Resident Evil Village Review – One Of The Best Games Of 2021

Resident Evil 4 was one of the first games I played, and even to this day, it remains one of my favorite games ever. When Resident Evil Village was released, I first noticed just how much inspiration this title took from my childhood favorite game. From exploring a small omniscient village to diving headfirst into a huge gothic castle. Resident Evil Village establishes itself as one of the most memorable RE titles, and I aim to discuss everything about it in my review.

Story And Setting

The story takes place sometime after the events of Resident Evil 7. Ethan and Mia are now back together, they have a daughter named Rose and are currently under the protection of Blue Umbrella. Ethan’s somewhat now normal life takes a dark turn after his house is raided by the team of the series mainstay- Chris Redfield.

Let’s not forget that Resident Evil Village goes out of its way for some very major plot contrivance, just for the sake of the story to make sense.

Ethan’s daughter is taken by Chris, and Ethan is knocked unconscious. After such a dark turn of events, Ethan now wakes up in the middle of the forest, with some dead Chris’s team members who were escorting him, and he finds himself in a strange empty village with a gothic castle overlooking it, which looks straight out of Bloodborne.

Ethan discovers that the village is ruled by Mother Miranda and the four lords, and his daughter Rose is being kept somewhere in this village, he takes it upon himself to find his daughter and get out safe.

In Life And Death, We Give Glory To Mother Miranda

As soon as I dived into Resident Evil Village, it didn’t take long to figure out how much inspiration Resident Evil 8 took from the classic Resident Evil 4. From walking through a somber village to exploring the depths of a Gothic Castle, Resident Evil 8 first felt like a reimagined Resident Evil 4.

In terms of the story itself, while how it unfolds is interesting, from my personal experience in gaming, the template has gotten rather overused. A father goes through unimaginable horrors to save his daughter with special powers, basically the same plot as Silent Hill 1 and Evil Within 2.

I consider the Moroaica in Dimitrescu castle, as one of the worst enemy designs in Resident Evil history as they honestly feel like bullet sponges.

Let’s not forget that Resident Evil Village goes out of its way for some very major plot contrivance just for the sake of the story to make sense. Of course, I can’t explain it further because it’s major spoilers territory but just know that it leaves a rather bad taste in your mouth.

However, despite the flaws, Resident Evil 8 offers a memorable story with a gut-wrenching end and can very easily be considered one of the BEST stories in the Resident Evil franchise.

Gameplay

Being a first-person shooter and the successor to Resident Evil 7, Village obviously implements and improves on the gameplay of its predecessor. However, unlike Resident Evil 7, Village is more action-based than RE7, the latter of which is more horror-based.

In terms of actual shooting, it is rather on and off. RE Village undoubtedly has a lot more enemy variety than RE7, but it is not flawless by any means. 

Resident Evil 8 has some of the best boss fights in the entire franchise, with the Heisenberg boss fight being a visual spectacle and one of the favorite boss fights of all time. 

Resident Evil Village gives you a ton of ammo or materials to craft ammo, and you rarely have to worry about running out. I consider the Moroaica in Dimitrescu castle as one of the worst enemy designs in Resident Evil history as they honestly feel like bullet sponges.

Even in such an old game like Resident Evil 4, shooting a shotgun at an enemy face and seeing it explode is the epitome of satisfaction, and that was nowhere to be found when fighting the Moroaicas,

However, giving credit where it’s due, the Lycans are one of the best enemy designs in the franchise as they are versatile, and blasting their head off with a shotgun after they bit me or suddenly got in front of me made me forget all the gripes I had about the Moroaicas.

That’s The Mission, Failure’s Not An Option

Regarding boss fights, Resident Evil 8 has some of the best ones in the entire franchise, with the Heisenberg boss fight being a visual spectacle and one of my personal favorite boss fights of all time. 

RE Village is the first Resident Evil game that implemented a semi-open world map, with the village being riddled with secrets and you get the tools you need to access more parts of the village whenever you return from your endeavor against one of the four lords. 

In terms of level design, Village gives a ton of variety. Whether you are exploring the Gothic castle Dimitrescu or running from your worst nightmares in Benviento’s House. Each level feels unique and fun to explore. However, I will say that it starts feeling as if the game is unnecessarily dragging on by the time you reach the Heisenberg factory.

Visuals And Performance

I still remember the first time I started Resident Evil Village and was blown away by how good it looked. The graphics feel refined, and the art direction feels terrifying while compelling as if it is hiding something sad behind the surface.

RE Village is easily one of the best visual games of 2021. The variety RE8 offers in terms of visuals is second to none. Whether you are exploring gothic castles, abandoned villages, metallic factories, or the creepy mansion aside from the waterfall, RE Village has it all.

The Only Thing Cursed Is You

Now, let’s talk about performance. As much as I love Resident Evil Village, I would be lying if I said that Village was flawless at release. It was experiencing major FPS drops in certain scenarios, which wasn’t a good outlook for the game or the DRM technology that Village was utilizing.

However, as of this review, all the performance issues have been addressed, and Village runs flawlessly now on even old hardware. 

Verdict

Despite its overall flaws, Resident Evil Village expands and improves on the formula introduced by Resident Evil 7. With a first-person camera and a semi-open world, Village tries to set itself apart as the most unique Resident Evil game in the market.

Resident Evil Village tells a memorable story filled with action-packed scenarios, moments of trepidation, & an overall euphoric experience.

And that wraps up my Resident Evil Village Review. For more reviews like these, keep checking back with us at eXputer:

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