Ethan Winters enters the Resident Evil franchise as the series returns to its survival horror roots in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Building on the success of that title, the next game in the series, Resident Evil: Village, sees Ethan return for another outing against horrific biohazards and mayhem. Both games feature a transition to a first-person camera that puts the player in Ethan’s perspective and rarely zooms out. He eventually gets closer, but even then, Ethan’s face is still obscured and never shown on purpose. This tease has frustrated fans, who feel they have earned the right to see the person they played with for two games. Let’s see why Capcom never reveals Ethan’s face in the Resident Evil series.
Why You Never See Ethan Winters’ Face In Resident Evil
Capcom made the decision to switch to a first-person camera in Resident Evil because they wanted the seventh installment to return to the classic claustrophobic feel of the series’ original titles. However, technological and gameplay expectations have come a long way since the 90s and the developers didn’t want to go back to fixed camera angles to create the feeling of being trapped. This is why the camera never leaves Ethan’s perspective during Resident Evil 7.
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Capcom’s goal was for the player to experience Ethan’s fights first-hand and limit what he could see in the scene at the same time. If the cutscenes were moved away from the first-person camera, the anxiety caused by the game would start to diminish. Letting the player leave Ethan’s point of view would take them away from the experience and allow them to see it from a less immersive point of view.
Image via DemonLeon3d
Capcom doubled down on that even in the events of Resident Evil: Village. The game takes some extra liberties and finally gives the player a third-person perspective during the final scenes, but the developers block Ethan’s view or hide his face at all times. It’s a frustrating choice to say the least, as players have already figured out that the character has a rendered face via the unlockable model viewer.
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Resident Evil: Village has since released a third-person camera option, but Capcom has made the effort to take Ethan’s gaze away from the camera whenever the player tries to focus on his face. The DLC included with this option features Rose Winters as the main character, but even when she interacts with her father at the climax of the story, the developers still choose to hide it. It’s basically become a meme at this point, and Capcom was determined to do just that, coyly claiming that Ethan Winters is camera shy.
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