Resident Evil Villageis now only a couple of days away, hyping up fans' excitement for the latest entry in the long-running survival horror franchise. The upcoming game will continue the story ofResident Evil 7’sEthan Winters, who finds himself trapped in a village that is reminiscent ofResident Evil 4.
Several days ago, Capcom released gameplay demos forResident Evil Villagegiving players a preview on what to expect from the actual game. Today, the review embargo forResident Evil Villagehas been lifted, offering even more insights into how the latest game fares against its competitors. Similar to previousResident Evil games,hardcore fans are usually concerned about the level of horror and based on feedback so far, it appears that most fans would be satisfied.
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How Scary is Resident Evil Village?
Although the intensity of horror inResident Evil Villagewould ultimately depend on each player’s tolerance,most early reviews ofResident Evil Villageindicate that it sits high on the scary scale compared to previous entries in the franchise. However, days before its release,Resident Evil Village’shorror factor has now been put into question, especially after a game producer said that Capcom had to scale down the game’s intensity to appeal to more players.
It is worth noting that the scaling back ofResident Evil Village’shorror is in relation toResident Evil 7,which is widely considered one of the scariest entries in the series, if not the scariest. Producer Tsuyoshi Kanda revealed that after Capcom received feedback aboutResident Evil 7being “too scary to play,” the studio decidedto scale back the “tension curve” inResident Evil Villageto make it accessible to more players. However, this shouldn’t dissuade hardcore fans, given that early reviews ofResident Evil Villagedid indicate that while action elements are amplified in the latest entry, it still has a lot of terrifying moments, but maybe not as intense as its predecessor.
Additionally, anyone who has played any ofResident Evil Village’sdemoswould know that the level of horror in the upcoming game is pretty high up on the scale, especially when compared to previous entries such asResident Evil 4-6and even the remakes ofResident Evil 2and3. Although the demo only allowed players to experience a fraction ofResident Evil Village,it was able to show plenty of intense and scary moments, especially when encountering Lycans or any of Lady Dimitrescu’s daughters. Apart from enemies,Resident Evil Villagereviews also point out that the environment itself gives off a sense of dread and unease, which are important factors to keep the scare level consistent throughout the entire game.
Is Resident Evil Village For You?
Having considered early feedback and the slight scaling down ofResident Evil Village’shorror level, is it worth picking up? The answer to that ultimately depends on what players deem the most important in aResident Evilgame. For players who want to know howVillagewill move forward the overall narrative of the series, the upcoming game is a must-buy, not only because it is a continuation ofResident Evil 7’sstory but also sinceChris Redfield’s deeper involvementties the upcoming game to the grander plotline ofResident Evil.
However, for players who are looking for a pure gut-wrenching, terrifying experience,Resident Evil Villagemay not be able to satisfy, especially those who do not even findResident Evil 7scary. WhileResident Evilhas pioneered the survival horror genre, the series was never about pure terror. EarlyResident Evilgames did have terrifying moments, but most of them focused onpuzzle-solving and explorationrather than relentless horror. In the end, whileResident Evil Villagewill be scary for most gamers, hardcore horror fans should consider that the upcoming game is shaping up to be a balance between the intensity ofResident Evil 7and the more forgiving nature of previous entries.
Resident Evil Villagelaunches May 7 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
