Resident Evil Village Review

The Village people

After Resident Evil 7 brought the series back to its survival horror roots, the reveal of Resident Evil Village sent a fervor of excitement across the internet in anticipation of just how it would continue from where its predecessor took the series, especially after the two remakes that were each different degrees of horror and action. Add to all this the pre-release information that Village took heavy inspiration from Resident Evil 4 and it was a mystery as to what it would turn out like. Now that Village is released, it turns out that it is simultaneously everything we've seen in the series before and something else entirely.

Resident Evil Village's vistas look stunning, especially on PlayStation 5

As much of a contradiction as that might sound, Village's gameplay is a combination of Resident Evil 4 and 7, keeping the first person style from 7 but pivoting it to a more action focus with improved movement, a knockback attack after a successful block, and the return of 4's inventory management and shop. All of these combine to make Village more satisfying than its predecessor, along with far more regular enemies that give these gameplay changes a chance to shine; I found myself recognising a lot of gameplay elements from classic Resident Evils but the way they fit together make it all feel unique to 8.

The level design also captrues that feeling with its four main areas that branch off from the hub of the village, each having a different flavour of horror with the first and last zones being exploration-heavy compounds full of secrets reminiscent of the first few Resident Evils, and the third area being a linear action set-piece complete with giant fish, à la Resident Evil 4. The second area is noteworthy for being something new to the series, as your weapons are taken away and you're put through a puzzling haunted house.

House Beneviento is easily the creepiest place in the game, I won't say why

The difference in these stages gives them a refreshing variety that sets them apart from each other, a variety that is further cemented by the lords that rule over them. Yes, Resident Evil Village has a mini rogues' gallery of almost campy villains who each taunt, chastise, and try to eviscerate returning protagonist Ethan Winters whilst he is in their respective zones. Lady Dimitrescu hurls insults and threatens to drink Ethan's blood, Beneviento's doll Angie mocks him during a deadly game of hide-and-seek, Moreau begs for love and attention from the presiding matriarch of the village, and Heisenberg brags about the machine army he's building up to gain power; all of these villains have enough presence in their segments to make them memorable opponents and build up their boss fights to be satisfying showdowns where you finally get to shut them up.

If there is one thing Village is good at, it's giving each idea it has the right amount of time to shine. None of the areas or mechanics it uses get dragged out for longer than they're effective, but at the same time I never felt myself wanting to return to a previous area once I'd finished them. Even if I did have an irresistable urge to go back, the game lends itself perfectly to one of Capcom's biggest strengths, replayability.

It's the return of the attache case featuring hours of inventory management fun! The abundance of ammo here was thanks to a knife-only run

Sure, Village does have some cracks in an initial playthrough. The varied structure may come across as quite erratic and like the game doesn't want to stick to any idea in particular, meanwhile all the puzzles are rather simplistic and don't take very long to figure out. After a few combat encounters the regular enemies become far less of a threat as you begin to recognise their patterns and upgrade your gear to deal with them more effectively, eventually making combat less about creating tension and more deciding whether you want to use up your time or a few of your more precious resources. However, these elements aren't designed around that initial playthrough, they're made in service of subsequent playthroughs.

At the time of writing, I have gone through the game four times and that's before I've even touched its hardest difficulty, and so many of these decisions make sense the more you play the game. If the puzzles and enemies were too dense additional playthroughs would begin to feel like a frustrating slog, and the variety of areas had me excited to get back to each one in my playthroughs.

A new game plus option lets you use later-game weaponry at the very start of the game

While it may seem strange to some people to play through a game more than once, Village actively encourages it by giving a list of challenges and unlockables after the first playthrough which practically beg you to go back through the game again, this time trying to beat it in under three hours or only using a knife among a cavalcade of other challenges ranging from full playthrough challenges to smaller ones based around some off the game's setpieces.

On top of this you can unlock infinite ammo for any weapon once you've fully upgraded it, allowing you to play around with whichever weapons you took a liking to in your excursions through the village, as well as unlocking certain weapons that don't show up during normal gameplay. Whether it's for unlockable goodies, the satisfaction of completion, or simply an excuse to stay in Village for just that little bit longer, these challenges are a crucial part of Resident Evil 8 and an aspect that has gotten me so hooked on it.

In tight spaces, groups of enemies become harder to outmanoeuvre no matter how good you are against them

While the prospect of replayability being Resident Evil Village's main pull might not be appealing to some, longtime Resident Evil fans and fans of Capcom in general will feel right at home with this latest installment. Repeat playthroughs notwithstanding, the unique blend of old and new create an identity that sets Village apart from its predecessors; it has smatterings of Resident Evil 4, but could hardly be seen as a clone or even a spiritual successor to it. No, with its distinct areas, even blend of horror and action, and fresh ideas for the franchise, Resident Evil Village stands confidently on its own two feet and continues to carry the franchise forward as Resident Evil 7 did 4 years ago.