WithResident Evil 7, Capcom took its long-running survival-horror franchise in bold new directions while simultaneously taking it back to its horror roots. DespiteResident Evil 7using a first-person perspective, the game was still very much a classicResident Eviltitle, seemingly taking inspiration from the originalResident Evilwith its setting and puzzles.Resident Evil Villagecontinues whatResident Evil 7started by retaining the first-person view, but this timetakes inspiration fromResident Evil 4and the more action-oriented games in the series.
Set a few years after the events ofResident Evil 7,protagonist Ethan Wintersand his wife Mia have settled down in a rural European town, where they have tried to live a normal life with their baby daughter Rose. Unfortunately, their peace doesn’t last too long, and after a shocking confrontation with series veteran Chris Redfield, Ethan finds himself stranded in a mountain village with his daughter in the clutches of the villainous Mother Miranda and her four Lords.
Resident Evil Village’s rural European setting immediately calls to mindResident Evil 4, and the similarities between the two games don’t stop there. Everything fromResident Evil Village’s inventory system to its greater focus on action callback to Leon S. Kennedy’s groundbreaking adventure. But since Ethan wasn’t all that combat savvy inResident Evil 7, some fans may be wondering why he’s all of a sudden mowing down hordes of enemies in the new game.
It’s implied that Ethan has been getting intensive training from Chris Redfield in the years sinceResident Evil 7’s conclusion to prepare him in case he ever found himself in another life-threatening situation. Ethan puts those skills to good use inResident Evil Village, utilizing a deeper arsenal of weapons as he fights against crazed villagers, wolf-like creatures called Lycans, and some other monsters that he bumps into in his search for his daughter. Anyone that feltResident Evil 7didn’t have enough action will likely be much happier withResident Evil Villagein that regard, as there’s a lot more shooting and many more enemy types for Ethan to contend with.
Unfortunately, there is something lost with this renewed focus on action over scares. Capcom itself has admitted thatResident Evil Villageisn’t as scary asResident Evil 7, and that will be readily apparent to anyone that plays through it. There are a couple of startling moments, but the game doesn’t seem concerned with making players truly afraid of anything. None of the monsters pose that significant of a threat to Ethan, and even the bosses are dispatched rather easily.
The biggest letdown in this regard is easily Lady Dimitrescu. Heavily featured in the game’s promotional materials,Resident Evil Village’s Lady Dimitrescuhas become the face of the new game, even though her role is overall not that significant in the grand scheme of things. Much has been said about how Lady Dimitrescu stalks Ethan around her castle like Mr. X fromResident Evil 2, but once it becomes clear that Ethan can easily outrun and outmaneuver her, she becomes infinitely less intimidating.
Gameplay-wise,Resident Evil Village’s villains are a step down fromResident Evil 7’s Baker family, but in terms of lore, they are more interesting. Each ofMother Miranda’s Lordsalso has a unique look to them and special powers that come into play in their section of the game world. This results in varied environments and engaging cutscenes, even if players may come away feeling like these supposedly ultra-powerful beings are pushovers. They may not be all that compelling to fight, but it is fun learning more about Lady Dimitrescu and the game’s other Lords.
While players are out slaughteringResident Evil Village’s villains and monsters, they will also be doing a great deal of exploration. The village in the game’s title serves as a sort of hub area that branches off into each major section of the game. As players progress through the story, they will get new keys and other items that will allow them to explore the village further, turning up treasures and special weapons that will give them an even greater edge over their enemies.
Treasures and other points of interest are marked on the map at a certain point in the game, making it easy forResident Evil Villageplayers to check out all the side content. When compared to most other games in the series, there’s quite a bit of side content inResident Evil Village, which, combined with New Game+ and multiple difficulty levels, boosts the game’s replay value significantly.
One drawback when it comes toResident Evil Village’s hub area is that it can become easy to get lost, and even when referencing the map, it’s not always clear how to get to where players need to go. This is an issue a couple of times in the game as well, and it really serves to grind the pacing down to a halt. However, players should be able to find their way back to the right path with enough running around.
Even if players do get lost inResident Evil Village, at least they will have plenty of pretty scenery to look at.Resident Evil Villageuses ray-tracingto great effect on next-generation consoles, with its lighting easily the most impressive thing about it visually. The game is not a mind-blowing next-gen graphics showcase like one may have hoped, but it still looks fantastic and is the best-lookingResident Evilgame to date.
Resident Evil Village’s gorgeous graphics go hand in hand with its impressive level of polish, with zero technical issues or visual hiccups of any kind encountered during our time with the game. To sweeten the pot,Resident Evil Villagehas virtually no load timesand runs perfectly, on the PS5 at least.
Resident Evil Villageis a huge step forward when it comes to graphics and general performance, but it also makes some important quality-of-life improvements that fans will appreciate. A big one is thatResident Evil Villagelets players skip cut-scenes, which was not always possible in its predecessor. This makes replayingResident Evil Villagea much more appealing prospect, and is another big boost for its replay value.
Resident Evil Villagecan be completed in about eight hours on a first playthrough, though it’s possible to beat it in under three hours as well. Nearly everyResident Evilgame is short, but they make up for it by giving players good reasons to go back through the game.Resident Evil Village’s replay value is through the roof, with a ton of unlockable content like the returning Mercenaries Mode giving players even more to do once they’ve wrapped up the main story.
Resident Evil Villagebrings Mercenaries Mode back, challenging players to kill as many enemies as possible within a certain time limit in stages pulled from the main game. The mode isn’t quite as fully-featured as it was in previous games, but it’s still a fun enough diversion and is good for anyone who wants a quick fix ofResident Evil Village’s combat without diving into the story again.
Resident Evil Village’s story is somewhat of a mixed bag. There are elements to it that will have players rolling their eyes as it can’t help but fall into the same-oldResident Evilcliches for many of its story beats. But at the same time,Resident Evil Villagealso makes some rather bold moves,setting up the inevitableResident Evil 9to potentially have an especially interesting story whenever it comes out.
Resident Evil Villagedoesn’t have the most engrossing or satisfying story inResident Evilhistory, and its more action-oriented approach is likely to disappoint fans that enjoyedRE7’s pure horror. However,Resident Evil Villageis packed with replay value, rarely has a dull moment, and should leaveResident Evilfans excited for the franchise’s future.
Resident Evil Villageis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Game Rant reviewedResident Evil Villageon theNeuron 4000D from Origin PC. Origin offers a variety of customizable PCs that can meet any gamers' needs.Read more about the Neuron here.
Resident Evil Village
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Resident Evil Village, or Resident Evil 8, is the direct sequel to RE7 and continues its story. The game became hugely popular upon release, with one of its characters, Lady Dimitrescu, becoming a meme. RE Village won Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards in 2021.
