As always, I will go ahead and say this will be a non-spoiler review of the game. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on Resident Evil Village which came out last week on multiple platforms. It is the eighth installment of the series following up on the critically acclaimed, Resident Evil Biohazard. I’m a huge fan of the series, so naturally, I was pretty damn excited to get a chance to play this follow up. I am quite content with how the game turned out!
Resident Evil Village borrows gameplay elements from previous games in the series, most specifically Resident Evil 4, which is one of my personal favorites! They use the same merchant system that allows you to purchase weapon upgrades and items. They also use a familiar village setting since one of the main areas in RE 4 was a village as well. The game follows the story of Ethan Winters who was also the protagonist in RE Biohazard, making this game a direct sequel. The story continues for Ethan and Mia, after the events of escaping the Baker house. They are now settled and have a baby named Rose, but can they escape the torment’s of their past?
Story wise, I like that this directly continues from RE 7. There are nice plot twists, and interesting character developments. The writing is corny at times though, but corny writing is no stranger to the franchise. Thing is, I feel like this game takes itself more seriously, so the bad writing doesn’t work in its favor. Now, I’m not blaming the voice acting either for this, as I think the acting was perfectly fine. I do think that the villains you face in this game have the best dialogue. Namely Lady Dimitrescu and Heisenberg.
So, while I do think this is a solid game, with great looking graphics and detail, I have to say, there was one big thing that disappointed me. The horror element that we experienced in RE7(Biohazard) was toned down greatly in favor of a more action shooter approach. I much preferred more of the first person horror element that we got for RE7, and that’s most likely why that game is in my top 3 of the series. Again, this is my personal preference. I’ve seen so many varying opinions on this, but because of this, I’m going to have to say I prefer RE7 to this one.
Another thing I have to praise is the intricate level designs for the Village and Castle Dimitrescu areas. Top notch! I loved those areas so much and they’re probably some of my favorites of all time. Very fun to run around and explore while a giant vampire lady stalks you around with her Freddy Krueger claws. They do a such a great job of making you feel anxious and keeping you on your toes, just like how they’ve used past characters like Mr. X and Nemesis.
Now on the topic of level designs, I feel like as the game progresses, the quality starts dipping. The last 2 areas in the game for me were boring and repetitive. Again, I feel like this is a common issue in the RE franchise itself, as this issue is faced in so many of their previous games so its almost like a staple in the franchise at this point.
Resident Evil Village is a solid entry for the franchise with memorable characters and lots of fun to be had. If you’re a fan of the franchise, then you’ll surely enjoy this game. If you’re a fan of action survival games, then you should give this game a chance. Also, if this is your first Resident Evil game, or if you didn’t play Resident Evil 7(Biohazard), there is a handy dandy compilation video that will catch you up on the events you missed from the previous game so that it catches you up on the narrative.
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