Fresh Look at the Newest Resident Evil Game: Covering the Village in Blood
Creatures don’t hole up only in dark corners. So the player character, Ethan Winters, is sure to find out right from the moment he gets into the deserted village near a gothic castle. The day has barely started, and he is already being jumped at by ferocious, blood-thirsty monsters. The game’s prologue sets an agitated pace, combining the dark, melancholic atmosphere of a horror movie with dynamic intense shoot-ups which doesn’t make Ethan’s life a simple “walk in a park” experience. And this shivering tone is being preserved throughout the game until the final scene.
The storyline makes Ethan wander around a shady, slam-looking town, bloodstained basements, and a hinky estate, full of alive porcelain dolls. Such places are ideal for numerous blood-red confrontations. Just think of facing a fucked-up infant mutant running you down along the corridors of a gloomy cellar, just before an enormous hound dog forces you to perform a firing spree. Would be nice to have a moment to come to your senses – not bloody likely! The town’s surroundings and enemy composition are literally awesome, which altogether brings this newest resident evil game to a level higher than all others in the series.
Step by step Ethan gathers a wide range of weaponry to confront the hordes of unnatural entities. The Village’s stock of battle equipment isn’t very unique; however, the combat system has been fairly improved in comparison with the previous game in the series. Escaping the massive, sluggish foes is not really a challenge, but dodging their attacks may become one. Bursting in a killing spree with headshots from the hip, while the numerous enemies steadily grasp you in a corner, may require a great deal of skill and inner tranquility. You will find yourself fleeing away from some of those encounters, that’s for sure. Several other antagonists (like that noire, bitchy-looking Lady Dimitrescu for instance) repeatedly hunt Ethan down along the storyline. You can always expect one of them to come out of the blue, catching you with your pants down, which makes the game even more challenging. Such encounters, however, mostly all the time end up with heroic boss-fights.
During the short times of silence, when not trying to fight your way through the monsters, you will be ransacking the houses for valuable loot and tools. Just like in earlier games of the series, the map in Village clearly distinguishes the buildings you’ve been in from the unexplored ones. It will, however, take more time to find some of the most valuable items. Anyway, the game makes you sweep the place with scientific scrupulousness. Apart from getting a few necessary supplies, it’s a good way to catch your breath. Then again, some objects are thoroughly concealed, so arm yourself with patience, as scavenging may become somewhat tiresome. Luckily, even a simple, frivolous look around a room will reveal a sufficient number of “goodies” to let you stand through the upcoming hardships.
Attention to details is crucial for solving diverse Village mysteries and head-scratchers. Looking for clues and finding a long-desired solution preserves a good level of pressure (not even to mention the feeling of being a clever bastard once you solve all the puzzles). One obviously can’t make everything too perfect – some of the puzzles are impregnated with rather strange logic. For instance, a puzzle involving moving statues may force you to use the method of an “educated guessery”, since the evasive hints make the logic behind it rather vaguely visible. A good thing – the game doesn’t give you too many such experiences, and the majority of puzzles are quite easy.
The storyline of this RE game is more thrilling than one might expect. Though being a simple guy, Ethan’s mission to save his daughter is filled with a rough course of events and some sudden encounters. Overall, the Village’s storyline might not play a major role in the gameplay, but it is nice to observe that Capcom does something decent, and, frankly, some of the narrative moves would leave even a hypercritic anxious of further plot development.
Resident Evil red-lights you off the carriage of calmness, but not in a bad sense of the statement. The past efforts of Capcom with Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes were successful, so it is really exciting to watch them develop the series further. Village goes beyond the former concept of the first-person gaming adopted from RE 7: Biohazard, pushing challenging contests towards the player’s way, which perfectly furnishes the Capcom’s startling idea. In any case, Village’s intense action does not interfere with the horrific atmosphere, and it’s a good thing. Village fairly preserves the level of horror, not every other game can boast of.
So, you can go ahead and share your Village experience in a post somewhere or in a Resident Evil Discord session with your buddies, as this one is worth sharing.
