Resident Evil Village
“Clomping of heavy heels or the buzz of an insect swarm signal danger.”
INFO
Format PS5 (reviewed), PS4
Price £49.99
ETA Out now
Pub Capcom
Dev Capcom
Players 1
Length 10 hours
Accessibility Toggle adaptive triggers on/off; adjustable camera motion and speed; motion-sensitive camera mode; tweakable sound outputs and virtual surround sound; customisable HUD and colours
The horror evoked by this direct sequel to Resident Evil VII: Biohazard can often give way to the spectacle of blasting holes in hairy wolfmen and escaping the jaws of a giant fleshy blood-baddie that resembles the yawning chasm on the cover of In The Court Of The Crimson King. That’s an old reference, yes, but like that famous album this game is a hodge-podge of ideas, and they all work.
Capcom has its template for these games, and after reminding itself why we love the series with the recent remakes, Resident Evil Village is a beautifully curated compendium of those good ideas. It shows a renewed love of puzzles, for example, and while some run close to being repeats of the series’ greatest hits, for the most part it’s good have statue-turning, light-reacting, music-box-fiddling brainteasers back at the heart of a Resident Evil game.
Likewise the Nemesis idea is rerun here, initially in full view as the meme-hungry the enemies take on a Nemesis-like role as werewolves hunt for you amid ancient ruins and Borg-like drill-armed cyborgs shuffle in the darkness at your heels, the glow of their red-lit weak spot illuminating the ray-traced darkness in a striking manner.