So, the time has come. Resident Evil Village, Capcom’s latest instalment of the Resident Evil franchise is out now for Playstation 4|5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Now, for those that have played Resident Evil 7, you’ll know that action wasn’t really the focus and took a bit of a back seat while its horror and exploration took front and centre. Well this time around, Resident Evil Village tries to balance this out to a degree but is definitely more action-focused.

For those that haven’t played Resident Evil 7, (though you really should, it’s an AMAZING game) don’t worry so much, Resident Evil Village starts off with a “Previously on” style video of what occurred as Resident Evil Village takes place a few years later and follows on from the events of Resident Evil 7.

You once again play as Ethan. After taking down Eveline and then eventually being saved from the Bakers in Resident Evil 7 by Chris Redfield, Ethan and his wife Mia are relocated where Chris Redfield has promised to protect them along with their newborn baby, Rose. The shit soon starts to hit the fan as Rose is kidnapped and Ethan soon finds himself in the middle of nowhere in an isolated village desperately on the search for his daughter Rose.

As mentioned, being more action-focused this time around, Ethan slowly gains access to an assortment of weapons to help fight his way through the story. Shotguns, pistols, land mines, and pipe bombs, just to name a few each can be obtained, coming in handy at just the right time. It wouldn’t be a Resident Evil game if it didn’t include puzzles. Environmental puzzles make a return though they aren’t overly hard to work out and the game pretty much steers you into the right direction on where to find what you need and how to solve it in order to progress in the story.

When you’re not solving puzzles, you’re trying to survive. Resident Evil Village brings a very different type of enemies that we aren’t used to seeing in a Resident Evil game. While there are still zombies you’ll also be facing off with a variety of Lycans, Vampires, and a few other creatures. Then of course you have your boss fights and even some sub-boss fights. It’s these fights that we found required a little bit of thinking outside the box in order to take them down. One thing I was worried about going into Resident Evil Village was ammo and whether I would be struggling to find any. Thankfully ammo never really becomes an issue. You’ll find ammo scattered all over the place and if you do run out you can either craft some or use the in-game merchant, which we’ll touch on next.

Just like in Resident Evil 4, Village has its own local merchant who goes by the name of “The Duke”. By visiting “The Duke” you are able to buy a range of items such as ammo, bombs, and weapons. You’re also able to upgrade your weapons and increase inventory space all at the cost of Lei, your in-game currency. But it’s not only your hard-earned money he accepts. He also takes food as payment. That’s right, food. Resident Evil Village has a new “Hunting” system that encourages you to search around the Village for animals which in turn provides Ethan with meat and fish. Once collected you can cash them in to “The Dukes Kitchen” where you can unlock permanent upgrades, which turn out to be VERY useful.

As for crafting, while you play you’ll collect materials such as scrap metal. Then by pressing the Triangle button (Playstation 5) head over to the crafting tab and it’s here where you can craft a range of items such as health and ammo using the materials you’ve collected. So between having the ability to craft ammo and health and the option to be able to purchase supplies from “The Duke”, running low on ammo is never really an issue.

As for visuals, we played through Resident Evil Village on the Playstation 5 and it looks unbelievable. While the entire game is an absolute treat to look at with environments richly detailed, Castle Dimitrescu is hands down the visual showcase of what the RE Engine can produce. Even the character models look amazing and are animated in such a convincing way that really brings the cast and the story to life.

Once you’ve finished the game, clocking in at around 10 hours, you’ll unlock a bonus store where you can purchase a ton of extras using the in-game currency as well as unlocking the fan favourite arcade-style, time attache mode “Mercenaries”. While this mode is pretty much untouched on how it plays, the only difference is you’re able to visit “The Duke” between rounds to buy and upgrade items.

All in all, Resident Evil Village is a solid entry into the Resident Evil franchise. While it might not have all the horror thrills Resident Evil 7 offered, I personally think it takes the best elements from RE7 and RE4 making Village a well-balanced experience that will definitely please fans of the series, as well as newcomers.

Written by: MKAU Gaming