2021 is seemingly the year ofResident Evil.The series is celebrating its 25th anniversary and fans of the series have had plenty of content to consume.Resident Evil Villagewas released in May and has recently surpassed 4.5 million units sold worldwide. July 8th marked the release of the animated Netflix series,Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness.
RELATED:Awesome Things That Happened Between Resident Evil 4 And 5
The series bridges the gap betweenResident Evil 4andResident Evil 5,primarily focusing onLeon S. KennedyandClaire Redfield. As expected, the game is full of little nods and references to the video game series, particularlyResident Evil 2andResident Evil 4. While the game doesn’t directly reference the video games as much as some fans might want, there are plenty of neat references that longtime fans of the series will surely love.
10The Militia Scene
Early into the events of the first episode, several American soldiers are captured and killed by a local militia in the fictional war-torn country of Penamstan. The militia members celebrate this victory by stringing up the bodies of the soldiers in a town square and prepare to light the corpses on fire. Viewers are given a brief angle showing the militia members celebrating, cheering, and waving their arms in the air.
Though possibly an indirect reference, the scene is very similar to the Public Assembly combat sequence at the beginning ofResident Evil 5.In the game,Chris Redfieldand Sheva Alomar watch their informant get beheaded in front of a cheering militia. They line the square in nearly the same way that the Penamstan militia members do inInfinite Darkness.
9The Cleaning Sign
Perhaps the most unlikely (and possibly unintended) Easter Egg can be found in episode one just as the White House repairs and cleaning begins. After focusing on some hazmat-suited people spraying down the walls, there is a hard cut to a yellow sign with the text, “DO NOT ENTER–Cleaning in Progress!” Fans who played the fantastic 2019 remake ofResident Evil 2might recognize this text.
As players explore the desecrated Raccoon City Police Department, they will come across several large white signs that are adorned with the text, “Cleaning in Progress.” The prop is reused several times in the RPD and many players will remember it alongside the red hoses that can be found across the station. Whether intentional or not, the creators ofInfinite Darknessmay spark the memories of fans ofResident Evil 2 Remakewith their single shot of the cleaning sign!
8Leon’s Introduction
Though he is one of the primary stars of the show, Leon doesn’t make an immediate appearance inResident Evil: Infinite Darkness. He is first mentioned by fellow government agents as they await his arrival. He is referenced as, “the guy that saved the President’s daughter.” Fans of the series who playedResident Evil 4will know that adventure well, as Leon battled countless members of the Los Illuminados cult in rural Spain to rescue Ashley Graham.
RELATED:Resident Evil 4: Things Only Experts Knew You Could Do
Viewers are then given a shot of a man’s reflection in the window of a helicopter. The dialogue and the brief look are all fans need to learn that this is the legendary Leon S. Kennedy. Those who playedResident Evil 4might recognize this way of introducing Leon as well. In the opening cutscene of the game, Leon is first shown to the player through a reflection in the window of a Spanish police cruiser. The two cops joke with Leon, questioning why he is the only one the American government sent. In a similar fashion, the helicopter pilot inInfinite Darknessjokes that Leon must be, “pretty important” because he got landing permission very quickly.
7Leon’s Lightning Hawk
In the final fight ofInfinite Darkness, Leon can be seen wielding an intimidatingly large handgun. The shots do little to harm Leon’s adversary, but this wasn’t always the case for the iconic weapon. The handgun featured in this scene is the same 50 calibre handgun Leon can wield in bothResident Evil 2&Resident Evil 4.
The Lightning Hawk is a powerful handgun falling under the magnum category in the games. Traditionally speaking, magnums are up there with rocket launchers in theResident Eviluniverse assome of the most powerful weapons around. They’re often reserved for defeating bosses or just being plain rude to any remaining monsters in the game. Though the Lighting Hawk fails to deter Leon’s foe inInfinite Darknessthe fact that Leon uses it is a great callback to the games.
6Ashley Graham’s Photos
Ashley Graham was a divisive character inResident Evil 4. Some fans loved her spunky attitude while others couldn’t forgive her for constantly getting them a game over in some way or another. Character annoyances aside, Ashley was an incredibly important character to the game–without her kidnapping, the game wouldn’t take place at all! Leon is tasked with saving her by her father, the President of the United States.
RELATED:Ways Resident Evil 4 Aged Well (& Ways It Hasn’t)
After the events ofResident Evil 4though, fans never hear of Ashley again. Many mistakenly thought screenshots of Sherry Birkin inResident Evil 6were Ashley Graham finally fighting bioterror for herself, but these fans were displeased to find that they were wrong. No game has mentioned Ashley since, and this makes her photos in the President’s office during episode one ofInfinite Darknessa cool Easter Egg.
5Leon’s Black Jacket
Many fans were hoping to see Leon donning his iconic brown bomber jacket during the events ofResident Evil: Infinite Darkness.Though there isn’t a nod or even a frame of theResident Evil 4jacket, Leon does have a familiar look for the majority of the series.
Leon decides to stick to a more traditional agent look, wearing a black zip-up jacket, fingerless gloves, dark jeans, and bulky brown boots. Fans who playedResident Evil 6or who watched the animated movieResident Evil Vendettawill immediately recognize the jacket and overall look. The black zip-up jacket seems to be Leon’s go-to look, and this doesn’t change inInfinite Darkness.Many fans are still looking forward to a possible return of the bomber jacket in the near future though!
4The Investigation In Pittsburgh
In episode one, Leon is late to the White House because he is returning from an investigation in Pittsburgh. Though never mentioned again, this could be a possible nod to the popularnovelizations ofResident Evilwritten by S.D Perry.In the novels, Perry places Raccoon City in the state of Pennsylvania. Capcom has never officially given Raccoon City a home outside of calling it a “midwest town.”
This is less of a direct Easter Egg and possibly could mean nothing, but fans of the books might take note. Raccoon City and the events Leon survived in it play an important part in building Leon’s character and how others perceive him. Unfortunately, there is no set location for the monumental city other than midwestern America–which could be a lot of different places!
3The Platform Puzzle
As many fans might expect, the final fights ofResident Evil: Infinite Darknessare waged by Leon and Claire. Without spoiling too much, the two are once again faced with fighting a creature resembling a Tyrant. This is no Mr. X though, and their foe is incredibly mobile, jumping from platform to platform.
Leon tasks Claire with controlling the platforms to delay their foe’s ascent. She rushes to the control room but is met with an unfamiliar computer system that she has to quickly get through to shift the platforms down. The sequence is quite comical as Claire mumbles to herself and seems rather unsure of what she is doing. The scene perfectly depicts some of the zany puzzles players of the video games are faced with. Like Ethan Winters questioning some of the puzzles inResident Evil 7, the scene is quite self-aware and offers fans of the series a good laugh.
2The Activities of Tricell
Infinite Darknessteases viewers with an ominous unnamed pharmaceutical company acting as the villains in episodes three and four. Newer fans might just assume this to be Umbrella, but fans who playedResident Evil 5will probably have a different idea.
Longtime players will know that because the animated show takes place betweenResident Evil 4andResident Evil 5, Umbrella can’t possibly exist. This leaves only one culprit: Tricell. This lesser-known company act as some of the bad guys inResident Evil5and their heinous actions led to many African people being experimented on and killed.Infinite Darknesshints at future seasons or possible expansions to the current season with Tricell’s logo near the end of episode 4.
1The Underground Lab
It wouldn’t be a piece ofResident Evilmedia without self-destruct sequences, rocket launchers, or secret underground labs. Luckily,Resident Evil: Infinite Darknesshas all three! The American underground laboratory serves as the stage for the final acts of the four episodes. Avoiding spoilers, fans ofResident Evil 5may recognize the layout of this new lab.
The lab is home to countless capsules containing bodies. The lab was built by Tricell, the same company that built the African lab inResident Evil 5.Infinite Darknessseemingly recreates this lab in the show. Keeping the layout and look of the lab in the show similar to the game was simply a sublime callback toResident Evil 5and it made for a great setting for the final battle.
