Resident Evil Village - Review

“Now, please do not worry for little Rose. I assure you I’ll provide her with true happiness. So now you can die peacefully… and permanently.”

Resident Evil Village is the 8th main game instalment of the long running series and is the second game to feature Ethan Winters as the main protagonist. Will it continue the rebirth that was set by Resident Evil 7? Does it live up to hype, and are the scares truly that scary?

To answer those questions, yes. This game is magnificent. It is one of the best experiences I’ve had in years. The story, the visuals, the scares, all of it is fantastic. This is a symbol of what we should be expecting of from not just future Resident Evil games, but from the entire genre of survival horror. Let’s delve into the details of the game, so I can truly flesh out the masterpiece that it is.

I had the privilege of experiencing this game on PlayStation 5, and I can without doubt say, that in terms of play experience this is what you want to be playing the game on. This comes in the form of the Trigger Mode that is used by the PS5 controller. They have crafted every effort into fully utilising this unique feature. Each and every gun in the game, gives a different response and resistance to the triggers. By the end of my second playthrough, I could almost tell you which gun I was aiming and shooting with, purely by how the triggers felt under my finger. This is a detail that I believe all developers should be looking into.

The pistol is easy to aim and has little resistance. The shotgun has a firm press and requires more pressure to fire. When it’s not able to be fired the button goes limp and offers no resistance, so you can fully grasp the fire rate of your weapons. The machine gun is coupled with a localised vibration under you finger. You feel the rapid fire of the gun as you hold down the trigger, the controller vibrating violently under your finger to simulate the burst from the machine guns. Every detail was thought of, and it’s without a doubt one of the best experiences I’ve had with a game, purely based on the love crafted into making the controls feel realistic.

Getting into the game itself, let’s look into the overall theme. There is a supernatural, almost mystical feeling to the game. Creepy puppeteers, vampire women, a crazy fish man, a witch who can change shape, a mad man who control metal itself. There is a sense of disbelief in what is happening. The game feels like a horror story, set in an old village. You encounter crazy wolf-like people, corpses who climb out of the ground and do not stop coming at you. Flying creatures with gross mosquito like proboscis. The theme is different, very different from anything we’ve experience with the Resident Evil games. It’s not based in a semi-reality, it’s pushing the limits of believability in attempting to almost take itself into a fantasy world. It is however, perfect. Every aspect of the game plays into this, and you feel the dread. Everything is terrifying because there is no way it could be real. The idea of an almost Brothers Grimm style theme applied to the Resident Evil universe seems ludicrous, but lends itself wonderfully. Everything is explained and there is the reality you need, but the characters make sense for what is being portrayed.

I made the mistake of playing this game originally in 1080p without HDR. If you have a 4K set up, with HDR ability, use it. This game is absolutely gorgeous. I thought it was impressive playing it at 1080p. I have, and still do, gripes about the laziness in foliage. The scenery is beautiful and the world is amazing to look at. Hanging bodies leaking blood is unnerving, because it looks so realistic. It is then unfortunate that when I look at a bush up close, or some foliage on the ground, I am met with a low res, 2D almost fuzzy textures. If you don’t spend too long looking at the sticks, twigs and assorted foliage in the game, it shouldn’t be something that you notice. However, when you are forced to move through most foliage, it then becomes much more difficult to ignore. The world is crafted beautifully, everything is uniquely designed, not one enemy wears the same torn clothing or weapon as another. Everything has such minute detail put into it, except for these bland, fuzzy flat textures that you are forced to look at, regularly. The game is even more gorgeous in 4K, and there is no reason not to experience it at this quality. However, the problem herein is that, these low res textures look even worse when compared to the high quality image you see in 4K resolutions, it’s almost lazy. The blood looks so wet and realistic, but the branches of a bush look like a PS2 game. It’s disjointed, and one of the few things that I couldn’t overlook.

I have banged on about how great the PS5 controller is for the game, and in terms of connecting it to the gameplay, it excels at it. Every gun feels like it should, the shotguns feel powerful, when you make use of the grenade launcher, you can feel the explosion and see enemies get blown away. With the Magnum ruining enemies, and making mince meat of most boss encounters, whereas the sniper rifle can one shots most enemies, leaving you to witness exploding heads, and a sense of satisfaction. The guns all feel great, and whilst the game can be stressful at times, having the guns there, feels like it is providing a way out. There is a particular boss fight later on, that whilst taking the fear out of me, left me being so damn impressed with how good the connection of the controller to the gameplay felt. It was also visually amazing, I even found myself chortling in laughter, but that was then quickly ushered into terror and moments of disbelief afterwards. The gameplay lends itself to this beautifully crafted world and story.

If I had of written this review before reaching the final hours of the game, I would’ve been critical of the story here. There is an unfortunate pacing with the story in the game. Between the first section and the last 3 or so hours, there is just a huge, space. The story starts of incredibly strong and I encourage you to experience it. Encourage you to feel the raw emotions it intends to drag out of you. However, there is a large section of the game which feels more like “finish these objectives, then you get your cake,” then it does progress anything. There is small narrative here, and it aims to slowly bring you to a natural conclusion, but there is an unmistakable emptiness in actual progression in this middle segment. However, upon reaching the final sections I understood why. On subsequent playthroughs, this won’t bother me, and I encourage you to push through. To experience the entire story, because it is worth it. It is easily on par if not better than the story of any other Resident Evil game. You need to let it play out, and let it grab you, because the final sections of this game with blow your mind. I had moments where I had to just walk around and think. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I could see what was coming, but I didn’t want it. I kept hoping that it would be different. And… You will have to just experience it to understand. Please, pick up this game, and let it give you the experience. It is fantastic.

Finally, lets talk a little bit about the sound design. The game shines in this area. The music is beautifully haunting, and crafted to keep you immersed. There is a section where everything is silent. The silence is incredibly eerie, so much so that I found myself wanting the creepy sounds to come back, to hear groans and snarls, to feel a sense of danger, but nothing. The sound and music of the game is so well crafted that in sections where they want you to feel uneasy, total silence becomes your worst enemy, it’s utterly chilling. The world feels as alive as it is dead. You can hear the “zombies” eating and drinking, screeching in the skies, snarling and breathing. Nowhere feels safe, because the sounds of the world are constant, it’s put together masterfully.

There is some return features from games like RE4 with a merchant system, and whilst this may seem bizarre, actually lends an incredibly interesting character into the game. Searching for treasures to sell, to then upgrade your guns is important because you feel rewarded for noticing these treasures, for exploring the world and finding the rare treasures. It’s a minor thing, but it’s perfectly situated into the game.

Overall, there is absolute no reason someone should overlook this game. Fans of the series are going to fall in love again, and newcomers, whilst I would recommend playing RE7 first, will find themselves with a game that is just amazing. There is so much careful detail worked into every aspect of the game. The sound, the visuals, the theme and the story. So far as the PS5 controller having different resistances on the triggers for each gun, and different vibrations for different types of shots. It is unbelievable the amount of work that has gone into this game. This is a must play of the year. This is my favourite game of this year so far, and easily of the last 2 or 3 years. I am going to be playing this, over and over, because I want to experience everything that it has. Resident Evil Village is a shining example of what a game should be.

The Score

9.5

Review code provided by Capcom

The Pros

+Fantastic story and theme

+Amazing gameplay

+Unbelievable attention to detail in controls

+PlayStation 5 controller fit the game perfectly

The Cons

-Some glaringly low res images

-Long period of stagnant story

-Too many gimmicky bosses