Resident Evil Village Gold Edition

Genre: First-Person Graphic Adventure / Horror Game

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in Resident Evil 7 Gold Edition & Village Gold Edition, along with Resident Evil 7 Biohazard Gold Edition. It is also included in Resident Evil Generation Pack, along with Resident Evil 7 Biohazard Gold Edition and Resident Evil Requiem.)

Resident Evil Village is a First-Person Graphic Adventure and Horror game originally released in 2021 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, with a Mac OS release in 2022, a “Cloud Version” on Nintendo Switch also released in 2022, a port to iOS in 2023, and a port to Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026, with this version being a “Gold Edition” that includes all previously-released DLC for the game. Unfortunately for Nintendo Switch players who previously purchased the Cloud Version of the game, there’s no way to upgrade to the Nintendo Switch 2 version.

After the smaller scale of Resident Evil 7 that reined in the series’ shift towards action and brought the focus back towards horror, Resident Evil Village is a direct sequel that boldly shifted the series again, with a large snowy Romanian village and its outlying estates as the primary locale, and with a shift back in the direction of more action-focused gameplay, along with an absolute bonkers crazy plot filled with absurd characters, including the instantly-iconic Lady Dimitrescu.

Picking up a few years after Resident Evil 7, we’re once again placed in the role of that game’s protagonist Ethan, who’s enjoying a quiet life at home with his wife Mia and daughter Rose while struggling to process the trauma of the previous game. But enough of that – the peace is soon broken when frequent series protagonist Chris Redfield inexplicably breaks into the house, kills Mia, and kidnaps Ethan and Rose. Some time later, the armored vehicle Ethan is riding in crashes, leaving Ethan wandering near the titular village. And as Ethan’s bad luck would have it, they’re having quite a bad day too, thanks to a massive attack by werewolf-like lycans.

Resident Evil Village is not afraid to go completely and at times laughably over-the-top with its crazy plot and ridiculous lineup of characters, and it often feels like it’s evoking Resident Evil 4, which also shifted the series into more action-focused gameplay, was set in a dilapidated European village, and featured outlandish, silly characters. Just for one example, the Merchant from Resident Evil 4 isn’t hanging out asking “what’re you buyin’?” in this game, but a comically overweight giant calling himself The Duke fills the same role, and seems to have been created with much the same spirit in mind.

These moments of absurdity make for some pretty intense mood whiplash from this game’s horror elements, with some truly excellent scares as feral lycans hunt you as you scramble to push shelves to barricade doorways. However, I think the extremes ultimately work in this game’s favor, as there’s never a dull moment. One minute your hiding in a sunlit field of tall grass, seeing sections of foliage shift as a blood-soaked lycan stalks around searching for you, the next minute you’re huddling with survivors arguing what to do and praying for salvation, then after that you’re escaping the burning building after things inevitably took a turn for the worse, then after that you’re meeting with a jolly man who apparently has Magneto-style metal-controlling powers, then after that you’re being dragged to a council of monstrous mutant-people… this game doesn’t rest on its laurels, and it makes for a wild ride that keeps you wanting to see where it goes next.

The gameplay here is once again in first-person much like Resident Evil 7 was, though one of the numerous DLC upgrades this game comes packaged with lets players opt to play in third-person if they prefer. In either case, combat in Resident Evil Village is more of a focus than it was in 7, with faster pace and more effective weaponry… though “more effective” certainly doesn’t mean “very effective”. This game makes it clear early on that you need to choose your battles, as situations where you’re overwhelmed by groups of enemies or enemies impervious to harm can make it wiser to avoid combat and run for safety, conserving your limited ammunition. Personally, I felt like Resident Evil 8 strikes the perfect balance between its action and horror elements, keeping you feeling like you’re constantly on a knife’s edge between action hero and hapless victim of overwhelming forces out of your control.

Resident Evil Village also feels like it strikes the right balance when it comes to inventory management – you do have to watch how much space you’re taking up in your inventory, but it’s not a frustration or hindrance to the extent it was in some past games in the series.

This game also does a superb job of expanding on the exploration elements of Resident Evil 7 and to some extent the original Resident Evil as well, as you’ll find helpful items and supplies in the village or in the more restrictive estates on its outskirts, though often these are locked behind upgrades you’ll find later. And of course, you’ll explore at your own risk, as you’ll be doing so while facing the possibility that you’ll run face to face with something nasty.

Despite being 5 years old at this point, Resident Evil Village looks magnificent, and while this release may not be quite on par with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of the game, it is still one of the most graphically-impressive games ever made, with gorgeous environmental detail, wonderful 3D character models (much better than what we saw in Resident Evil 7), excellent lighting and shadows, and overall outstanding artistic design. On Nintendo Switch 2, there is some slight slowdown here and there that doesn’t interfere with the gameplay, and there’s also a bit of pop-in, but overall, this game is a graphical marvel, and it seems like few compromises were made to get it working on Nintendo’s hybrid platform. And of course, this is joined by excellent sound design and superb voice acting as well.

I should note that there appear to be no attempts to make use of features unique to Nintendo Switch 2 here, though this game does support the use of gyroscopic motion controls for those who prefer. Otherwise, this version of the game seems more or less on par with other versions (or at least the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions).

When it comes to complaints, I do have to mention that despite this game’s good exploration, it’s clear to see that you’re frequently being railroaded on one path. It’s also a bit irritating when the game doesn’t make it clear if you’re in a situation where you’re meant to lose because the plot demands it, or if you just need to fight harder, or run. However… honestly, these are nitpicks, and even with these minor issues I had an absolute blast playing this game.

Overall… I’ve gotta’ say, this is easily my favorite game so far in the entire Resident Evil series. It expertly hones in on the perfect blend of action and horror, with fun exploration, enjoyable combat that still forces you to run away when things get intense, a roller coaster ride where you’ll constantly be wondering what’s next, all set within a distinctive locale filled with some of this franchise’s most memorable characters, all with one of the best audiovisual presentations yet found in a videogame. If you enjoy Horror games, and especially if you like the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil Village is an absolute must-have.

tl;dr – Resident Evil Village is a Graphic Adventure Horror game that directly follows Resident Evil 7, with players taking the role of Ethan once again as he finds himself exploring a snowy Romanian town beset by werewolf-like lycans. This entry in the series finds the perfect balance of its action and horror elements, with a bonkers crazy story that plays like a roller coaster ride where you constantly want to see what’s next, with a presentation that doesn’t compromise much from other versions of the game, leaving it still one of the best-looking games ever made. This is in my opinion the best game so far in the Resident Evil series, and an absolute must-have for Horror fans. Do not miss this one.

Grade: A+

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