Review: Resident Evil Village

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

The hype for the latest instalment in the Resident Evil franchise was very real, understandably so, as the entire internet fell in love with the Lady Dimitrescu upon the release of the teaser.

Seriously, Markiplier didn’t even play the demo on his channel, he literally just made an entire video dedicated to simping over Lady Dimitrescu instead.

Since the game’s release, there have been many many mods that, ehem, ‘enhance’ this character’s assets, one of our personal favourites being the one that gives you the option of  spanking Lady Dimitrescu with a fly swatter.

But other than the ‘super-sized bitch’ we’ll collectively simp over for the rest of our fungus-free lives, how does the game actually fare? Does it live up to the hype of the demo, and more importantly, to the legacy of its predecessors?

After the rousing success of Resident Evil 7, the announcement that the eighth game would include werewolves and vampires created excitement amongst the gaming community – for so long we’ve dealt with the virus and the Umbrella corp and here we were getting something different. Of course, in true Resi fashion, the game goes on to reveal that these are merely results of the famed fungus we battled in 7 rather than actual monsters. While this fits in more aptly to the Resident Evil universe, it still would have been pretty cool to fight an actual vampire, right?

The game opens with a beautiful, animated storybook in the style of Tim Burton and Little Nightmares, and following in the footsteps of Midsommar, this actually reveals the narrative of the game to the player without spoiling anything.

We return to our favourite dysfunctional couple Mia and Ethan Winters, who have moved to Europe and had their baby girl Rose. A pretty picture of family life is painted before Chris Redfield shoots Mia in the face. A lot. Some would say an excessive amount. Ethan, as always, clueless to what’s going on, is knocked out and wakes up in the middle of nowhere to find his transport vehicle crashed.

It is just us, or does this beginning sound like the plane crash in the opening of Outlast 2? That wasn’t the only similarity that came to mind. The actual setting of the village, particularly with the statue in the centre, is reminiscent of the final scene in Outlast’s sequel. However, what really stands out is the crucifixion style hanging of Ethan, where he’s forced to rip himself off the hooks in order to be free. There’s a very distinct scene in Outlast 2 in which our protagonist is ‘crucified’ in the exact same manner, with the same escape plan.

So why go to all the trouble to point out the minor similarities in the two games? Well, much like Outlast 2, Resident Evil: Village just couldn’t quite live up to the game that came before it; the concept was there, but it felt like an important piece of the puzzle was missing that left the game feeling slightly disconnected.

In terms of gameplay, Village feels like a combination of the more action-based Resident Evil 4 and the tense, puzzle-filled Resident Evil 7. For some this may be ideal, but for me personally the lack of horror let it down. For example, when fighting the second boss, Donna Beneviento, in an area aptly named ‘The Doll House’, there is so much opportunity to go full horror, but despite a good intro to the section, the rest seems thrown together and rushed. Though the horrifying baby creature is Resident Evil through and through, it feels like there isn’t enough build up to it and the creature comes out of the blue. Personally, if the Mia mannequin Ethan’s dissecting had come to life and was stalking him around the house, this writer would like this section a whole lot more. Also, one thing to note is how obvious the strategy is for getting around the baby monster, and most gamers called this out: “In all my years of playing horror games, this is (like) clearly the moment” (Markiplier).

Despite the game not living up to its potential, there are some enjoyable moments: the castle setting is beautiful and reminiscent of Bloodborne; the idea that the village becomes the semi-safe base for you to return to between boss fights is a lovely touch; and The Duke’s character is flawlessly executed.

However, there is one thing that must be discussed… the ending.

Now the setting for the last boss fight, the factory, is an incredibly cool environment – a twisted Monsters, Inc. (no, literally, there are hanging conveyor belts with bodies instead of doors). With such a well-done environment, the anticipation for the boss fight is very high, especially as Heisenberg is a great character to begin with. But the ridiculousness of the Magneto style boss fight, with Ethan somehow landing on the tank in mid-air when all seems hopeless, is too much even for a Resident Evil game. Also, the fact that Ethan chooses not to team up with Heisenberg against Mother Miranda is frustrating no matter how many times you watch the cutscene – Team Heisenberg for the win honestly.

Quickly following this, Ethan is faced with Mother Miranda, who straight up rips out his heart. Yup. Man is dead. OR IS HE???

While the player is reeling from this, the gameplay switches and you’re suddenly playing as Chris Redfield, who ends up finding Mia. For fans of the franchise this was properly an enjoyable moment, but unfortunately it ultimately added to the whole disjointed feeling of the game.

Cut back to Ethan, who is a dream-like limbo akin to that in Harry Potter when Harry’s horcrux is killed. And surprise, surprise - here comes Eveline. The worst explanation could have been that Ethan was dreaming this whole time and none of it’s been real, of course. But instead, it turns out Ethan was dead. THE WHOLE TIME. Since the beginning of Resident Evil 7 when Jack hits him on the head and says, “Welcome to the family, son.” Throughout Village, it’s made clearer and clearer that Ethan has some sort of infection, some special power that makes him survive all of his gruesome injuries. But to explain this with Ethan being dead this whole time… it’s disappointing. It feels like a real cop out, when Ethan could have become a boss in his final form himself to fight Mother Miranda, or anything else really.

So, after all of this, Ethan’s dead (no he’s not but he is because he’s been dead this whole time). Then comes the final boss fight with Mother Miranda. And of course, she’s defeated. But so is Ethan. Still we never see his face, but he hands Rose off to Chris and blows himself up with the village. Reminiscent of the ending to the previous game, we end with Mia in a helicopter, and Ethan’s story is complete at last.

Bringing us back to the Outlast comparison - you know in the first game where your character goes through all that only to die at the end, completely out of your control? This feels like that. And narratively, it’s probably the right move for Ethan’s character arc – I just wish they’d have given him something more.

Overall, Resident Evil: Village is itself a great game, and in terms of the narrative of the franchise holds up, but as a follow on from the success of 7, it doesn’t have quite the same impact. At least it gave us Alcina Dimistrescu, and Heisenberg’s incredible dialogue.

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This article was originally written for and published by cool.girl magazine.