Author: Rich Meister

Resident Evil and I have quite the history. Though it’s a series I was late to the party on, with four being my introduction to the series, it grabbed me enough to revisit those old games during the heyday of the PlayStation 2. I spent hours traversing Raccoon City and was fully caught up and waiting for RE5. this fifth installment was ultimately a disappointment for me, and RE6 felt like an even more significant and stranger misstep.

For these reasons and plenty more, I was cautiously optimistic when RE7 launched a few years back. Not only did it feel like something completely different it managed to evoke some of those feelings I felt playing the original series as a teenager. Resident Evil Village learns from its predecessors where it counts and embraces the stupidity of the world that’s been built by Capcom over the years. As a result, it mostly delivers while paying homage to the games that came before it.

Resident Evil Village (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

Released: May 7, 2021

MSRP: $59.99

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

The end of Resident Evil 7 left Ethan Winters in a primarily good place, so the opening hour of Village is filled with weird moments and enough twists to shock M. Night Shyamalan. I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers here, but to keep it simple, Ethan gets royally fucked. Presumably, all thanks to his good buddy Chris Redfield.

The story hook feels just as intimate and small scale as Ethan’s search for his wife in RE7 while simultaneously using Chris as the link to both the original series and the larger impact these events have on the world of Resident Evil.

The early hours of Village are primarily filled with exposition and an action sequence essentially meant to pay homage to RE4’s famous village scene. It gets the point across but doesn’t feel as fun or scary as the moment is imitating. Thankfully, Village succeeds at really opening up its world and storytelling after this initial sequence.

Once you arrive at a castle ruled over by a certain tall woman, the internet has been super horny for Village begins to show you precisely what it’s all about. The slow burn scares are mostly gone this time around in favor of a more action-horror hybrid approach. Though the increased tensions of RE7 are missed, the stalker enemies that follow Ethan through environments like Lady Dimitrescu add a specific flair and tension spike that few other things can emulate.

The excellent level design in the smaller, more intimate areas you visit in Village coupled with persistent threats pursuing Ethan makes for some unbelievably tense moments. Some of the bigger scares tend to be more scripted, but the best moments are the ones the world allows you to find on your own.

While the actual design of every area in Village’s large but not exactly sprawling world feels pretty standout across the board. While it all looks and fits well within the box, it carves out the map as a whole feels a bit disjointed. You see, the village itself is looked after by four lords. Each one of these rejected One Piece villains rules over a particular; unlike in RE7, where each building was connected by the general theme of Louisiana bayou, every area of Village is so drastically different it can be jarring. You’ll find yourself traveling from a Gothic Castle to a steel factory, and while each is a marvel in its own right, the tonal shifts can be a bit strange.

Unlike in RE7, I rarely found myself scrounging for ammo here. This is large because of the addition of a merchant and a robust catalog of weapon upgrades and treasures to trade to buy ammo. The return of a weapons merchant and a bigger focus on upgrading weapons are clear inspirations from RE4 and aren’t the only familiar editions. RE4’s famous attache case returns. This briefcase-style menu displays a grid that requires players to store weapons and consumables in a finite amount of space. However, unlike my time with RE4, I rarely found much need to reorganize my inventory; the space is generous enough as long as you aren’t hoarding weapons.

The moment-to-moment gameplay feels great. weapons give you agency and allow you to put down tough enemies, but the unsteady aiming and slow-moving reload animations make sure each encounter feels intense. On top of this new enemies like the Lycans totally change up the normal behavior you would expect from classic RE zombie which helps to keep players on their toes.

I’ve been on the edge of my seat for Resident Evil’s anime-ass storytelling since I was a kid, so that I might be biased here. Still, the way Village successfully continues Ethan’s story while tying these and the previous game’s events up with the original series larger plot is a pretty fun ride. In addition, a layer of smaller narrative notes can be found in each area of the game that adds to the fun of the outlandish characters that make up the titular village. It’s mostly smaller bits of set dressing, but don’t tell me you’re not curious about the origins of those three vampire sisters.

Verdict: While it isn’t without flaw Resident Evil Village brings together the best of both worlds from two of my favorite games in this series and dials the super dumb tone up to eleven. It’s wacky, campy, gory fun, and it might just end up being one of my favorites in the series.

Buy it

[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer]