RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE – Review
Resident Evil is one of the longest running and most popular horror game series out there. Coming off the huge success of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Capcom was under pressure to deliver a worthy follow-up (especially considering Resident Evil 6 is considered one of the worst of the bunch). There was additional pressure for Capcom to deliver with this installment because it would be the first on the new generation of consoles.
Well, they delivered. Resident Evil Village is fantastic!
Rather than a continuation of the slow, creeping pace of Biohazard, Capcom put the focus on breakneck action for this one. The game takes you from Ethan and Mia’s humble home to a small section of the village, then right into Lady Dimitrescu’s castle to wrap up an exciting first act. Then in act 2 you fight your way through every corner of the village, taking down some memorable bosses and mini-bosses. This section also includes the Dollhouse – one of the coolest chapters of the game by far! Finally, the 3rd act reveals the inner-workings of the complex plot and pits you up against some of the toughest enemies in the game (in very cramped spaces to make things even more intense).
The reason I wanted to walk through the progression of the game is to remark on just how well paced this game was. It’s linear like all Resident Evil games, but the village feels big and the game keeps throwing you into new interesting settings and situations. It’s filled with branching paths with treasure and weapon upgrades to reward thorough exploration. I kept wandering the streets and back alleys, and just when the pace was feeling slow, the game would drop a surprise mini-boss in my path. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the game was when I was faced with a giant werewolf, but rather than fighting it I was able to sneak through a couple houses and avoid the encounter entirely.
If I had any complaints about the game, it’d be that there were a couple of moments with some backtracking that felt a bit overboard (like the foundry section of act 3 for example). Plus the Chris Redfield section in the epilogue, while fun, just wasn’t very scary. I wish the game could’ve ended with some more intense scares like the Dollhouse, rather than turning into almost a Call of Duty game for the last hour.
But all in all, this was a really great game. The first major horror game of the new console generation did not disappoint. For anyone who enjoys horror, action, or anything in between, I highly recommend Resident Evil Village!
by Jack Healy
