You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here
Stalker enemies and Resident Evil go together like cheese and wine. Ever since the first version of Resident Evil 2, these monsters have dogged our protagonists’ heels, attacking repeatedly and seemingly at random before they were finally taken out – usually by a rocket launcher.
While Mr. X, Birkin, and Nemesis often popped up in scripted encounters in the PS1 days, the suddenness of their sporadic attacks made it feel like they were constantly on our tail and never far behind. Capcom leaned into this for the RE2 and RE3 remakes, and since then, stalker enemies have been a staple of Resident Evil’s horror.
Resident Evil Requiem looks set to introduce at least three more stalker monsters that will hunt and attack Grace and Leon in different ways. Here’s everything we know about them.
- Resident Evil Requiem will have at least three stalker enemies: Mama, The Butcher, and Chunk.
- These enemies can’t be killed by normal guns and can only be stunned or avoided.
- Each is likely to have its own lore and boss fight to be discovered later in the game.
- Stalker enemies have always been a staple of Resident Evil, but became even more popular after Mr. X in the Resident Evil 2 remake.
Mama
Mama was the first stalker enemy we caught a glimpse of in Resident Evil Requiem’s early promotional material. She’s a large, mutated woman who relentlessly hunted Grace during the game’s first press demo, before seemingly retreating after getting shot by Leon.
Like most Resident Evil stalkers, firearms seem to stun her but not kill her outright. However, Grace can keep her at bay by entering well-lit rooms, as the creature has an aversion to light. This is something the player needs to keep in mind when avoiding her, making sure they move quickly through dimly lit areas to avoid being caught.
This monster is very different from standard zombies, much more powerful and resilient. Whether she’s a purpose-made bioweapon (like Nemesis) or a freak accident of mutation (like Birken) remains to be seen.
Fans online have a terrifying theory about her identity, predicting that Mama will be the mutated form of Grace’s actual mother, Alyssa Ashcroft. If true, then this is a very grisly fate indeed for the Resident Evil Outbreak survivor.
The Butcher
The Butcher is a very large zombie who was seen stalking Grace in the second press demo. Like many of the other zombies in Resident Evil Requiem, the Butcher retains memories and echoes of his former self before infection. This is why he can be found chopping meat in the kitchen.
However, upon being alerted to Grace’s presence, he’ll attack while rambling incoherently at her. Getting struck by his cleaver means death, so players will need to avoid him at all costs, either sneaking past him or getting far enough away that he gives up the chase.
It looks like there’s one moment where you can’t avoid getting his attention, and after this, the Butcher begins patrolling a hallway near the kitchen. This makes him a dangerous obstacle later on, and while he can be distracted and lured away from his post, he still remains a potent threat.
Whether the Butcher can be killed with normal guns (something Grace doesn’t have many of in the demo) or is simply stunned before getting back up is unclear. However, he’ll likely need to be taken down in a boss fight against Leon later on.
Chunk
This enormous mass of flesh fills the entire screen and was a major jump-scare in the second press demo. Once he arrives, Chunk comes barrelling down a hallway towards Grace, smashing scenery as he goes. The good news is, due to his enormous bulk, Chunk can’t enter some rooms and just lunges at Grace from the doorway while screaming in rage.
Eventually, he’ll leave and go back to the hallways he guards, and will need to be avoided or escaped from if alerted again. Leon also encounters Chunk in the demo and has more tools at his disposal to deal with the hulking monster.
However, we only ever see Leon temporarily deal with Chunk, shooting him and placing explosives in his mouth to damage the creature. We imagine Chunk is likely to be a recurring stalker, before he’s eventually dealt with in an epic boss battle where we’ll finally get to cut him down to size.
Remember, everything we know about Resident Evil Requiem’s stalker enemies is based on the two press demos, so the final game may do things very differently. The sections seen so far may simply be for the demo, or they may represent a portion of the game itself.
Whatever the case, we imagine we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Mama, The Butcher, and Chunk, and that Capcom has many more surprises up its sleeve.
FAQs
Stalkers are often used as bosses in Resident Evil, but they also appear in other scripted and non-scripted events. Stalker enemies usually patrol an area or segment of the game and can be encountered while the player is exploring and solving puzzles.
The player needs to avoid them and factor their presence into everything they do. These enemies can usually be hidden from and cannot enter safe rooms. They can also often be stunned by the player’s guns, only to recover and resume their pursuit soon after, buying the player time to escape.
Here’s a list of stalkers we’ve seen in previous Resident Evil games:
Resident Evil 1 (Remake) – Lisa Trevor
Resident Evil 2 (Remake) – Mr. X
Resident Evil 3 (Remake) – Nemesis
Resident Evil 7 – Jack Baker
Resident Evil Village – Lady Dimitrescu
Each of these characters actively stalked the player around a location. However, characters like William Birkin, Ustanak, and Queen Leech from RE2, 6, and 0 could also be considered stalkers.
About the Author
