Resident Evil Village

First-person horror game with survival and shooter elements Resident Evil: Village continues the story started in Biohazard, but moves the action to Eastern Europe. Players received more dynamic gameplay, more weapons and action, as well as the opportunity to learn the backstory of the Umbrella corporation. Locations have become larger, needing to be explored in search of secrets and puzzles, which increased the playtime to 20 hours. Among the pleasant bonuses are an updated inventory and detailed levels.

The protagonist of the seventh part, Ethan Winters, is back in the lead role; moreover, Ethan's personality has become a key element of the narrative. While he was previously silent, in Village he has become much more talkative, showing his mood and character, articulating his motivations and feelings, which is how the writers develop him as a character.

The tall lady who has captured players' attention, Alcina Dimitrescu — a new Tyrant. Her enormous height, large claws, and wings make her a dangerous opponent, but only in the family castle where she lives with her three daughter sub-bosses. She won't be constantly hunting the player; the task of terrorizing him is shared among all enemies and sub-bosses.

The main antagonist is a woman named Miranda. Locals worship her as a goddess, and the main bosses refer to her as mother. Miranda possesses supernatural strength and vitality, shapeshifting into different people and creatures. It is with her that Ethan has the most intense confrontation and climactic boss fight at the end.

Chris Redfield is a full participant in the events, even being given part of the gameplay. The well-known hero of Resident Evil has left the B.S.A.A. ranks and founded a squad called "Hound Wolf Squad" to eliminate Miranda, but after several years has achieved no results. The passing years have changed Chris's character, which will become evident almost immediately.

Throughout Village, players will encounter various characters, both main and secondary. Most of them are unequivocal enemies, but some can be interacted with. For instance, a neutral merchant named The Duke sells first aid kits, ammunition, weapons, modifications for them, and other useful items for local currency (lei).

The events of Village begin three years after the conclusion of the seventh part. Ethan, along with his wife Mia and daughter Rosemary, has moved to Eastern Europe. Their quiet family life unexpectedly ends after the invasion of Chris Redfield, who kills his wife and kidnaps his daughter.

In pursuit of him, Ethan finds himself in a terrifying place, where he must defend himself against the locals, fight creatures from myths and legends, and overcome the supernatural. Meanwhile, the local inhabitants, under the guidance of Mother Miranda, are preparing to conduct an occult ritual involving Rosemary. Stopping it and saving his daughter is the protagonist's main motivation.

The plot has not been without unexpected twists and can generally engage, but it turned out to be somewhat simplistic, far from the series' canons, and not particularly frightening. The narrative is overly focused on Ethan, his sufferings, and emotions. Everything happening is seen by the player just as the protagonist sees it, so there is no development of other characters or their growth by the finale. They are memorable and colorful in their own way.

The writers casually explain the appearance of vampires and werewolves, levitation and paranormal phenomena, the origin of Miranda and other bosses, the roots of the Umbrella corporation, in relation to the lore of "Resident Evil".

However, the first-person view has elevated the presentation to a new level for the series, quickly and seamlessly immersing players into the thick of events with well-crafted scenes, an atmosphere felt through the screen, dialogues, and chatter. The most complex and spectacular scenes will delight with hallucinations and induced psychosis, where not everything that seems is actually real.

The action of RE8 takes place in an alternate reality, somewhere in the mountainous and snowy southeastern Europe, which Capcom has transformed into gothic Transylvania. The world map is divided into regions, corresponding to the number of noble families: the Dimitrescu Castle, the Beneviento Mansion, the Heisenberg Factory, and the Moro Reservoir. And in the center lies the very Village.

Each area has a unique, noticeably different art design, enemies, mini-bosses, and a main boss. There is no open world, but the levels in The Village are larger and more branched, and some places will require multiple returns. For variety, there is a location without shooting, where everything is built on the buildup of fear and horror, and a location filled with shooting and explosions.

The levels are meticulously crafted and filled with numerous details, especially "The Village". Inside the sprawling shacks, there are many decor elements typical of Eastern Europe. Kitchen utensils and pots on the stove, shelves with food and preserves, scattered clothing and bedding, carpets, paintings, and photographs hanging on the walls. And everything, from small to large, is arranged by the designers' hands.

The RE Engine has been updated for next-generation consoles, which is evident from the natural lighting of rooms, surfaces, HDR support, as well as the quality of light and shadow play. Enemy models have received several sets of animations, and characters also have natural facial animations. Cutscenes match the quality of CGI videos, even though they run on the engine.

The bestiary of The Village has been reworked and expanded, with the black mold removed. Instead of primitive zombies, there are slow but more deadly ghouls. For dynamic battles, beastmen reminiscent of werewolves are brought "on stage". Additionally, local cult members are also keen to hunt the main character.

To fend off pesky minor enemies, rapid-fire pistols, shotguns, and a couple of assault rifles will help, while thick-skinned foes require a revolver, sniper rifle, and a handheld grenade launcher. There are also homemade mines and bombs. For money, the merchant will install upgrades for damage, rate of fire, reload speed, and ammunition capacity on any weapon.

In hand-to-hand combat, a new block and parry mechanic has come to the rescue—executing it at the right moment allows the hero to deflect an attack and push the enemy away. Ethan has also learned to pick up weapons dropped by enemies—sword or axe in hand is better than nothing. All opponents in the eighth installment have their own set of behavior patterns—breaking through them will require changing both weapons and combat tactics.

Inventory has changed, now it is a finite field of slots, and all items take up different volumes — you can't take a pistol that requires six slots if only five are free. Story items, treasures, and crafting components do not take up space in the inventory and are located in a separate menu. Ammo and consumables can be crafted from resources scattered throughout the game world. Health and armor upgrades are obtained through hunting wildlife.

The hero moves faster, responds to commands better and sharper, shooting is enjoyable, although a precise shot will require time for aiming. As a result, Village has become similar to a linear horror with shooting.