Resident Evil is back with a brand new entry tackling the paranormal and supernatural. Continuing the story of lead Ethan Winters; Resident Evil Village has him searching for his daughter Rose after Mia is shockingly gunned down by Chris Redfield. He soon finds himself facing Vampires, Lycans, and all sorts of insane creatures.

Resident Evil Village is a 2021 survival horror game, it is developed & published by Capcom. It is currently available on PC, console, and Google Stadia.

Editor’s Note: Medium to near complete spoilers for Resident Evil Village may be present for this review. Slight spoilers for Resident Evil 7 may be present within this review. 

Lady D is out for blood in Resident Evil Village.

Ethan Winters returns as the protagonist in the latest Resident Evil title. Following some years after the events of Resident Evil 7, Ethan has been living with his wife Mia and their daughter Rose. While Mia believes most of their troubles are over, Ethan feels things are too calm after everything that’s happened. Now being trained in military combat by the “new” Umbrella Ethan’s distrust of the organization has been building for sometime. When Chris Redfield and a group of soldiers invade his home killing Mia and taking Rose, Ethan is forced into a new world of threats.

Resident Evil moves on from zombies to the paranormal & supernatural in Resident Evil Village.

THE GOOD: Resident Evil Village opens about three years after 7 with Ethan and Mia having a family. One night, Ethan questions whether or not they’re truly safe after everything that’s happened. Suddenly Mia is gunned down by Chris Redfield and Umbrella who take his daughter Rose. Following a crash, Ethan escapes his capture by Umbrella and runs away where he’s thrust into a new world of supernatural danger. He meets a village full of lycans run by four lords including: Vampiress Lady Dimitrescu and Heisenberg who can control metal. The village leads Ethan to a castle where the aforementioned Dimitrescu is the head of and he faces off against her and her daughters.

Upon the defeat of Demises and her daughters Ethan learns the horrible truth about Rose. Her entire being has been split into parts and liquified. He must now defeat the remaining four lords and Mother Miranda to return Rose back into her human shape. And he must deal with the arrival and involvement of Chris Redfield & Blue Umbrella.

Lycans have replaced zombies as the central threat in Resident Evil Village.

So first let me say that when the game wants to be completely terrifying it completely nails it. The first handful of hours is some of the most intense gameplay I’ve experienced in quite some time. This is largely due in part to how brilliantly crafted the introduction of Lycans is to the Resident Evil world. That portion of the game in my honest opinion is a piece of horror art. And I say that as someone who has a fairly long love affair with the genre. There’s also some moments where the game knows just the right place to put Lady Dimitrescu who stalks you in Mr. X and is just as unstoppable in that scenario of the game. The gothic aesthetic of the world really compliments the world when the game is designed to genuinely make you piss yourself.

Now here’s where things get interesting with Resident Evil Village, because a lot of the promotional material focused on the horror and macabre of it all but it’s a heavily action focused game. I don’t say that to spite the game, quite the opposite in fact. I like that there’s an attempt at establishing a balance between some of Resident Evil’s greatest eras with the early titles, their respective remakes, and the Resident Evil 4. Village takes a ton of notes from 4 with it’s combat and gameplay mechanics. Including the ability to hunt animals for food that upgrades Ethan when cooked into a recipe.

Focusing on the story now, I have to say it surprised me. I thought for sure Ethan was going to be the main protagonist moving forward until at least Resident Evil 9 or 10. However, it does a solid job of closing his story arc at the ending scene. That being said, the writers do indicate that we may not be done with the Winters family just yet. Also just putting this out there if the future of Resident Evil is moving on from zombies and to a much more open ended and far more imagination freeing supernatural and paranormal world then I am 100% for this. I know there are people who aren’t quite ready to head into a zombieless Resident Evil future and I understand that.

But when you consider the sheer scope of oversaturation with the genre in not only video games but also TV & film this is a big breath of fresh air. I commend the team at Capcom for giving their developers an opportunity to explore their creative juices with a storied IP. And this openness to experiment is why Capcom has been incredibly successful the last several years with titles such as Monster Hunter: World, Rise, and Devil May Cry 5. Resident Evil getting it’s turn with 7 and Village just shows that Capcom are willing to take risks now, And in a world where too many developers & publishers are stuck in a rut with playing it safe it’s nice to know there are some in the AAA space who are taking the artistic side of video games far more seriously than years past.

The village is the co-lead in Resident Evil Village.

THE BAD: One of Resident Evil Village’s biggest issues is Ethan himself. In Resident Evil 7, Ethan was a fiery protagonist, but he also was surrounded by a roster charismatic villains to back him up. Here in Village it’s kind of just Heisenberg & Lady Dimitrescu who provide that extra energetic burst of life into the characters. And to a lesser extent Chris Redfield. Also something that may or may not upset you is the game is not as scary as it should be. The first two or so hours with the introduction of the lycans are terrifying and intense as hell. Unfortunately, that feeling is almost never really felt again throughout the rest of the game. This was due to balancing out scares with action, and yeah there are some scares just not quite to the level of the first two hours. Most of the major heart wrenching scares are retained for those two hours and some of the latter portion of the game. I just wish I felt it more while playing it.

Resident Evil Village lacks scares for action, but is well-balanced with scares and action.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Resident Evil Village is a great game and a fantastic Resident Evil game, but the lack of scares coming from Resident Evil 7 is a bit disappointing. That said, if you’re mostly interested in seeing how they top 7’s story and gameplay then you’re in for a big treat. The new direction the series has taken in a multitude of ways will continue to ensure that Resident Evil will be a franchise welcome for a comeback for several years to come. Also with the remakes and other titles like Re:Verse being made available it’s nice seeing Capcom give fans several options for the type of Resident Evil game they want to play.