled with Village for anyone who bought the Collector’s, Deluxe, or Complete Edition. Buried in the bowels of the DLC, there's a series of art galleries called "The Tragedy of Ethan Winters Artwork". Here, Ada is seen wearing a Village-esque plague doctor outfit and sporting a crossbow. It's a far cry from her typical red dress and handgun that have made her an icon of the Resiverse. Still, with Village being such a departure from the norm, what else did you expect?
Explaining how Ada was going to fit into the story, the captions add, "Early plans had a mysterious masked person that saves Ethan. This was going to be Ada Wong investigating the village, but this was cut due to a number of conflicting scenarios. An early plot point was to have Ada, disguising herself with a mask, help Ethan escape from his trial".
Will there be a Resident Evil Village Ada Wong DLC?
Fans quickly jumped on the idea of Plague Doctor Ada and championed her eventual return for a DLC. Those who played RE7 will know the main story and post-credit scene were far from the end. The "Not a Hero" and "End of Zoe" DLC's fleshed out the story, with "Not a Hero" giving more for Chris Redfield to do. Playing as Ada in Village would be a major coup for players who've missed the gun-toting badass. Sadly, the confirmation her entire character was cut from Village makes her return unlikely. If we'd seen a plague doctor lurking in the background of Ethan's campaign, then maybe an Ada DLC would work. However, she was completely cut, suggesting it's not simply a case of slotting her back in.
The only glimmer of hope is that we get some form of Village DLC. Capcom is remaining tight-lipped on post-release content, but if there is going to be a DLC (come on, there has to be), Ada would be a likely candidate. Village already gives plenty of attention to Chris, so giving him another DLC might seem like overkill. The title's post-credit scene sets someone else up for a DLC, but we say save that person's story for the eventual release of Resident Evil Village 9 to round off the Winters trilogy.
A plague doctor Ada Wong is a frankly brilliant brainwave, but for the time being, it looks like it's confined to the franchise's "What ifs" alongside the mythical Resident Evil 1.5. Even if Ada is missing out on the mould-infected monsters and madmen of Resident Evil Village, we're pretty sure she's out there somewhere and destined to return one day.
Images via Capcom
