Resident Evil Village
A great start cannot maintain its momentum.
I feel like I want to give Resident
Evil Village a running commentary of scores, such is the range and variety of its sections: 8, 9 (...Jesus, maybe a 10?), 8, 7, 6… There’s so much going on but it chops and changes from beat to beat in such a way you can almost see the line between sections. Most noticeably it feels like there’s a real difference between the first and second half. The opening is strong, clever, and fun – full of atmosphere and intrigue as you explore (and features a part that’s probably one of the best stand-alone horror levels of the year). While the latter half veers into ‘okay’ territory, with some combat slogs, a boss fight that’s a bit of a stretch even by Resident Evil standards and, while it’s still good, it lacks the same spark and craft as the beginning.
To be clear, I enjoyed Resident Evil Village, as when it’s great it’s on fire. Characters are entertaining, there are some lovely ‘holy shit what?’ twists and turns, while exploring and unlocking the titular village is satisfying. But it does feel like a mishmash of directions. Early rumors suggested this started life as Resident Evil Revelations 3, before being reworked and upgraded to a Resident Evil 7 sequel, and having finished it I can believe that. The change between the first and second halves feels like a gradual drift from the sinister tone of the last game, to Revelations’ louder, fun action movie vibe. That said I’m going to have to try to explain as much as I can without spoiling anything, because Capcom has impressively managed to keep about 90 percent of the game secret and only shown off the first maybe three or four hours. Almost everything I could mention that isn’t Vampire Mummy or a werewolf will be a surprise I don’t want to ruin.
Oddly, for a series known for its puzzles, it’s the one area where the quality is consistently… low. Bar one brilliant set piece sequence most of the challenges feel phoned in - there’s a treasure map that leads you to an obvious, completely unhidden locked gate you previously passed during a scripted sequence, while one puzzle literally has the solution next to it; not some enigmatic hint you have to decrypt, just the answer, next to the buttons you need to press. Most of what passes for puzzles boils down to finding something later you then take back to somewhere you were earlier.
It’s only in the latter half where things start to alternate between some good bits, some fumbles, and at least one moment of ‘oh my God, what?!’ shark-jumping excess that wouldn’t look out of place in a Fast and Furious trailer.
Early rumours suggested this started life as Resident Evil Revelations 3, before being reworked and upgraded to a Resident Evil 7 sequel, and having finished it I can believe that.
A strong start and okay finish makes this average out as a decent but not amazing installment.
Leon Hurley