Resident Evil Village Review
With Resident Evil 7, Capcom has taken its long-running survival-horror franchise in bold new directions while simultaneously returning it to its roots. Despite Resident Evil 7’s use of a first-person perspective, the game is still a classic Resident Evil title, seemingly taking inspiration from the original Resident Evil with its setting and puzzles. Resident Evil Village continues what Resident Evil 7 started by keeping the first-person view, but this time taking inspiration from Resident Evil 4 and the more action-oriented games in the series. Set several years after the events of Resident Evil 7, protagonist Ethan Winters and his wife Mia live in a rural European town, where they try to lead a normal life with their daughter Rose. Unfortunately, their peace doesn’t last long, and after a shocking confrontation with series veteran Chris Redfield, Ethan finds himself stranded in a mountain village with his daughter in the hands of the villain. that of Mother Miranda and her four Lords. The rural European setting of Resident Evil Village is immediately reminiscent of Resident Evil 4, and the similarities between the two games don’t stop there. Everything from Resident Evil Village’s inventory system to its greater focus on action callbacks to Leon S. Kennedy’s groundbreaking adventure. But since Ethan wasn’t that well versed in combat in Resident Evil 7, some fans may be wondering why he’s suddenly mowing down hordes of enemies in the new game.
This suggests that Ethan has been getting intensive training from Chris Redfield in the years since the conclusion of Resident Evil 7 to prepare him in case he finds himself in another life-threatening situation. Ethan puts those skills to use in Resident Evil Village, using a deeper arsenal of weapons as he battles crazed villagers, werewolf creatures called Lycans, and a few other monsters he encounters on his quest to his son. Anyone who felt that Resident Evil 7 didn’t have enough action will probably be happier with Resident Evil Village in that regard, as there’s a lot more shooting and a lot more enemy types for Ethan to fight. Unfortunately, there is something lost in the renewed focus on action against fears. Capcom itself has admitted that Resident Evil Village isn’t as scary as Resident Evil 7, and that will be readily apparent to anyone who plays it. There are some shocking moments, but the game doesn’t seem concerned with making players really scared of anything. None of the monsters posed that significant a threat to Ethan, and even the bosses were easily dispatched. The biggest disappointment in this regard is easily Lady Dimitrescu. Featured heavily in the game’s promotional materials, Resident Evil Village’s Lady Dimitrescu has become the face of the new game, though her role is generally less prominent in the grand scheme of things. Much has been said about how Lady Dimitrescu stalks Ethan around her castle like Mr. X from Resident Evil 2, but when it becomes clear that Ethan can easily outrun and outwit him, he becomes less scary.
Gameplay-wise, the villains of Resident Evil Village are a step down from the Baker family of Resident Evil 7, but in terms of lore, they’re more interesting. Each of Mother Miranda’s Lords also have a unique look to them and special powers that go into their section of the game world. This results in varied environments and engaging cutscenes, though players may leave feeling that the supposedly powerful creatures are pushovers. They may not be very compelling to fight, but it’s fun to learn more about Lady Dimitrescu and the other Lords of the game. While players are slaughtering the villains and monsters of Resident Evil Village, they will also be doing a lot of exploring. The village in the game’s title serves as a sort of hub area that branches off into each of the game’s main sections. As players progress through the story, they will acquire new keys and other items that will allow them to explore the village, providing treasures and special weapons that will give them an even greater advantage in their enemies. Treasures and other points of interest are marked on the map at a certain point in the game, making it easy for Resident Evil Village players to view all the side content. Compared to most other games in the series, there is little side content in Resident Evil Village, which, along with New Game+ and multiple difficulty levels, greatly increases the game’s replay value.
One drawback when it comes to the hub area of Resident Evil Village is that it’s easy to get lost, and even with the map defined, it’s not always clear how to get to where players need to go. This is an issue several times in the game as well, and it actually serves to grind the pacing down to a halt. However, players should find their way back to the right path with enough running around. Even if players get lost in Resident Evil Village, at least they’ll have plenty of beautiful sights to see. Resident Evil Village uses ray-tracing to great effect on next-gen consoles, with its lighting easily the most striking thing about it. The game isn’t an amazing next-gen graphics showcase like one might expect, but it looks fantastic and is the best Resident Evil game to date. Resident Evil Village’s gorgeous graphics go hand in hand with its impressive level of polish, with no technical issues or visual hiccups of any kind encountered during our time with the game. To sweeten the pot, Resident Evil Village has almost no load time and works perfectly, at least on PS5.
Resident Evil Village is a big step forward when it comes to graphics and overall performance, but it also makes some important quality-of-life improvements that fans will appreciate. One big thing is that Resident Evil Village allows players to skip cut-scenes, which was not always possible in its predecessor. This makes replaying Resident Evil Village even more appealing, and is another big boost for its replay value. Resident Evil Village can be completed in around eight hours on a first playthrough, though it’s also possible to beat it in less than three hours. Almost all Resident Evil games are short, but they make up for it by giving players a good reason to come back to 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 more to do once they finish the main story. Resident Evil Village brings back Mercenaries Mode, which challenges players to kill as many enemies as possible within a certain time frame in stages pulled from the main game. The mode isn’t as fully featured as in previous games, but it’s a fun enough diversion and it’s good for anyone who wants a quick fix of Resident Evil Village combat without having to dive into the story again.
The story of Resident Evil Village is a bit of a mixed bag. There are elements here that will make players roll their eyes as it can’t help but fall into the same old Resident Evil cliches for many of its story beats. But at the same time, Resident Evil Village is also making some pretty bold moves, setting up the inevitable Resident Evil 9 to potentially have a particularly interesting story every time it comes out. Resident Evil Village doesn’t have the most entertaining or enjoyable story in Resident Evil history, and its more action-oriented approach will likely disappoint fans who enjoyed the pure horror of RE7. However, Resident Evil Village is full of replay value, rarely has a dull moment, and should leave Resident Evil fans excited for the future of the franchise. Resident Evil Village is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Today Technology reviewed Resident Evil Village on the Neuron 4000D from Origin PC. Origin offers a variety of customizable PCs that can meet any gamers’ needs. Read more about Neuron here.