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While horror games have generally never been my jam, I've grown to really appreciate just how consistently good Resident Evil games tend to be. I played through 7 back in October, and I enjoyed it, but couldn't help but feel that its limited scope actually hurt the game a little bit, as things like basic enemies weren't that fun to fight, and the story had largely lost my attention by the end. When I got this game, I was eager to see how these criticisms were addressed. And after playing through the game in just about 8 hours, I realized it is basically just an expanded version of 7 in pretty much every way.


I loved this game visually. It's stunning, just like the previous game, and nails the atmosphere its going for. It's a lot more mysterious and intriguing, but it also knows when it can be scary. I also really liked the designs of the characters, especially the antagonists. "Vampire mommy milkers" memes aside, each villain got my attention just based off of their appearances alone. The game looks good. There's not much else to say here.


Village, if you haven't been able to deduce it already, has a lot more action elements compared to its predecessor. The core gameplay mechanics are essentially the same, that being a perfectly competent first-person shooter. However, everything else is improved upon. Generally speaking, outside of one segment, there isn't really anything that hits the same high points that 7 hits, but the whole experience feels so much smoother here. There's a great amount of variety in the game, and while Resident Evil seems to have always had a "mediocre second half" problem, which still exists in this game, I found that I had far more fun getting through this game's latter half compared to 2 and 7. And I think part of it is that this game absolutely nails its pacing.

As said before, this game has been compared to being at a theme park. Each of the four lords you're hunting has different gameplay mechanics. One is more of a pure survival horror experience where you're unarmed, another is more akin to classic Resident Evil where there is a particularly powerful enemy that's constantly hunting you down, and so on. I never felt that the game overstayed its welcome with any of these mechanics. Some are definitely longer than others, but by the time I'd start feeling bored, the game would end it with a boss fight or throw in a curveball to keep things interesting. Enemy variety actually exists in this game too, which I think helps keep the game from ever feeling dull. I also really liked the level design, as the game emphasizes and rewards exploration in multiple ways, from upgrades to lore, and I felt very compelled to stop and look for secrets.

Where the game stumbles a little bit are in two areas: the boss fights and the puzzles. The bosses are less egregious, because I wouldn't say they were bad. More than anything, they were just a little disappointing. Considering how good most of the ones in 7 were, I found it a little ironic that this game excelled during its fights with basic enemies and stumbled with its bosses, where its predecessor was the opposite. Most fights were too straightforward, but hey, I'll at least appreciate this game's final boss for (RE7 spoilers) not being a glorified QTE. The puzzles, however, were almost always way, way too easy. If I wasn't sure of what to do, I'd just trial-and-error it and accidentally get the solution, and I'd say there's only one puzzle that actually made me stop to think for a moment, and that's only because I'd overlooked something obvious. Most of the puzzle answers are basically handed to you, so the puzzles felt more like brief distractions more than actual breaks in combat and scares. But ultimately, it did not break the game for me.

As I said, while the game doesn't often hit the same high points of 7, it is a more consistent title with better game design in general, as well as great pacing. Overall, the gameplay is largely smoothed out and it made my experience mostly better.


Resident Evil games don't really have great stories most of the time. They're pretty corny, but weirdly endearing in the process. I think 7 was the exception to that rule, because while the final boss did disappoint me, I really liked the way the main antagonist's motivations were built up (as well as the rest of the Baker family), so I think [i[Village[/i] had some high standards to live up to. And it mostly does.

Ethan Winters, the protagonist of RE7, has an actual personality now! He does have a tendency to make silly one-liners after surviving yet another near-death experience, but that's part of the Resident Evil charm in my opinion. The villains were also pretty entertaining, but another big issue I had is that I don't think they were as interesting in the end as the Bakers. They got my attention almost immediately, but I think all of them, barring fan-favorite Lady D who was the highlight character in my opinion, needed some more screentime. I liked all of them, but I wanted to see more of them.

I also liked the ending, and there was a really cool reveal towards the end that answered a major question I had while playing, and I love when stories explain gameplay mechanics. I will admit I am a bit concerned about where the story goes from here, because I'm aware this series struggled once it derailed into pure action, but I still liked the story overall. It's not amazing, but it's got some stellar twists and turns and I still liked it a lot.


The sound design and music are both pretty good. There's really not much to discuss in those terms, as they fit what they're going for very well. The voice acting is what I'll be focusing on more here. As I said, Ethan actually has a personality now, and I think part of why it shows as much as it does is due to the solid performance from his voice actor. But, of course, the highlight here is the much-loved Lady D, who completely took control of every scene she was in. However, I was not a big fan of Heisenberg's voice. It felt like they were trying to go for something cool and intimidating, but the accent came off as being overly corny more than anything. However, that's more of a nitpick, as I still liked his character, and the rest of the performances were pretty good. *Sniff* They've come so far from "Jill sandwich!"


All RE games are pretty short, but I think Village makes the most out of every second of its 8-10 hour playtime. There's a lot more fun side content this time around, and there's also the potential for additional story DLC, which there is none of at the time of writing this. While there's only 1-2 moments in Village that really stuck out to me compared to 7's highlights, this game feels much more replayable due to the overall polish. I'd say it's a safe buy despite the length, especially if there's even a light discount.


While it may not be quite as interesting as its predecessor, Village is a more polished experience overall with much better game design. The "better" game comes down to preference, and I personally prefer this one because it was still memorable in its own right. It's a great time, and I'd easily recommend it if only for Lady D.

Graphics - 9.5/10
Gameplay - 8.5/10
Story - 8.5/10
Audio - 8.5/10
Content Value - 9.0/10

.:8.5/10:.
"Great

+ Intriguing atmosphere
+ Fun side content
+ Good level design
+ Solid gameplay variety
+ Great pacing

- Puzzles were too easy
- Mediocre boss fights

[u]Like my reviews? Go follow my [url=https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/33012112-Gandhi-Talks-Games/]Curator page.[/url][/u] While horror games have generally never been my jam, I've grown to really appreciate just how consistently good [i]Resident Evil[/i] games tend to be. I played through 7 back in October, and I enjoyed it, but couldn't help but feel that its limited scope actually hurt the game a little bit, as things like basic enemies weren't that fun to fight, and the story had largely lost my attention by the end. When I got this game, I was eager to see how these criticisms were addressed. And after playing through the game in just about 8 hours, I realized it is basically just an expanded version of 7 in pretty much every way. [h1]Graphics[/h1] I loved this game visually. It's stunning, just like the previous game, and nails the atmosphere its going for. It's a lot more mysterious and intriguing, but it also knows when it can be scary. I also really liked the designs of the characters, especially the antagonists. "Vampire mommy milkers" memes aside, each villain got my attention just based off of their appearances alone. The game looks good. There's not much else to say here. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] [i]Village[/i], if you haven't been able to deduce it already, has a lot more action elements compared to its predecessor. The core gameplay mechanics are essentially the same, that being a perfectly competent first-person shooter. However, everything else is improved upon. Generally speaking, outside of one segment, there isn't really anything that hits the same high points that 7 hits, but the whole experience feels so much smoother here. There's a great amount of variety in the game, and while [i]Resident Evil[/i] seems to have always had a "mediocre second half" problem, which still exists in this game, I found that I had far more fun getting through this game's latter half compared to 2 and 7. And I think part of it is that this game absolutely [i]nails[/i] its pacing. As said before, this game has been compared to being at a theme park. Each of the four lords you're hunting has different gameplay mechanics. One is more of a pure survival horror experience where you're unarmed, another is more akin to classic Resident Evil where there is a particularly powerful enemy that's constantly hunting you down, and so on. I never felt that the game overstayed its welcome with any of these mechanics. Some are definitely longer than others, but by the time I'd start feeling bored, the game would end it with a boss fight or throw in a curveball to keep things interesting. Enemy variety actually exists in this game too, which I think helps keep the game from ever feeling dull. I also really liked the level design, as the game emphasizes and rewards exploration in multiple ways, from upgrades to lore, and I felt very compelled to stop and look for secrets. Where the game stumbles a little bit are in two areas: the boss fights and the puzzles. The bosses are less egregious, because I wouldn't say they were bad. More than anything, they were just a little disappointing. Considering how good most of the ones in 7 were, I found it a little ironic that this game excelled during its fights with basic enemies and stumbled with its bosses, where its predecessor was the opposite. Most fights were too straightforward, but hey, I'll at least appreciate this game's final boss for (RE7 spoilers) [spoiler]not being a glorified QTE.[/spoiler] The puzzles, however, were almost always way, way too easy. If I wasn't sure of what to do, I'd just trial-and-error it and accidentally get the solution, and I'd say there's only one puzzle that actually made me stop to think for a moment, and that's only because I'd overlooked something obvious. Most of the puzzle answers are basically handed to you, so the puzzles felt more like brief distractions more than actual breaks in combat and scares. But ultimately, it did not break the game for me. As I said, while the game doesn't often hit the same high points of 7, it is a more consistent title with better game design in general, as well as great pacing. Overall, the gameplay is largely smoothed out and it made my experience mostly better. [h1]Story[/h1] [i]Resident Evil[/i] games don't really have great stories most of the time. They're pretty corny, but weirdly endearing in the process. I think 7 was the exception to that rule, because while the final boss did disappoint me, I really liked the way the main antagonist's motivations were built up (as well as the rest of the Baker family), so I think [i[Village[/i] had some high standards to live up to. And it mostly does. Ethan Winters, the protagonist of RE7, has an actual personality now! He does have a tendency to make silly one-liners after surviving yet another near-death experience, but that's part of the [i]Resident Evil[/i] charm in my opinion. The villains were also pretty entertaining, but another big issue I had is that I don't think they were as interesting in the end as the Bakers. They got my attention almost immediately, but I think all of them, barring fan-favorite Lady D who was the highlight character in my opinion, needed some more screentime. I liked all of them, but I wanted to see more of them. I also liked the ending, and there was a really cool reveal towards the end that answered a major question I had while playing, and I love when stories explain gameplay mechanics. I will admit I am a bit concerned about where the story goes from here, because I'm aware this series struggled once it derailed into pure action, but I still liked the story overall. It's not amazing, but it's got some stellar twists and turns and I still liked it a lot. [h1]Audio[/h1] The sound design and music are both pretty good. There's really not much to discuss in those terms, as they fit what they're going for very well. The voice acting is what I'll be focusing on more here. As I said, Ethan actually has a personality now, and I think part of why it shows as much as it does is due to the solid performance from his voice actor. But, of course, the highlight here is the much-loved Lady D, who completely took control of every scene she was in. However, I was not a big fan of Heisenberg's voice. It felt like they were trying to go for something cool and intimidating, but the accent came off as being overly corny more than anything. However, that's more of a nitpick, as I still liked his character, and the rest of the performances were pretty good. *Sniff* They've come so far from "Jill sandwich!" [h1]Content Value[/h1] All RE games are pretty short, but I think [i]Village[/i] makes the most out of every second of its 8-10 hour playtime. There's a lot more fun side content this time around, and there's also the potential for additional story DLC, which there is none of at the time of writing this. While there's only 1-2 moments in [i]Village[/i] that really stuck out to me compared to 7's highlights, this game feels much more replayable due to the overall polish. I'd say it's a safe buy despite the length, especially if there's even a light discount. [h1]Verdict[/h1] While it may not be quite as interesting as its predecessor, [i]Village[/i] is a more polished experience overall with much better game design. The "better" game comes down to preference, and I personally prefer this one because it was still memorable in its own right. It's a great time, and I'd easily recommend it [strike]if only for Lady D.[/strike] [b]Graphics[/b] - 9.5/10 [b]Gameplay[/b] - 8.5/10 [b]Story[/b] - 8.5/10 [b]Audio[/b] - 8.5/10 [b]Content Value[/b] - 9.0/10 [b].:8.5/10:. "Great[/b] + Intriguing atmosphere + Fun side content + Good level design + Solid gameplay variety + Great pacing - Puzzles were too easy - Mediocre boss fights