Resident Evil Village is an excellent horror game and a strong next step for the Resident Evil franchise. There are a couple parts that drag on, but overall, Village is a concise and frightening experience that pulls you in and refuses to let go. If you’re fond of genuine horror and wonderfully cheesy weirdness, look no further than Village.
Resident Evil Village
Developer: Capcom
Price: $60
Platforms: PS5 (reviewed), PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Stadia, and PC
MonsterVine was provided with a PS5 code for review.
I love almost everything about Resident Evil, from the main games to the spinoffs to the character appearances in Marvel vs Capcom. I especially enjoyed the direction that Resident Evil 7 began to go in, so I was excited to see how Village built upon biohazard’s shot at first-person horror. Thankfully Village takes what worked from Resident Evil 7 and makes it even better, while mixing in more of the absurdity that makes the series so memorable.
In Village, you once again play as Ethan Winters, though this time around he has a good deal of character to him. A few years after the events of biohazard, Ethan and his wife Mia have moved to Europe and had a child, named Rose, as they try to leave behind the horrific events that took place in Louisiana. Things go wrong very fast, as Chris Redfield seemingly betrays Ethan while Rose is kidnapped and taken to an ominous village filled with Lycans and other ghoulish creatures. Ethan has to try to save his child while battling the malicious Mother Miranda and her four freaky “children.” Yes, one of those children is the tall vampire lady, though she’s only the main villain for the first third or so.
I really enjoyed the story’s scope, as it felt personal to Ethan despite the larger scale compared to biohazard. You can feel Ethan’s desperation to save Rose throughout the game, and it makes him feel more relatable than he did previously. He feels less like an avatar and more like a developed person this time around, though you still never see his face. You learn things about Ethan that explain a lot about both of his games and leads to an emotionally satisfying ending that leaves a lot of room for future titles.
“It’s one of the scariest sections I’ve experienced in a game, and I loved every freaky second of it.“
As interesting as Ethan is in this game, the villains are the most appealing part of the story. Mother Miranda and her children are fascinating, and I was excited to find additional documents throughout the game that expanded upon their biologies and motivations. Lady Dimitrescu is probably the most developed, making the castle section the best part of the game. She has an eerie charisma that has rightfully taken the internet by storm, and I strangely enjoyed being chased by her because of it.
That’s not to say the others aren’t great themselves. Heisenberg in particular felt like the pinnacle of a crazy Resident Evil character, in part thanks to the manic delivery of Neil Newbon. He jumps between intimidating and genuinely funny on a dime, which I love to see in a villain. I was also impressed with how Village tied itself into the rest of the series towards the end, which doesn’t feel egregious but still builds on the series in a unique way.
Village is a blast to play due to its consistently satisfying gunplay and its pleasant puzzles. Each gun feels different to fire, a feeling which is amplified by the still-awesome DualSense controller. The triggers are harder to pull as your guns get bigger, which puts extra effort into shooting and reloading weapons like your shotgun and sniper rifle. It’s a great touch that goes a long way in making the guns more diverse to use. Shooting enemies proves to be very tense, as reloading takes just long enough to scare you as a mob of Lycans close in on you. I like that you can make enemies trip or drop their weapons depending on where you shoot them, as it encourages you to shoot strategically when swarmed by enemies.
There’s also a brilliant gameplay loop that comes with Village’s merchant, the Duke. As you kill enemies and find treasures (including some optional treasures that are a joy to find on your own,) you obtain items that can be sold for Lei. You can use Lei to buy new weapons, upgrade your current weapons’ stats, and to buy modifications for each gun. You can even hunt animals and bring them to the Duke, which he’ll use to cook dishes to permanently increase your stats. I found myself constantly running back to the Duke after finding new treasures to see how I could make my weapons better, as the improvements are noticeable and quite handy. The Duke even references the Merchant from Resident Evil 4, which tells me the staff knew this was a good feature to carry over. There’s even a similar type of item management in Village, which is just as weirdly enjoyable as it was in Resident Evil 4.
“Environments are as creepily barren and haunting as can be, while the blood effects are just real enough to make you wince upon being injured.“
One thing I want to point out is just how scary Village can be. I’d say, on the whole, it’s not quite as frightening as biohazard was, but specific segments are even scarier than the peaks of the previous game. The dollhouse segment, in particular, had me on the edge of my seat for the entire time, purely through the use of atmosphere, plus a truly terrifying monster towards the end. It’s one of the scariest sections I’ve experienced in a game, and I loved every freaky second of it.
There are a couple of weak sections in Village, primarily the first hour and the more action-based Stronghold segment. The beginning is a bit directionless, but not in the fun and exploratory manner that the castle segment is, making it feel slow and uneven. For the Stronghold, I’ll say that this game does action well for the most part, as a section towards the end of the game proves nicely, but using all your ammo against a seemingly endless horde of Lycans in a closed space isn’t particularly fun. Outside of these two sections though, I enjoyed my entire ten hours with Village’s campaign, so I can’t complain too much.
Outside of the story, there’s an addictive Mercenaries mode in Village. You’re given a pistol, ammo, and some money, and left to your own devices. You can buy an extra weapon or modify your pistol, after which you’re off to fight waves of enemies. You can find handy abilities and time limit extenders throughout each map, as you try to kill your foes and head to the exit before time runs out. There are a good number of maps to unlock by getting A ranks, as well as weapons and bonuses that make revisiting past stages even more fun. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable mode that adds a good deal of playtime to the game, so I’m glad it was included.
Village looks gorgeous, which means the vile abominations look shockingly realistic. From Ethan’s bloody hand to Moreau’s ghastly appearance, everything looks incredible, which adds to the slowly building tension throughout the game. Environments are as creepily barren and haunting as can be, while the blood effects are just real enough to make you wince upon being injured. The sound is also excellent, with most of the voice performances, in particular, standing out and going quite a ways in giving the characters a real presence. Plus, the save room theme is fantastic this time around, as it always should be.
The Final Word
Resident Evil Village is a terrific horror game that balances some impressively frightening scenarios with intense action. There are a couple of weak parts in the story, but for the most part, it’s an immersive and scary game that does right by the Resident Evil series. If you’re looking for a fun and spooky game to play this month, this is the one.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
