When Resident Evil VII released, it caused a lot of controversy within the fan base. The game was the first mainline entry in the series to fully use a first person point of view, and many weren't sure how it would be. With recent games being a lot more action heavy, many worried that VII would ultimately follow the same path, and possibly not even feel like a Resident Evil game. Well, thankfully those fears never came to fruition, and Resident Evil VII went on to be known as a solid entry within the series.
So how do you follow that up you might ask? By making a sequel of course! (But not without remaking Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 in between.)
Resident Evil Village is the eighth mainline entry within the long running series, and serves as a direct sequel to Resident Evil VII: Biohazard. It once again follows our new protagonist Ethan Winters, and retains the first person point of view. Of course since it's released an optional third person mode has been added into the game, but the game was originally designed to be like VII in every way possible.
The biggest difference between VII and VIII however is it's setting; with VIII being heavily influenced by the likes of Resident Evil 4, while VII mainly pulled it's inspiration from the original. With that being said, taking from a past game's ideas doesn't necessarily make the new one good, nor does it always allow for a game to shine on it's own. In some cases the "new game" becomes a shell of what inspired it. Thankfully, that is not the case with Village.
The story of Village:
Resident Evil Village takes place a few years after the events of Resident Evil VII, and Ethan Winters is now living happily with his wife Mia, and their new daughter Rose. For the first time in years the couple finally has a normal life together, and everything is going great. That is, until it isn't...
The intro of the game sees series hero Chris Redfield break into the Winters' home, shoot Mia to death, take Rose, and knock Ethan unconscious. The next thing he knows, Ethan is riding in a helicopter over some mountain range, and that's when an "attack" occurs. The helicopter goes down, Ethan crawls out from the wreckage, and sets off to save Rose and get revenge on the man he thought was a friend. Things don't go quite as planned however, as upon entering the village itself Ethan quickly realizes he's being pulled back into the same nightmare he thought he had escaped from.
Everyone in the village is crazy, werewolves stalk the streets, and their leader "Mother Miranda" has taken Rose for herself. Ethan soon comes face to face with Miranda's "children," and is forced into fighting them if he wants to have any hope of rescuing his daughter. His very "special" daughter.
As with most Resident Evil titles, Village mostly tells it's story in the form of cutscenes and hidden messages found throughout the world. Although Village isn't as cinematic as other recent titles in the series, it still has it's fair share of cutscenes and dialogue between the characters. And if it's not Ethan talking to someone, then it's the big bads talking to him as they provide more context as to what is going on in the town. Meanwhile the letters and other documents found throughout the game world help give more insight as to what happened prior to Ethan's arrival, and actually shed some light on the series as a whole. That's something that makes Village unique, as it has a much larger impact than Resident Evil VII before it.
Although Village can technically be a starting point for newcomers, the story isn't really the most newbie friendly. Again, the game itself is a direct continuation from VII, but characters like Chris also play a much larger role this time around. Chris himself is one of the two original main characters from the Resident Evil, and has gone on to star in many of it's entries. Resident Evil, Code Veronica, Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil 6, Revelations, and not to mention the side stories and movies he's appeared in. Without knowing who he is, or the BSAA, new fans will be missing out on quite a bit of context. The same can be said for some of the story revelations, as they relate back to past entries as well. Again it's not technically "required" to know any of this to enjoy Village, but it is strongly recommended... Or at the very least it's recommended to finish VII first, as Village does serve as part 2.
The Gameplay:
Like the previous entry, Village is a first person horror survival game which asks you to survive the forces of evil with limited resources. To do this, players must explore each area of the game thoroughly, gather items like ammo and medical supplies, and also locate key items to solve puzzles. Some items found are simply there to be sold to the shop, ran by the mysterious "Duke," but most tend to be important for progression.
The game world itself is broken up between multiple key areas, with the village itself serving as the center of it all. The intro area consists mainly of a castle, but once you are freed from it the story will guide you towards different locations. Everything can be revisited however, up until the game's final moments, and sometimes it pays off to return to previously "cleared" spots. A game map will highlight rooms and areas in red if items still remain, and sometimes you will have to return later if you want to find everything. Keys to locked doors aren't always found within the same location, so backtracking becomes a must to see it all. This can be a risk however, as the game's enemies will not make things easy for you.
Monsters in Village are pretty common. From zombies, to lycaons, to... Whatever the flying things are... The game has a wide variety of enemies that must be dealt with. They will kill you if you're not careful, and killing them will use resources you might need to save. Thankfully the game does feature a block and shove feature to help avoid the bad guys, but even that might lead you to having a bite taken out. Sometimes the game forces you to decide if getting extra items is really worth the trouble, but often the game is balanced in a way where the extras make up for it. It might take ten shotgun shells to blast your way through a mob, but the end of the hall might reward you with twenty in return, along with a key that opens up some extras. You just don't know until you take the risk, and you can always reload the game if you decide it wasn't worth it.
While the game starts you out with limited resources in general, weapons can be upgraded to help you get more use out of your ammo. Rare items you find around the village can be traded for money, and the money can then be used to buy said upgrades, or even different weapons in general. So rather than using those ten shots to survive the previous areas, it may be possible to get by with only three. Ultimately upgrading becomes very important, but it’s also something that should only be done on weapons you actually plan to use. Money is a limited resource also, so you shouldn’t just spend it on everything that catches your eye.
Although knowing that the game has limited resources might be off putting to newcomers, Village actually does do a good job of making sure you have exactly what you need. In easy and normal mode limited items aren’t really a problem. Typically if you use everything you have to clear a section, the game will throw you a bone and ensure you have what you need to keep playing. It’s nearly impossible to be locked out of finishing the game. On the harder modes however? You need to watch everything, and know the game inside and out to survive. These settings are designed for those who want a true challenge, and offer a much more “classic” Resident Evil experience.
With all of that being said, normal isn’t a full on cakewalk either. As someone who has played every main entry in the series, and most of the spin offs, this is the first Resident Evil where I struggled with the final boss on normal. My resources were limited, and the fight itself was much more involved. It was a lot of fun! Sure! But it took quite a few tries. Something that’s never really happened to me in this series before.
Third Person View:
With the Winters expansion, third person mode was added to the game. This mode finally gives Ethan a face that we can see, and lets players fully experience the game as a “classic” styled 3D Resident Evil game. The camera view will be over the shoulder, and in some ways it makes the game a bit less scary. Cutscenes will still shift the view back to the first person point of view, but the rest of the game is played from this new perspective. It’s great for those who weren’t happy about the switch to first person back in Resident Evil VII, but it also makes things a bit harder to see. As the game was designed for first person, sometimes the third person view makes it more challenging to see smaller hidden items, or search through drawers. It’s not that big of an issue, but it’s something everyone planning to play Village in third person should be aware of. It is very obvious the game wasn’t designed with third person in mind, but they found a way to make it work.
VR Mode:
Exclusive to the PlayStation 5 and PSVR2, Resident Evil Village does contain a VR mode as well. This mode puts you “in” the game, and lets you experience the game in a completely new way. This is something that is hard to explain to someone who has never played VR, but it is for sure the scariest way you can possibly experience Village.
When in VR, your entire vision is Ethan’s vision. You are no longer sitting in your house, but rather, you are IN the Village. You turn your head to the left? Your in game head has moved to the left. You look up at the sky? You’re seeing the sky in the game. You look down at your feet? You’re looking at the dirt below. You no longer see the real world; you are completely in the game. Again, it’s hard to describe to someone who hasn’t seen VR, but to put it simply; wherever you look, you’re still going to be in the Village… And that is horrifying.
The monsters, the creepy sights, and every horror Ethan is put through… VR allows you to see it first hand, and it is the best way to possibly experience this game. If you can handle it.
Mercenaries Mode:
Mercenaries returns in Resident Evil Village with a slightly new take on the formula. This mode allows you to choose stages to take on, as waves of enemies come at you. Your goal is to kill a set number of enemies and pick up points, so you can advance to the end of the stage before time runs out. As time goes on enemies get harder and harder, but choosing to stick it out nets you better rewards in the end. The mode is all about achieving a high score, and using your points to buy weapon upgrades and abilities to further improve your character. There are multiple locations to select from, and each location has multiple stages within them. By the end of it all you are given a rank based on how well you did, and you can then either try again or move onto the next area.
It is an addicting mode and adds quite a bit of replay value to the base game. There is a reason it has been featured in so many Resident Evil games at this point, and Village is simply the latest iteration.
The DLC Story:
Without revealing too much, the DLC also includes an additional post game story for Resident Evil Village. The story completely takes place in third person, with a different main character taking center stage. This character has additional abilities and powers to play with, with the gameplay itself taking on a more surreal approach. It is a nice follow up to the main campaign, but is nowhere near as long as the main game itself. It does however let you experience some of the previous locations in a completely new way, and offers full on classic horror survival gameplay.
Is this a Village you should Visit?
Resident Evil Village is a solid entry in the overall series. The story is a continuation of VII and finally provides answers to the mysteries left open by that title, and the new setting is a fun throwback to Resident Evil 4. The game features multiple areas within the Village as well, and that helps keep it from getting boring. One such area is actually the scariest moment I’ve experienced in the series, and I applaud it for that! The cinematic scenes and set pieces were also a lot of fun, but didn’t go overboard like in Resident Evil 6. The rest of the game felt like classic Resident Evil, and the exploration is the best it has been in a long time. There are also extra puzzles and secrets to discover, so the game rewards you for traveling off the beaten path. It’s pretty much everything a fan of Resident Evil can ask for.
On the other hand, those who prefer the third person camera to the first person will have to actually buy the DLC. Not everyone will like this, but the DLC does add a second post game story as well. This post game story is also full on classic styled Resident Evil, but with some unique twists to the gameplay (which are spoilers that I will not ruin). The mercenaries mode is also a nice addition, and is a mixture of the original mercenaries, and that of Resident Evil Revelation’s raid mode. It puts you through a series of stages with upgrades and abilities to pick up, and a set number of enemies you must kill before you can move on. You are scored and have a time limit, with combo kills gaining more points. It’s an addicting mode, and provides extra replay value once the story comes to a conclusion. Of course the main story also has other reasons to replay, as finishing the game once will allow you to spend points on extras (such as unlimited ammo), and a challenge list will encourage you to go back and try new things.
With all of this being said, Village really is a fun and complete package. It might not change the mind of those who do not enjoy horror survival games, but existing fans and fans of horror will find plenty to enjoy here. It’s possible that some may get annoyed with a few small sections in the game, but it doesn’t drag down the overall experience; an experience that really shouldn’t be missed.
It may be a newer game, but Resident Evil Village is an instant classic, and one that will be looked back on fondly for years to come.
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