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It's always challenging to follow up on greatness, which Resident Evil 7 was for the survival horror genre. Sadly, Resident Evil Village failed. And I know, I know, "Weird slav man, who haveth a glorious moustache and a smile that brightens up even the blackest abyss, this review of yours has a blue thumbs up, yet it failed? Que?" Well, thank you. But yes, Resident Evil Village did fail... in being a good survival horror game — still a damn good action game tho.
So, let's talk about it.
Remember, no horny
Village picks up shortly after the last game. Ethan's chilling in his new funky house with Mia, his lovely wife, and Rose, his baby girl, all the way in Europe. Life is good for our boy, as he's far away from all that mold shenanigans. Anyway, pew-pew-pew, punch, baby grab, car crash, and bam! Ethan's now staring at a giant medieval castle which looms over a small village and has but one thought on his mind, "Where the heck am I?"
Oh yeah, and he also needs to find his daughter, Rose.
This is a return of the cheese, and lots of it, with outlandishly ridiculous backdrops and villains. And I didn't really care for the main baddies and their silly monologues, except for Lady Dimitrescu. There was just something different about her. Something big, voluptuous, and arresting of my gaze, but I couldn't quite grasp them.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2996106328
And after two games of seeing him flung around like a prop, Ethan grew on me like mold on a stale loaf of bread. Once again, without hesitation, he runs head-first, bare, into a burning building as the fires are being extinguished with gasoline, risking life and limb for those he loves, laughing in the face of death. And that ending... just perfect, that's all I'm gonna say.
Presentation-wise, Village is a sensory blessing. I don't even need to worry about RE Engine delivering the goods — it's a done deal. The design of the characters, enemies, the sheer amount of gore and other nasty effects are just incredible. I feel blessed to have my sight, so I can enjoy the brilliance of the RE Engine.
Capcom's audio game is also on point, with every voice actor doing a great job, especially the villains. They really doubled down on the cheesy delivery and corniness. I liked it. As for the sound effects, look, my ears busted a nut every time I pulled off a headshot on one of the enemies in the game. Do with that graphic imagery what you will.
Now, onto the gameplay.
Spreading American culture in Europe
With a more significant focus on action, the freedom arsenal had to expand. And it did. With many guns at his disposal, Ethan effortlessly spreads the gospel of the freedom church, whether these residents like it or not. Shooting still feels meaty, with heads exploding like pinatas, showering me with all their juicy, gooey brain pulp if I'm standing in the splash zone, and I always am!
The pew-pew did stay the same, with only the "parry" mechanic being new. You can now push enemies away by quickly pressing the block button after an enemy attack lands. So, not really a parry, but also kinda is... Anyway, other areas of the gameplay were slightly tweaked to complement this shift in focus from survival horror to action.
For one, you can now upgrade every gun's stats (damage, reload speed, etc.) and even outfit them with special attachments, improving their quality. But guns aren't the only thing you can enhance. A delicious meal will not only quench Ethan's appetite for some good fucking food but improve his health, stamina, and so on. And all you need to do is find some wild game and bring its meat back to the Duke — he'll cook you up a fancy meal in a jiffy.
Resource management is no longer necessary, with the game showering you with items. And the famous inventory management mini-game returns, with Ethan carrying one spacious man purse. It can hold many items, big and small, and I got to play tons of Tetris, rotating and shifting my things around, all in the name of having everything compact and my inventory looking clean. Pure pleasure!
We're going to Villageland!
The game resembles a theme park, with Ethan, the (un)lucky kid, getting to enjoy all the fancy rides. So, each level will have its own tale to tell, and will do so on its own terms. The game doesn't have a single concept for every level. It loves tinkering; each level will deliver a different experience than the one you just beat. One may be super scary, while the next will douse you in water, probably also guts. One may even require you to look inward and start asking yourself the big questions, "Do I have a giantess dominatrix fetish?" —Yes...
But, to not spoil what awaits you, I'll briefly summarise the first level, excluding the village (hub area), to tease you a bit.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2993033059
The castle section blends spooky and action, not committing to full-on horror, like one later level, only flirting with it occasionally. And a Resident Evil map not interconnected as heck is like going to a slava in Serbia and not drinking rakija until you see your ancestors. You just don't do that. So, it's good to see the castle section deliver in this area.
But this is also home to a few horrors and Lady D, who stalks the halls. She was hunting me as I leisurely roamed her residence, breaking stuff (some on accident, I swear) and looking for that next key story item.
And I'mma be honest, while she thicc, her AI also thicc, if you catch my drift. It's super easy to avoid her (not that I wanted to). She doesn't even have an Eathandar... it's like a gaydar but used for instantly finding Ethan instead of hunky men. So, without one of those, unless I made eye contact with her big... eyes, yes, those, she wouldn't know I was sniffing the air behind her. And with the castle having plenty of rooms, some of which she can't even enter, despite it being her castle, avoiding her was easy.
So, while Lady D's presence made something rise, it wasn't the tension.
Thankfully, my biggest issue with Resident Evil 7 was addressed as Village boasts excellent enemy variety. Fighting the same three moldy boys just didn't please me, but Village pleased me — I'm pleased.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2993516311
And most levels introduce a new enemy, giving combat a new spin. I now had to learn how to deal with this new, different foe from the ones I faced previously. There are even hecking mini-bosses!? And boy, do they like eating bullets, love 'em, in fact. But feed them enough lead, and they'll eventually end up dead.
But what about them big tidd- I mean, big bosses... Yeah, they're pretty big. Definitely above 5'11''. And while still relying on the lazy pump-and-dump-my-load-into-the-boss'-weak-spot strategy, each had a cool little gimmick for me to do, which made these fights fun. There's even a fricking mech fight! It was just a blast to blast these big baddies.
So, to end this high-quality review, a conclusive answer to the question, "Is Resident Evil Village good?" must be given.
I dunno... it's fun tho. And you know what rhymes with fun — gun... And you use a gun here. So, make of that what you will.
To see me ramble about Shadows of Rose, the post-launch story DLC, then check it out here. But be warned, it contains major spoilers, for the base game as well.
All of you who made it this far are majestic sausages. And if you enjoyed this review, come, and consume more wisdom from the Gospel of Sv. Prolivije.