Resident Evil Village is an incredible experience from beginning to end. This is probably one of the best games I have played in my entire life, matching Resident Evil 7 in terms of quality, but each game still being vastly different in their own way. This is proof that Capcom’s decision to move the franchise away from zombie sci-fi action, to full on horror masterpieces is working for them in all the best ways.
▶️ Watch my full review on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYYlidbZ2Xo
Resident Evil Village will go down as one of the most influential horror works of art from the 2020s. From the gothic, Bloodborne-like feeling of Castle Dimitrescu, to the Silent Hill P.T. inspired Beneviento house section, every single area has heavy influences from many works of literature, films and classic horror themes and stories. The environments that I visited during the game are short of perfect. Even with all the horrifying visuals, the game is incredibly beautiful. You spend most of your time in the desolate, cold village, but also visit several important locations that pit you against different enemies and unique bosses.
The story itself is largely influenced by classic European gothic horror stories, and authors like Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. There are slight hints of cosmic horror throughout, especially in the final boss battle that reminded me of Coraline (2009)’s ending, and even certain biblical deities. Everything meshed perfectly into a living, breathing, story that was like a love letter to me.
There are also contemporary influences, from the opening of the game you are greeted by “Village of Shadows”, an beautifully animated short film that reminded me of the 2015 game Fran Bow, or Tim Burton’s films. Speaking of Burton, you can really feel his influence in some of the characters and story elements. Topping it all off, there are hints of Guillermo del Toro all across the game, especially in the Moreau and final sections. If you told me these talented artists were involved in the production of Resident Evil Village, I would totally believe you.
The gameplay and action are a mixed bag. It takes the same feeling and pacing from Resident Evil 7, but with heavy influences from Resident Evil 4 (2005), and the 2 & 3 Remakes. Different from 7, this one includes the Duke, a merchant reminiscent of the one from 4. Although I liked the system of this game, I felt that 4 was more balanced in that department. Especially with the inventory system. No matter how many things I picked up, it never filled up, removing the challenge of managing one’s inventory and sacrificing items to make room for more important ones.
Fighting monsters in this game was fun. The shooting and weapons are better than in previous entries, although the weapon modification and upgrade system were overhyped from what we see in the trailers. But I think this is due to a heavy imbalance in the game’s Lei currency system rather than the guns’ quality. The enemies were satisfyingly varied, from lycans to robotic abominations, much better than 7’s all molded enemy types.
The story follows Ethan Winters once again, as he looks for his kidnapped daughter and tries to solve a mystery surrounding a mysterious village and its inhabitants. Along the way, he battles hordes of infected werewolf-like creatures, four terrifying, yet amazingly well-written characters, and the mysterious Mother Miranda. During the whole trip, we slowly uncover secrets that have to do with the Resident Evil universe, the Winters family, and Chris Redfield’s involvement in this situation.
SPOILERS FROM HERE
I think the story was incredible, and it did a great job at answering many questions that expanded the Resident Evil lore. Ethan Winters’ death and revelation about his true nature was executed well. I was relieved to see that Redfield wasn’t evil as we all thought, but I still wish he would have had more involvement in the story. As I said before, this game makes the most out of its terrifying environment and influences, and I appreciated how it managed to juggle so many different things in a satisfying, well-written story.
Even though it has more gameplay imbalances compared to Resident Evil 7 and the RE2 and 3 Remakes, Resident Evil Village is still a masterpiece not only as a videogame, but as a horror property. Like 7, this game will hold legendary status among the community. Besides horror games like The Evil Within and The Last of Us, few properties can pull of a concept so elegantly and impactful as this game did with its gothic, psychological, Lovecraftian horror, and dark fantasy aspects. I am in love with RE: Village, and will probably play it several times again in the future. With the direction this franchise is taking, I can’t wait to see what Capcom has in store for us in the future.
Final Score: 95/100
For more reviews and cool content follow me on:
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▶️ YouTube - https://youtube.com/channel/UCpWCw5dVvb4QUGYHRrx4kmw
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▶️ Watch my full review on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYYlidbZ2Xo
Resident Evil Village will go down as one of the most influential horror works of art from the 2020s. From the gothic, Bloodborne-like feeling of Castle Dimitrescu, to the Silent Hill P.T. inspired Beneviento house section, every single area has heavy influences from many works of literature, films and classic horror themes and stories. The environments that I visited during the game are short of perfect. Even with all the horrifying visuals, the game is incredibly beautiful. You spend most of your time in the desolate, cold village, but also visit several important locations that pit you against different enemies and unique bosses.
The story itself is largely influenced by classic European gothic horror stories, and authors like Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. There are slight hints of cosmic horror throughout, especially in the final boss battle that reminded me of Coraline (2009)’s ending, and even certain biblical deities. Everything meshed perfectly into a living, breathing, story that was like a love letter to me.
There are also contemporary influences, from the opening of the game you are greeted by “Village of Shadows”, an beautifully animated short film that reminded me of the 2015 game Fran Bow, or Tim Burton’s films. Speaking of Burton, you can really feel his influence in some of the characters and story elements. Topping it all off, there are hints of Guillermo del Toro all across the game, especially in the Moreau and final sections. If you told me these talented artists were involved in the production of Resident Evil Village, I would totally believe you.
The gameplay and action are a mixed bag. It takes the same feeling and pacing from Resident Evil 7, but with heavy influences from Resident Evil 4 (2005), and the 2 & 3 Remakes. Different from 7, this one includes the Duke, a merchant reminiscent of the one from 4. Although I liked the system of this game, I felt that 4 was more balanced in that department. Especially with the inventory system. No matter how many things I picked up, it never filled up, removing the challenge of managing one’s inventory and sacrificing items to make room for more important ones.
Fighting monsters in this game was fun. The shooting and weapons are better than in previous entries, although the weapon modification and upgrade system were overhyped from what we see in the trailers. But I think this is due to a heavy imbalance in the game’s Lei currency system rather than the guns’ quality. The enemies were satisfyingly varied, from lycans to robotic abominations, much better than 7’s all molded enemy types.
The story follows Ethan Winters once again, as he looks for his kidnapped daughter and tries to solve a mystery surrounding a mysterious village and its inhabitants. Along the way, he battles hordes of infected werewolf-like creatures, four terrifying, yet amazingly well-written characters, and the mysterious Mother Miranda. During the whole trip, we slowly uncover secrets that have to do with the Resident Evil universe, the Winters family, and Chris Redfield’s involvement in this situation.
SPOILERS FROM HERE
I think the story was incredible, and it did a great job at answering many questions that expanded the Resident Evil lore. Ethan Winters’ death and revelation about his true nature was executed well. I was relieved to see that Redfield wasn’t evil as we all thought, but I still wish he would have had more involvement in the story. As I said before, this game makes the most out of its terrifying environment and influences, and I appreciated how it managed to juggle so many different things in a satisfying, well-written story.
Even though it has more gameplay imbalances compared to Resident Evil 7 and the RE2 and 3 Remakes, Resident Evil Village is still a masterpiece not only as a videogame, but as a horror property. Like 7, this game will hold legendary status among the community. Besides horror games like The Evil Within and The Last of Us, few properties can pull of a concept so elegantly and impactful as this game did with its gothic, psychological, Lovecraftian horror, and dark fantasy aspects. I am in love with RE: Village, and will probably play it several times again in the future. With the direction this franchise is taking, I can’t wait to see what Capcom has in store for us in the future.
Final Score: 95/100
For more reviews and cool content follow me on:
📚 My Official Blog - https://grantkeegan.com
▶️ YouTube - https://youtube.com/channel/UCpWCw5dVvb4QUGYHRrx4kmw
👨💻 Twitch - https://twitch.tv/grantkeeganofficial
📷 Instagram - https://instagram.com/grantkeeganofficial
🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/gkeeganofficial