Resident Evil: Village launched to rapturous applause last Friday, but even if you played the game you might not have recognise Capcom’s latest high budget marketing stunt. Rather than going the simple route to celebrate the game, Capcom chose to rent out a segment of an English countryside and adorn it with a giant, 100 metre long lycan complete with terrifyingly long teeth and a shaggy mane.
When it was spotted by Somerset Live last weekend, it lacked all Resident Evil: Village or Capcom branding, meaning English locals were confronted by the appearance of a giant chalk wolf overnight with no context for its appearance. Early reports speculated about the figure’s origin and compared it to traditional chalk figures found nearby.
Chalk drawings are common in the English countryside but many of these are historically significant, like the Cerne Abbas Giant, which depicts a large man with an erection, and the Uffington White Horse. Now this figure and others like it have been joined by Capcom’s lycan, an addition which initially confused locals.
“A mysterious outline of a figure has appeared on a hillside in the Mendip Hills near Cheddar.” wrote Rebecca Cook for Somerset Live. “It is unclear who created the outline of the monster on the edge of the steep embankment.”
The Somerset Country Gazette similarly reported the finding, and asked locals whether they knew of its origins.
A week on from the discovery, the Village logo was added to the artwork to allay theories it was an historical artwork or anything more sinister than a guerrilla marketing campaign.
The installation reportedly appeared overnight some time last week, and is located amongst secluded villages in Cheddar, Somerset on the Mendip Hills — a location that rarely garners international attention. The town was likely chosen for its resemblance to the European village where the latest Resident Evil is set but it’s clear locals didn’t expect the attention, or strange wolves appearing in the dead of night.
Sadly Australia won’t have international travel for the foreseeable future but if you happen to reside anywhere near the Mendip Hills of Somerset, Capcom has invited fans to visit the site. It’s unclear how long the lycan will remain emblazoned on the hillside, so you’ll want to get in quick to catch this magnificent site.
For the rest of us, Resident Evil: Village is out now on most gaming platforms.
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