Resident Evil Village - We analyze the gameplay between werewolves and vampires

Resident evil village now it is reality, Capcom back on the market again with its most important IP, proposing the continuation of the new course started with the previous Resident Evil VII. If some rumors had suggested the game's release in the course of the year, no one would have ever expected that the launch window would be so close. In addition, a lot of information has been released about the game, which finally leads us to have enough material to understand the true nature of the project. It seems clear that the line started by the team is strongly approaching to please everyone, combining the mechanics that made the saga great with more modern play structures. Village, for its part, tries to add a bit of spice where the seventh episode sinned most, but without upsetting what already worked.

Where we arrived

To optimally recover all the Resident Evil saga we recommend reading our dedicated article, since in this preview we will take for granted some events that occurred in the seventh. The protagonist of Village will be back Ethan, but this time he will have to deal with an environment and enemies totally owed. Indeed, it appears that vampires e werewolves will be central to the plot and, in all probability, we will have to try to put an end to these dark and mysterious facts that lurk among the peaks of the snow-capped mountains of the Romania. Although it is still unclear how much time has passed between the previous chapter and this, this time our hero will have to recover his daughter from the clutches of the vampire Lady Dimitrescu, which seems closely related to the Baker family.

The synopsis explains how the events of this Resident Evil Village arise a few years after those of the previous chapter. Ethan and Mia are back to a normal life and they had a daughter, but apparently the problems aren't over. From what we read in the synopsis in fact, merging this knowledge with those of the trailer (which shows for a few seconds a Chris Redfield much more similar to the previous one than to that of the seventh chapter), it will probably be him - who in the description is defined "behaving strangely" - to take her and take her to Europe, where the game will be set. Another interesting detail, the cover: in it we see a Chris Redfield "divided" by a graphic effect, with half a human face and half a werewolf. Could he be the character infected with this new virus?

Although the atmospheres recall in a particular way those of Resident Evil 4, the legacy of the VII is noticeable and goes very well with the new environments. The more medieval settings, with well-characterized interiors and a castle that, seen from the outside, looks truly immense. In this new trailer published we focused above all on some of the characters that we will find in this adventure, in addition to the aforementioned Lady Dimitrescu a character still with an unknown name was shown in possession of a large hammer that we do not know if he will want to help the protagonist or not .

The references to Resident Evil 4 are many, as well as to all the mythology of the World of Darkness: we see in fact that Lady Dimitrescu finds a home in a castle with strong Eastern European references. Moreover, once she has seen Ethan Winter she mentions how he managed to escape from the "idiot game" of his younger brother, then there will probably be some kinship between this woman and the characters from the previous chapter. The video also focuses on the graphic details, decidedly of the highest level (with well-defined reflections and a breathtaking stage construction).

The new mechanics

Resident evil village proposes the most old school set-up of the series, both in the management of the inventory, the combination and the examination of objects and the environmental puzzles, as well as some small additions that we hope will light up the pace without distorting the nature of the product too much. Starting from the enemies that undoubtedly seem the most varied and threatening, the Capcom title wants to offer us different types of approach to face them, such as fire barrels that can kill a large number of monsters at the same time. Environmental destructibility also seems to have increased, a great way to further incentivize exploration in search of resources useful for survival (obviously saving ammunition, thanks to the knife). Despite everything, the game keeps first person view, both to allow the player to explore and enjoy every detail to the fullest, both because this camera seems to marry very well with the rediscovered line of the Resident Evil series, returned to its horror glories without abandoning that pinch of action (here more accentuated than in the previous chapter) and that hint of absurdity which has always driven fans crazy (for better or for worse).

The gameplay also relies heavily on defense: Ethan may as well to put hands forward" to block enemy shots, and then maybe kick them away. This will be met by the fact that the enemies seem to be of various types, not always brainless zombies or strange monsters, but also hominids capable of wielding blunt weapons. Classic crafting has been expanded, making it deeper and more interesting. In fact, now in addition to being able to blend the various herbs, Ethan will be able to prepare Rescue Kits, ammunition and so on in a practical and fast way, using an equipment management system very close to Resident Evil 4.

Finally come back the merchant, Called The Duke, which has been characterized in a peculiar way and which will allow you to buy objects and weapons. This character will be shown in always different actions, to make the encounter interesting. Finally, in Resident Evil Village there will be scenes capable of making you tremble with terror, or situations where you will have to keep your nerve to resolve puzzles: the latter, although seen for a very short period of time, seem to have returned to that slightly higher difficulty threshold, just enough to avoid a simple fetch action in favor of something a little closer to a puzzle.

There are many conceivable theories, as well as many things to discuss: will Chris really be an enemy as the synopsis says, or will there simply be something underneath that Ethan cannot yet understand? Will the relationship with Mia and their life really return to normal, or are there things to understand before judging? But above all, where do all these mutations come from, given that Umbrella Corporation has long since been torn down? In short, Resident Evil Village despite trying to propose a different plot, in a different place with different characters and even different gameplay, manages at the same time (for now) to stay linked to his lineage, bringing with it many interesting details from the previous chapters, as if to represent a sum of the achievements, in what seems to be a new and terrifying adventure to live.

Resident Evil Village is not the only novelty: the event showed a short clip of Re: Verse, A kind of Battle Arena from the shaded graphics towards the comic where we can use all the characters of the series to give us a good reason, and Infinite Darkness, the new Netflix production that will tell some stories of Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield (set after the events of the fourth chapter).