Resident Evil Village review (spoiler-free): It's almost perfect

Our Verdict

Resident Evil Village is a wonderfully creepy ride through multiple kinds of horror.

For

Scares yous giddy
Memorable dominate fights
An exquisite tribute to horror
3D audio is amazingly helpful
Perfect length

Against

A little short on Lady Dimitrescu
Penultimate scene felt unnecessary
Visual pop-in

Tom'southward Guide Verdict

Resident Evil Hamlet is a wonderfully creepy ride through multiple kinds of horror.

Pros

+
Scares y'all silly
+
Memorable boss fights
+
An exquisite tribute to horror
+
3D audio is amazingly helpful
+
Perfect length

Cons

-
A little short on Lady Dimitrescu
-
Penultimate scene felt unnecessary
-
Visual popular-in

EDITOR'S NOTE: Resident Evil Hamlet won a "highly recommended" honour for best characters in the Tom'southward Guide Awards 2021 for gaming.

Resident Evil Village is a perfect way to spend a weekend — provided yous want to be scared out of your pants. I learned this myself over the last few days, as I walked Ethan Winters through the latest traumatic experiences in his life, every bit fate conspired to bring him and his family back into danger.

And while the conversation effectually Resident Evil Village has been focused on the towering Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, curious fans should know RE8 is more than than simply her. In fact, if you were buying the game just for her, yous might wind upwards disappointed. Just this Resident Evil Village review volition show why the game is smashing across her long, dangerous reach.

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And a couple of pieces of housekeeping upward front end. First, this Resident Evil Village review will exist as spoiler-complimentary as possible. The experience of playing this game was one I enjoyed tremendously, and that came (in part) from being unaware of what I was about to encounter. The one affair that I was spoiled well-nigh, and the scenes that hewed closely to the demos, didn't hit equally hard, then I wrote this review wanting to make your experience better than mine.

Also, I played Resident Evil Hamlet on a PS5, where it played pretty smoothly, with one notable oddity I'll mention below. I bought the PS5 with Resident Evil Village in heed.

Resident Evil Village review: Game length

Earlier this year, I worried as to whether or not Resident Evil Hamlet would exist also long. Word came out that the game was going for much grander ambitions, after Peter Fabiano, producer and founder of Global Product at Capcom, told Official PlayStation Magazine that Hamlet is "much larger than what players experienced in Resident Evil VII: Biohazard."

Then I got my hands on Resident Evil Village, and pleasantly discovered the game is merely-long-enough. Friends finished the game before I could, ending information technology in 8 or ix hours. Which was but every bit long as RE7 is rated for on How Long To Trounce.

Resident Evil Village review: The mood is set — (Image credit: Capcom)

And I wound up spending more time in it, finishing it in 12 hours and 20 minutes, and nonetheless loving it. Unlike how I played Resident Evil 7, I plant myself obsessed with treasure hunting in the village and castles, for making the nearly of my trips to the shop and getting upgrades for weapons.

Resident Evil Village never wore out its welcome throughout that entire fourth dimension, and I really constitute myself going back to replay bosses, for loot-hunting related ideas.

Resident Evil Village review: World blueprint

I won't spoil the events of the kickoff of the game, simply it'southward safe to say that Ethan, his wife Mia, and their infant child Rose are besieged past a group of rude houseguests. And their arrival quickly brings you to the titular hamlet in Resident Evil Village, a wide-ranging plot of acreage in an un-named European country — where everything is wrong.

Lycans, aka werewolves, litter the alleys like drunks on Santacon week. Puzzles dare y'all to unlock their secrets. And so, a giant with a massive weapon shows upward, in case yous haven't screamed aloud yet. All this, you endure, to endeavour and piece Ethan's family back together.

Resident Evil Village review: The Winters Family — (Epitome credit: Capcom)

And the city is so lovingly laid out and designed that I couldn't help only enjoy myself, even when I had trouble navigating things. I arraign myself for that, mostly, as I rarely tend to utilize the in-game maps as much as I should, something I after learned navigating Castle Dimitrescu. Covered in golden opulence, with all sorts of secrets to discover, this level is so well-designed (it may exist the best of the agglomeration) that you may never want to go out.

Resident Evil Village review: Characters

As mentioned to a higher place, Lady Dimitrescu has been the talk of the town when it comes to Resident Evil Village, only she'southward far from the just memorable effigy in the game. About notably, the 2d castle of Resident Evil Village has possibly the most shocking moment in the entire game. I had information technology slightly spoiled for me, then I won't dare fifty-fifty suggest what frights look you lot.

What I tin can say, though, is that multiple people I know verbally exclaimed "Nope!" at the TV, upon starting time sight of a certain monstrosity. You'll see vampires, werewolves, mechanically-enhanced weirdos, mutations and more. It all snaps together as a love-alphabetic character to monster movies, and one that you probably won't play just one time.

Resident Evil Village review: Heisenberg — (Image credit: Capcom)

And that's not even the final boss of that castle, but a mid-boss who killed me at least twice. Those moments highlight to me why Resident Evil Village is such a success: the game has such a range of multifariousness that it always keeps y'all on your toes. It'south arguable that in that location is too much of the chases that are synonymous with the Resident Evil series, just each villain's attacks are varied plenty that I didn't find myself bored at the slightest.

Village also seems to be a bit more finely-tuned for its frights than Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was. While that game was all nearly the haunted house bound-scares, and striking y'all as often as possible with them, Village spreads its horrors out a bit more than evenly, so that everything has more than time to breathe (and for you to take a deep breath or two).

Resident Evil Village review: Sound and 3D Audio

Resident Evil Village review: RUN! — (Image credit: Capcom)

While we used to watch X-Files with the lights off, for a sense of dread and immersion, many will probably play Resident Evil Village similarly. Instead, I recommend you play Resident Evil Village with headphones on — and on the PS5 — for a different reason.

The audio blueprint of the game is and so well done, that I establish information technology essential to my survival. This is mostly because of the PS5's 3D Audio, which helped me hear where the lycans and other threats to Ethan Winters' life were coming from. And that'due south a big deal because the attacks are coming from all around you, and I found my access to medical supplies dwindling late in the game.

Resident Evil Village review: Shortcomings

My biggest gripe with Resident Evil Village is that the 3rd act of the game doesn't feel nearly as clever equally the balance of the action. The gameplay moves over to shooting, shooting and more than shooting, specially in the penultimate section. And too much of that feels a lot less engaging.

I besides institute it weird that i of the big PlayStation 5 titles had so much pop-in — the weird visual glitch where items in your point of view only 'pop' into the scene. This may be a chance of games that are designed for multiple consoles, equally Resident Evil Village isn't a PS5 exclusive.

Resident Evil Village review: Verdict

I attempt and stick to a strong slumber schedule, with bedtimes and such, just Resident Evil Village shattered my ability to finish put down the controller and stop playing. Ane nighttime I stayed up late watching a friend streaming it on Twitch, howling at his shocked reactions to the game'due south events.

Resident Evil Village review: Lady D in the shadows — (Epitome credit: Capcom)

Resident Evil Village is the nigh engrossing game I've played in forever, with a twisted labyrinthine story that hooks you in and pulls you down rabbit hole after rabbit pigsty. Somehow, its crazy, weird plot well-nigh makes sense by the end, and any failings to that regard don't really feel that frustrating. The existent beauty of the game, every bit this Resident Evil Village review shows, are the monsters we met along the way.

Henry is a senior editor at Tom's Guide roofing streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past six-plus years. Prior to joining Tom'due south Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He'southward as well covered the wild earth of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.