Resident Evil Village Gold Edition Review

Resident Evil Village is set three years after the events of Resident Evil VII Biohazard as the game’s protagonist, Ethan, and his wife Mia, and daughter Rose, have been relocated somewhere in Europe by RE mainstay Chris Redfield. One night, Redfield assassinates Mia and kidnaps Rose and Ethan. After a car crash, confused and angry, goes on the hunt for Chris for answers, but ends up in a Lycan-riddled village and gets captured. Can Ethan find Chris and the answers he seeks?

Village is a first-person horror (I use that term loosely) action shooter whereas Ethan, players will navigate different areas of the village and conquer each area’s big baddy. And well you’re not alone. Taking from Resident Evil 2 Remake (we don’t talk about RE3R), Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters will hunt you throughout her castle. It’s a neat mechanic that’s fun…once. After a while, it’s just annoying.

To survive the army of Lycans and other life-threatening threats, you’ll need some solid firepower. Ethan has access to a handful of decent arsenal of weapons. Capcom also brought the RE4 suitcase mechanic so players can manage properly their inventory and also players can also craft ammo, health items, and upgrade their weapons at the shop and get more bang for their buck.

One of the main game’s strongest aspects is definitely the different areas, or dungeons if you will. You’ll be asked to find your way through a dark and damp factory or the haunting House Beneviento in order to reach the area leader. A few exceptions aside however the game is devoid of jump scares but features a top-notch creepy and terrifying atmosphere: matching the near-level of RE Remake’s ambiance. Furthermore, most boss battles are well thought-out and challenging (minor one batshit crazy later battle) and feel appropriate as a ramp-up through each villain’s area.

No matter if you’ve played Village or not (although it *is* recommended) you can jump in the Shadows of Rose DLC which picks up after the events of Village and puts players in the shoes of Rose, Ethan, and Mia’s daughter. She’s on a quest to get rid of the powers she’s holding, although it won’t prove easy; despite help and guidance from a mysterious ally. You’ll get to revisit the castle and nearby areas that went through a handful of disturbing and horrifying changes.

Much like her dad, Rose can use firearms to defend herself and various things to craft items such as health and ammo. She can also use her special powers to unlock new areas blocked by the red goo and pink flower-like cores. As you progress, you’ll pick up upgrades allowing your power to help defend yourself against enemies and bosses. There are a few interesting (and predictable) twists, and the add-on is a solid 3-4 hours of additional content. Although, Capcom should’ve kept and used this content to create Resident Evil 9 which could’ve included these events and then pick up after the ending of Village.

The Mercenaries mode is fun and addictive. Like previous iterations, you can break bubbles to add more time, but instead of killing as many enemies as possible in the allotted time, you have a minimum target of enemies to kill within the given time and then the exit unlocks. You’ll also find blue bubbles to break which will give you additional perks such as more health, resist damage, or trade speed for firepower just to name a few. Dead enemies will drop Lei, the game’s currency, to buy items and upgrade your weapons between rounds. The more you play and higher the score, you can unlock new levels and characters. But there’s only a total of four characters: Ethan, Chris Redfield, Lady Dimitrescu, and Lord Karl Heisenberg (first two available out of the gate, the last two needs to be unlocked).

And yes, not all is perfect in this decrepit village. First-person perspective still feels out of place in an RE game as it feels like walking through mud and doesn’t feel natural and fluid (like Call of Duty for example). The newly added 3rd person perspective feels shoehorn-ed and clunky. You can feel that this new POV was added in after the game’s core development. It’s not as fluid as previous 3rd person RE games. This game is also another proof that the RE Engine struggles to render realistic hair.

As far as Rose’s adventure goes, this add-on feels a bit rushed given the players’ demand for more Village. RE5’s add-on campaigns feel a bit meatier than this. While it was new and fresh in RE2 Remake, Capcom needs to chill with a menacing hunting A.I. because Rose is hunted by two different types of creatures throughout her misadventures and with RE2R, RE3R, REVIII, and now Shadows of Rose, they need to switch things up a bit.

As a whole, both the core game and DLC, look great. The environments are stunning, appropriately creepy and highly detailed. Characters are well designed also, although they do look a bit plastic-y and Capcom seems to still struggle to render realistic hair with their acclaimed RE Engine. The voiceovers are solid and well-delivered. The soundtrack is pretty decent as well, although Capcom seems unable to capture the magic of early RE games in terms of creating a memorable score. The sound design as a whole is on point; the cacophony of noise is both creepy and scary at times, especially within the Rose DLC.

Resident Evil Village itself is a decent, competent first-person shooter with little to no scares. Those used to the fluidity of Call of Duty games will need a bit of time to adjust to the mud-like movements of Ethan. Boss battles are solid, and each area is well-designed with its own unique touch. The overall atmosphere of both experiences are top-notch. The Shadows of Rose feels a bit rushed to please some gamers clamoring for more REVIII. While revisiting the castle and surrounding areas with a fresh layer of creepy is fun and scary, something feels off as a whole. But if you haven’t played REVIII before, the Gold Edition is definitely worth the investment. If you’re looking to play the Shadows of Rose DLC, wait for a sale.