Resident Evil Village Review (Bella ✝)
It's worth saying that even those who don't know Resident Evil 7 can play Village without major problems. This is because the game presents a retrospective of the previous story right at the beginning, situating those who did not live through the horrors of Biohazard. However, for better understanding and even affinity with this new storyline, it might be a good idea to play the 2017 game.
Although it looks simple at first glance, the plot is actually quite complex. Under the premise of a father's search for his daughter, several mysteries are kept that involve even the history of the formation of the main company of Resident Evil, the Umbrella Corporation. The entire unfolding of the narrative deepens as we advance in the game, and the icing on the cake is its completely surprising outcome. In spite of its complex story, the game is relatively short and can be beaten in about ten hours. As usual in Resident Evil, however, Village keeps some treasures and small parallel missions, which make the user want to play it more than once. In addition, there is also the return of the Mercenaries mode to challenge the player even more.
Despite the very characterization of the characters, such as Lady Dimitrescu and Salvatore Moreau, for example, is interesting in itself, what most called attention during the tests was the beauty and realism of the scenarios. From the tense scenes in the Dimitrescu castle to the unpleasant moments in the Heisenberg factory, the game maintains neat environments full of details at practically all times. In Resident Evil Village, even the ugly is beautiful. The only exception to this logic is perhaps a moment present in the second boss of the game, Donna Beneviento. Nevertheless, regardless of it involving frightening situations, the setting of the scenes are still impressive, making its horror justified.
Like any other game in the franchise, Resident Evil Village demands a lot of curiosity and exploration from the player. It is always necessary to look closely at each object collected, as some must be assembled and/or disassembled to actually be used. It is interesting to note, even so, that in this new chapter of the Capcom series, some items have extended lifespans. Moreover, there are regions that, even with they appearing at the beginning of the game, must be explored later. Reminds me of the Lego franchise, which is a lovely reminder, by the way. To facilitate the trajectory, the map of Resident Evil Village is quite intuitive. It shows in a simplified way if there is still something to be explored in each of the available areas, but its simplicity can be a real headache for players who like to collect any and all items.
Even though it has a slightly long ending, all the hours invested are justified by the complexity of the story. With beautiful graphics and well-developed villains, Resident Evil Village ends Ethan Winters' journey with a flourish, pleasing a lot in its surprising and terrifying gameplay with a beautiful moral of the story which has family, hope, love and determination at the center of it.
Regarding the Shadow Of Rose additional content, overall, the adventure has an interesting completion time and, once again, a lovely moral of the story. Between some scares and moments of tension, the extra story is fun and interesting, but a little out of touch with the reality we are used to in the franchise, becoming a little disjointed from time to time. One of the best contents I've played in a story-based game in a long time.