Written by Alexander O. Cuaycong and Anthony L. Cuaycong
Title: Resident Evil Village
Developer: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Publisher: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Genre: Action
Price: $59.99
The Resident Evil series has always been enveloped by a story of evil corporations and shadowy under-the-table conspiracies. It has always dealt with the corruption of laws and public servants, showing how rampant, gross misuse of power and money corrupts, and how survival amid all the tangible and intangible horrors depends on the tools you possess and what information you have on hand. The franchise has done this spectacularly, time and time again. True, the weaker parts of the series still stick out like a proverbial sore thumb, but, overall, Capcom’s horror/action/adventure intellectual property has had a good run, and still stands strong. Even with all its perceived missteps, it continues to be among the best in its hybrid genre.
Resident Evil Village keeps the winning streak going, capitalizing on the series’ strengths while framing its plentiful action-based elements in an almost fairy-tale-like narrative that’s both unsettling and exciting. While it may not present many new ideas, it manages to churn out familiar parts with equal verve, and the distinct combination of progress and tradition results in the franchise’s latest offering having its own unique charm to fall back on. It may not reinvent the series, but it’s a Resident Evil title that will have you on the edge of your seat all the same.
In Resident Evil Village, you play as Ethan, three years after the events of the immediate past release in the series. He sees his friend shoot his wife, and his child is taken before his eyes – right as he’s knocked unconscious. When he wakes, he finds himself in a snowy village far removed from civilization. He’s alone and defenseless, trapped in a world where feral monsters, giant mutated beasts, and killer vampires roam. With just his wits and whatever weapons and items he can scavenge, he must find his bearings, find his daughter, and escape from his always-threatening surroundings before time runs out.
Resident Evil Village hums from the get-go, and, in this regard, the Resident Evil engine needs to be praised for what it is able to do. The environment is absolutely stunning, especially when combined with the game’s sound design. The sights it shows are truly a marvel, with the opening sequence having you emerge from a dark, gloomy forest to behold the areas you’ll soon explore – a ramshackle village with a foreboding castle looming in the distance. You’ll explore every nook and cranny you can get into, including paintings that adorn long hallways and blood trails in the snow. You’ll hear the distant crowing and bleating of animals in the distance, and you’ll get sucked at how good the Sony PlayStation 5 is able to render all the visuals without a hitch, even when the screen gets busy with action. While it is true that presentation doesn’t make a game great per se, there can be no discounting the positive effect it has in keeping you immersed. It makes all the exploration sequences – potential drags – engrossing, and the occasional escape-room sequences and puzzles even more compelling. In between are the quiet moments that really nail down the atmosphere in the midst of all the visceral richness, ultimately setting up some of the game’s best scares. What a blast.
The same goes for the combat sequences in Resident Evil Village. While you’ll mainly be solving puzzles and finding items to help you on your journey, you’ll find the village’s denizens far from welcoming. You’ll be forced to defend yourself against them, and the arsenal you have access to gives you plenty of options when dealing with them. You’ll use handguns, shotguns, and rifles to bring any enemies down, but you can also craft your own ammunition and improvised explosives to help you out against hordes. When they get close, you can always use Ethan’s block move to reduce incoming damage, not to mention his ability to shove them back as a way to gain some distance from your attackers and line up a new shot.
As Resident Evil Village’s story progresses, you’ll be able to access different types of guns to play with, upgrade Ethan with a variety of passive buffs to make him stronger, and even engage in some friendly bartering with the game’s merchant. Later on, you’ll gain access to better upgrades for your weapons, find secret treasures to sell, and encounter newer, more dangerous foes to beat down. And all of it just feels amazing.
For longtime Resident Evil fans, Resident Evil Village really does make use of the best parts of its predecessors. You get to see the recent Resident Evil remakes’ engine pushed to the limit. You have the slow, grim atmosphere and backtracking of the classic titles in the franchise, with vastly different areas and environments to lose yourself in. You have the first-person camera of Resident Evil 7 for that heightened, immersive experience. You have the action sequences and inventory management of Resident Evil 4, and you have the silly, over-the-top, enjoyable villains that the Resident Evil series is known for.
It all sounds like a mish-mash of ideas that has the potential to come together as an incoherent mess, but Resident Evil Village manages to pull off the brilliant combination of horror and action. The pacing is nearly perfect, moving between desperate action sequences, and quiet, tense exploration segments. Just when you’re comfortable and settling down, Resident Evil Village does its best to throw you off and keep you on your toes.
And that’s just for the main game of Resident Evil Village. Those new to the Resident Evil series will find that it takes around eight to 12 hours for a first run. More repetitions lead to efficiency, and, soon enough, the game can be finished in as fast as two to three hours. If nothing else, though, the compelling calling to improve on finish times underscores its extremely high replay value. The existence of New Game+ means you can bring your upgraded weapons to bear for some righteous comeuppance against some enemies that really pissed you off before. A mercenary mode exists to test you on your aiming skills and twitch shooting, with rewards unlocking art gallery items to view and even extra unlockable items to bring into the main game. And if that’s not enough, there’s always the Village of Shadows difficulty to test your skills, pitting you against even more aggressive enemies. It’s a lot of extra content to pore through, and one that impels you to spend more and more time on the game.
If anything in Resident Evil Village stands out as a flaw, it would have to be how certain parts of the game feel drastically different from others. For instance, the first large-scale fight you’ll have is almost unnecessarily difficult, given that you’re still unfamiliar with how enemies dart from side to side. It’s not impossible by any means, but it’s a rough learning curve that might put off the faint of heart. Additionally, the final act of Resident Evil Village is far more action-oriented than its slower, more methodical early parts, which may leave people disappointed if they were looking for more scares.
In the final analysis, most of Resident Evil Village’s supposed “flaws” aren’t down to any technical problems or core design issues. They’re just pacing issues. When you look at the bigger picture, the title offers much at the outset, and then more and more as you progress. It establishes a fresh, enjoyable story to experience. It gives a ton of content to unlock with New Game+. It provides a mercenary mode for you to lose yourself in. It boasts of a solid, holistic Resident Evil experience that shows off the franchise’s best parts. Which is to contend that it’s a must-buy for any true Resident Evil fan – or any true gaming fan, for that matter. Just a few points shy of perfection, it’s a game that you’ll thoroughly enjoy the entire way through, and one that leaves you eager for more.
THE GOOD- Beautiful graphics combined with solid performance and consistent frame rates
- High replay value and tons of content to run through with New Game+, Mercenary Mode, and Village of Shadows option
- Plays to its strengths by combining a solid shooter with survival horror elements and creepy, dark surroundings
THE BAD- Rough beginning that can be frustrating, especially on the harder modes
- Not enough horror segments towards the latter part of the game
RATING: 9.5/10
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