This review contains spoilers
Resident Evil Village is if anything a testament to the earnestness that has set apart the Resident Evil series among most horror games. Full of campy nonsense, but camp without sacrificing the tension that the series founded itself on. Although Resi VII had its troubles, Village does well to fix most of these issues. It is more in line with the positive experiences playing recent Resident Evil remakes--synchronizing with their tones and aesthetics as the series enjoys a renaissance. A far cry from the drab swamps of Louisiana, Village drops Ethan Winters in a rural Europe to get his shit pushed in, again and again. The gameplay isn’t revolutionized so much as it is refined with everything feeling that little bit better. It’s Resident Evil, you know, it’s clean, no frills, and most importantly fun. That said it’s not really the gameplay that made this one such a thrill.
The world of Resident Evil has long been all over the place, but the full embrace of supernatural lore here feels like the fulfillment of a long-implied promise. This series will use anything and everything strange that they can use to induce that sense of tension and horror. From lycans to fish men to ghost dolls it can be difficult to recall that this series used to be about a pretty simple zombie virus. Still better for it, the growth of the uncanny has allowed the series to maintain itself as the years have carried on. The story is at times stretching to its absolute limits to justify how all this makes sense but none of it matters because with Resident Evil the absurd goes hand in hand with the nerve-wracking. And, because it can’t be a Village critique without her mention—Lady Dimitrescu is the colossal icon of the game, and the marketing knew it. It is a damn shame that she is the first lord to die as she casts a large shadow over the rest of title (especially Mother Miranda who lacks equal screen presence). Not to demean Beneviento, Moreau, or Heisenberg, they just aren’t tall vampire lady. Although it must be said that what lies in the basement of the Beneviento House is truly nightmarish. Village is a near perfect statement on entertaining villains. Truly can’t wait to see what ridiculous monsters they dream up next.
Ethan Winters in particular is a delight. He lacks the confidence of Chris or Leon and instead is just a blundering everyman going full stream of consciousness throughout the runtime. When this man is told that he must search out vials filled with different bits of his infant daughter from four weirdos in the European countryside to revive her following the brutal assassination of his wife he does so without a second thought. He approaches the brutalization of his body with the demeanor of a man who forgot his umbrella on a rainy day. His grand reveal as a man of mold is shocking if only because Ethan never once stopped to ponder that all it took to reattach his severed hand was some first aid liquid and a can do attitude. More than anything he proves his heroism not by being the coolest action boy but by making the sacrifice for those that mattered most to him. With his death the Resident Evil series has lost an all-star protagonist. He wasn’t just any mold man--he was our mold man. Rest in peace you beautiful man.
The world of Resident Evil has long been all over the place, but the full embrace of supernatural lore here feels like the fulfillment of a long-implied promise. This series will use anything and everything strange that they can use to induce that sense of tension and horror. From lycans to fish men to ghost dolls it can be difficult to recall that this series used to be about a pretty simple zombie virus. Still better for it, the growth of the uncanny has allowed the series to maintain itself as the years have carried on. The story is at times stretching to its absolute limits to justify how all this makes sense but none of it matters because with Resident Evil the absurd goes hand in hand with the nerve-wracking. And, because it can’t be a Village critique without her mention—Lady Dimitrescu is the colossal icon of the game, and the marketing knew it. It is a damn shame that she is the first lord to die as she casts a large shadow over the rest of title (especially Mother Miranda who lacks equal screen presence). Not to demean Beneviento, Moreau, or Heisenberg, they just aren’t tall vampire lady. Although it must be said that what lies in the basement of the Beneviento House is truly nightmarish. Village is a near perfect statement on entertaining villains. Truly can’t wait to see what ridiculous monsters they dream up next.
Ethan Winters in particular is a delight. He lacks the confidence of Chris or Leon and instead is just a blundering everyman going full stream of consciousness throughout the runtime. When this man is told that he must search out vials filled with different bits of his infant daughter from four weirdos in the European countryside to revive her following the brutal assassination of his wife he does so without a second thought. He approaches the brutalization of his body with the demeanor of a man who forgot his umbrella on a rainy day. His grand reveal as a man of mold is shocking if only because Ethan never once stopped to ponder that all it took to reattach his severed hand was some first aid liquid and a can do attitude. More than anything he proves his heroism not by being the coolest action boy but by making the sacrifice for those that mattered most to him. With his death the Resident Evil series has lost an all-star protagonist. He wasn’t just any mold man--he was our mold man. Rest in peace you beautiful man.