Resident Evil: Village Spoilers - Future thoughts and hopes

[Spikeyroxas]

I just wanted to share my thoughts on this game and what I feel about the future for the series.

This isn't really a review but it contains Spoilers.

First of all before the game was released, I wasn't looking forward to carrying on the Story if Re7. I have always felt that re7 would have made a brilliant Spin Off title but not a main series Sequel due to the lack of connections to the rest of the series. Also the whole "not a chris" mess that happened afterwards. Even though first person is not my preferred method of playstyle it was still enjoyable.

Okay so, after playing through this game several times now I can safely say...this story was good. I actually liked Ethan by the end of it and thought his exit was done very well. The continuation from 7, and links to Spencer were very well received. I was worried some characters were just meme material with no substance (Lady D) but surprisingly they were all played well with the exception of Moreau who could be removed completely and you wouldn't know. The BSAA thread revealed at the end of the game was brilliant. Its given me hope for the future of the series.

There are rumours that Rose will be the new Protagnost of re9 as a mold ploy trilogy, and based on her character concept art in game this sort of supports this. For those who don't know there's some info written on the concept arts, Roses says she was designed to fight Ethans enemies, which is a weird bit of text to explain a character who only appears in an epilogue. Where as I'm not a fan of the time jump and abandoning characters more so, the BSAA plot thread eases these concerns.

It feels like they are setting up two things. The BSAA raid to put an end to some characters storylines such as Jill, Chris, and Barry.
And also setting up rose with a time jump for a new era of the series which dont have to link to the previous games as much.

It could pave the way to resolve some plot points with a final big blow out raid on the BSAA which could be what everyone expected us to do with Umbrella before re4 stopped that in its tracks.

The time Jump with Rose being a future character could pave the way to Alex's return as a bad guy as Natalia would have grown up by then too.

They are clearly going to remake re4 aswell, probably about 60% of this game could be reused assets for it. They might as well just announce it already.

My main criticisms with this game are that the robot fight against heisenberg was stupid and doesn't belong in an re game. Even though the game looked stunning, there are certain things that didn't. Mia pouring the wine, some characters climbing stairs and a few water effects in places just looked bad.

 

[Jamesy]

After completing the main story tonight unlike r2 remake I really have no desire to play it over again. Dont get me wrong it was a fun game but it seems to tedious to play all over again.

That said theres extra content to enjoy like merchaneries etc...

 

[RipvanX]

I hope they skip over the evil BSAA plotline, make RE9 nothing like RE8, and go back to 3rd person. Like how they did with RE4 and Umbrella’s downfall back in 2005-2007. They can make another rail shooter chronicles game or some other spin off that ties up that cliff hanger and move on to something completely new. RE8 fans will then understand how classic fans felt by blue balling them.

 

[Jamesy]

Why are capcom making re7 and re8 in first person anyway?

Just my opinion but I much prefer third person perspective like in the the RE2 remake

 

[Storyofmylife]

I saw something on twitter that caught my eye ( I’ll link it in a moment )

At the end where we see they’re using zombies as soldiers in the BSAA, the character model used is Chris’ model. Either capcom is lazy and reusing models like they’ve done throughout the series, or Chris has been cloned for this super soldier zombie army and they’re more corrupt than ever before.

Here’s the link for anyone interested in seeing what I’m talking about.

 

[justliketheplant]

The first two or three games, Resident Evil the plot elements were consistent, there was a bit of mystery about the forces at work, there was a real sense of risk surrounding the stakes the characters were up against. There was something almost Lovecraftian about the T and G virus'. They were untamable and destroyed whoever had the hubris to try to harness them.

In CV and everything after, the virus' became power ups for the villains. People say that Alexia in CV was a take off of Sil from Species, and she might be, but I felt it was more of a Parasite Eve rip off, and I feel that's what the entire series has turned into at this point. The threat is downgraded from "everyone dies/becomes mindless mutants" to "a special few become gods" and that removes a lot of existential dread for me.

Spoiler: SPOILER

I don't know why, but how it ended with Rose, with them really leaning hard into the super soldier angle, I just felt tired? How little they care about any continuity outside of "contagion dujuor turns people into a badass" is like... why should I get invested in anything.

But that said I liked Village well enough as a stand alone game.

 

[RipvanX]

The series is basically heading down the same path X-Files did when they shifted the series from aliens to super soldiers, with a sprinkle of monster-of-the-week stand alones. RE has been leaning toward mutant militia for a while, which can make a fun action game but it’s not traditional horror. Although some horror tropes don’t belong in RE.

When I saw that Lycan roll up riding a horse, I rolled my eyes so hard. It seems this game was obsessed with being over the top and bombastic like RE6, but 6 wins simply because of better character development. I don’t know how people can form a connection with a character with no face and a personality that’s bland as Henry from Silent Hill 4. The villains were also one dimensional and given no time to add any real depth to the story. They simply felt like horror trope obstacles that belonged in a demented circus. This game also suffered from a lack of ambient music, the village is way too quiet when traversing it. REmake 2 had the same issue but it made up for its fantastic sound design.

The ties this game does try to have with the rest of the series feel weak and shoehorned in. No one was wondering why Spenser formed Umbrella. He was an asshole control freak with a god complex, simple as that. The note at the end revealing Spenser and Miranda should of been an actual flashback cutscene. Imagine if in RE5, we read a note stating Wesker killed Spenser instead of actually seeing it. Total wasted opportunity to reveal a big plot point in a meaningful way. It surprised me at first but ultimately felt cheap like they ran out of budget or something.

 

[PinkHerb]

Ok, I completed the game today...it wasn't bad. There were things in it that didn't make sense to me, which leads to mind numbing confusion when it comes to the story and lore behind it.

So...apparently at some point, Mother Miranda kidnaps Mia and takes her place. When did that happen? How long did she pretend before Chris found her? How did Chris know of Miranda taking Mia's place?

Speaking of which...Ethan. I must admit that I like him here way better than 7, but I didn't like the twist that was presented to us. I also thought the post ending scene was unneeded with a grown up rose, they should've had it a set up for the next game at the very least, or how Mia is coping with his death but is happy that at the very least she has his child that they both cherish.

Ok, so we know about the origins of the mold originating in the village. Thats fine, but I don't wish for them to continue this story in a trilogy since I think it should end here at the very least, since it opens a new story that involves a possibly corrupt BSAA. Also, enough with this FPS nonses, rail shooters are fine, but i am tired of this aspect and hopefully do away with it in 9

I still thought the lycans were silly, I don't know why, i am just giggling whenever i see them, especially when they are riding on horses and the bigger dogs.

 

[Hardware]

The series is basically heading down the same path X-Files did when they shifted the series from aliens to super soldiers, with a sprinkle of monster-of-the-week stand alones. RE has been leaning toward mutant militia for a while, which can make a fun action game but it’s not traditional horror. Although some horror tropes don’t belong in RE.

When I saw that Lycan roll up riding a horse, I rolled my eyes so hard. It seems this game was obsessed with being over the top and bombastic like RE6, but 6 wins simply because of better character development. I don’t know how people can form a connection with a character with no face and a personality that’s bland as Henry from Silent Hill 4. The villains were also one dimensional and given no time to add any real depth to the story. They simply felt like horror trope obstacles that belonged in a demented circus. This game also suffered from a lack of ambient music, the village is way too quiet when traversing it. REmake 2 had the same issue but it made up for its fantastic sound design.

The ties this game does try to have with the rest of the series feel weak and shoehorned in. No one was wondering why Spenser formed Umbrella. He was an asshole control freak with a god complex, simple as that. The note at the end revealing Spenser and Miranda should of been an actual flashback cutscene. Imagine if in RE5, we read a note stating Wesker killed Spenser instead of actually seeing it. Total wasted opportunity to reveal a big plot point in a meaningful way. It surprised me at first but ultimately felt cheap like they ran out of budget or something.

That's the first thing that I thought too - f@ckin' later seasons of The X-Files and the super-soldiers\alien colonization plot! That series, pretty much like RE, started out great and then jumped rows of sharks...mainly because it was dragged for too long. Yeah, just because something is "horror" it cannot be put in RE, just like you cannot put witchcraft or ghosts in a "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" movie.

The Lycans on horses were silly as hell: it's like they wanted to go for a cowboy vs indians angle (lycans use primitive axes, bows and they ride horses bareback)...for a moment at least, since you don't see them riding anymore. Which is good, but it also means bad narrative (why introducing an element so randomly if you''re not going to use it later?). I totally agree on the lack of connection with a faceless character: there's no way you can empathize with whoever you're playing as from a 1st person perspective. An empathic link demands that the two persons are clearly distinct to begin with. 1st person games are more like a simulation: you are that character, but the game usually doesn't ask you to root for him. If anything, you can root for the NPCs you meet. Also, yes, Ethan sucks as a character: he kind of worked in 7 because he was an everyman in a situation he was just trying to get out of and the plot was simpler, but in a storyline aspiring to be an epic emotional journey, he's just weak. Plus, his story was over with RE7 - he was looking for his wife, he found her and they both escaped (as the Mia ending is the canonical one). That's it. If there was a character that needed to be brought back from 7 to lead 8, that would've been Mia: she worked for the Connections, so she's like a cross between Jill and Ada. She definitely fits the RE universe much better than Ethan.

Yeah, Spencer being Miranda's apprentice was terrible...unfortunately, I already knew something like that was coming forward the minute they showed the coat of arms with the Umbrella logo in the trailers. The one bit with Chris in Miranda's lab at the end, dropping a ton of bad lore on you, really felt like a last-minute addition...actually, the Chris section of the game (which is also incredibly brief) looks more like an aborted DLC than anything else. It really looks like "Not A Hero" because of the way it tries to wrap together the loose ends of the main game. Not to mention the fact it interrupts the main narration for no real reason. My two cents is that the Chris part was originally going to be a DLC but they ultimately decided to include it in the main game...I reckon because they don't want to make DLCs for Village, as, according to rumors, Capcom plans to release RE games on a yearly base, so after the summer they'll start the hype campaign for whatever is coming up next. RE9 is already in development, after all.

 

[Hardware]

In CV and everything after, the virus' became power ups for the villains. People say that Alexia in CV was a take off of Sil from Species, and she might be, but I felt it was more of a Parasite Eve rip off, and I feel that's what the entire series has turned into at this point. The threat is downgraded from "everyone dies/becomes mindless mutants" to "a special few become gods" and that removes a lot of existential dread for me.

Although CV was the beginning of the villains always laughing evilly and turning into mutant gods, I am still a fan of it. Yeah, Alexia is a mix of SIL and Ripley from "Alien: Resurrection", but they definitely took her first transformation from "Parasite Eve"...but, quite frankly, back then it felt more like stylistic touch than anything else (they wanted to show that she wasn't like Birkin). Plus, I was always under the impression Alexia was one-of-a-kind and her own pet\vanity experiment that nobody really wanted to repeat: Wesker was after the T-Veronica because the new company he worked for wanted it for their own commercial interests. Also, CV is probably the most Lovecraftian of the original games, if you ask me...probably because it lifts a good chunk of its plot from E.A. Poe, but the incest theme is actually something Lovecraft wrote about himself.

 

[UniqTeas]

I think the game was overall great. Village might be one of the best maps in gaming history. The ability to slowly unlock new areas, find secret hidden areas, and eventually learn to layout of the land like an expert are just so underrated when they seem like they should be obvious. This Metroid-Vania style map discovery was essentially my favorite part of the game, especially when that Mapmatician unlocked. I felt like I really absorbed all of the areas and appreciate how each different area was unique and special in their own way.

I also think this game has one of the best overall enemy designs we have seen in a long time. While the lycans initially felt silly since they were so snugly fit in to the Gothic Horror aesthetic, I did find myself really being scared of them and having to adapt to their twitchiness and behaviors. I felt actual dread when the armored lycans started coming at me. I knew I had enough ammo, but somehow, it always felt a little tight even when I was flush with crafting materials. The soldats and their entire line really added a thick layer if fear in Heisenbergs factory too. Glowing weakspots is so Resident Evil cliche, but they managed to be effective and fought the cliche in my opinion.

I still think the game took SOME liberties with the designs of the Four Lords (Donna & Angie AND Moreau both felt like they belonged in a different game), but I think the designers really developed areas that made them fit in with the story. I ended up really loving this game in the end.

 

[Jamesy]

I heard that capcom worked hard to try and make resident evil village a masterpiece.

It didn’t quite succeed In achieving that masterpiece quality though did it?

 

[UniqTeas]

I assume they work on every title and think they are making a masterpiece. It is too early for me to tell if that word describes it. I love the game and it is definitely my game of the year (so far). But a 10/10 seems so grand when certain things irk me. I know not everyone loved it like that, but I am sure I will understand the game more after playing through a few more times.

 

[Jamesy]

Red dead redemption got a 10/10 rating On IGN

no resident evil game to date has achieved a 10 out of 10 rating

 

[Hardware]

I heard that capcom worked hard to try and make resident evil village a masterpiece.

It didn’t quite succeed In achieving that masterpiece quality though did it?

A lot of fanboys are ready to swear it is one of the greatest games in the series. Personally, I think it should've been a separate IP. Or MORE separate IPs: each section felt it belonged to a different game. And the plot is weak as hell because it tries to keep together elements that not only don't fit the RE lore, but don't even fit with each other.

 

[Jamesy]

A lot of fanboys are ready to swear it is one of the greatest games in the series. Personally, I think it should've been a separate IP. Or MORE separate IPs: each section felt it belonged to a different game. And the plot is weak as hell because it tries to keep together elements that not only don't fit the RE lore, but don't even fit with each other.

The game felt all over the place really

 

[RipvanX]

The “puzzles” in this game are laughably bad. Most of the time you don’t even realize it’s supposed to be one while going through the motions. Like the piano one, there isn’t even a penalty for playing the wrong note. The colored button panel at the lake was also insultingly stupid, just look at the paper to the right and copy it.

While the inventory functions similar to RE4’s, it can hold way too many items in comparison and does a poor job restricting item space. In RE4 items were generally much bigger which made people think about what to keep and discard. Take the crafting items that stack in a separate menu, those should have taken up actual space to put stress on the player because you know, this is supposed to be survival horror. Exploring the houses also felt unsatisfactory, since we got plenty of lockpics. REmake 2 had plenty of lockers and safes so where was that in this game?

In RE7, we were forced to choose whether we wanted to make ammo or health with stem packs, but now that those have been cut out, it dumbs down the whole survival aspect. Now we can just make whatever we want with little restrictions, like how a Far Cry game functions. The “metroidvania” level design is also weak and forces you to go down one specific story path. If this was truly open world we would have the choice in which lords we get to fight, but instead the whole progression is tied to upgrading a single key.

Seeing others feedback on the level design made me open my eyes more to this game, like the Factory for instance. People hate it for looking bland and getting lost, like what!? Imagine getting lost in an RE game, wouldn’t want that to happen! The factory was also reminiscent of the Marshalling Yard design from RE2. Too bad it’s ruined by a Metal Gear tank battle at the end. Besides that, I think many areas of the game look bland besides the Castle.

 

[Hardware]

The game felt all over the place really

Yup. It's one big fruit salad. Gothic horror, vampires, werewolves, possessed dolls, hallucinations, zombies crawling out of graves, weird amphibian mutants, "Akira" (the 4 jars with the organs and Heisenberg's mutation), "Frankenstein's Army" (I thought of it even before the director of the movie came forward), "Silent Hill", "Call of Duty" and an X-Files-esque cliffhanger at the end. Personally, I started truly feeling nauseated by the time I reached the factory: not only I hated the design of the level itself, but the steampunk vibe really has nothing to do with RE. Some people thought it was genius because it's a riff on the classic genetic lab these games always take you to at the end, but I really didn't like it. And the boss-fight really belongs to another genre. Actually, none of the boss fights really feel like RE...unless you take in consideration stuff like Irving from RE5 (Lady D really reminded me of him: she instantly becomes a huge tentacled freak who doesn't shut up...like all the other Lords and Mother Miranda: they really become annoying on multiple replays).

 

[Hardware]

The “puzzles” in this game are laughably bad. Most of the time you don’t even realize it’s supposed to be one while going through the motions. Like the piano one, there isn’t even a penalty for playing the wrong note. The colored button panel at the lake was also insultingly stupid, just look at the paper to the right and copy it.

While the inventory functions similar to RE4’s, it can hold way too many items in comparison and does a poor job restricting item space. In RE4 items were generally much bigger which made people think about what to keep and discard. Take the crafting items that stack in a separate menu, those should have taken up actual space to put stress on the player because you know, this is supposed to be survival horror. Exploring the houses also felt unsatisfactory, since we got plenty of lockpics. REmake 2 had plenty of lockers and safes so where was that in this game?

In RE7, we were forced to choose whether we wanted to make ammo or health with stem packs, but now that those have been cut out, it dumbs down the whole survival aspect. Now we can just make whatever we want with little restrictions, like how a Far Cry game functions. The “metroidvania” level design is also weak and forces you to go down one specific story path. If this was truly open world we would have the choice in which lords we get to fight, but instead the whole progression is tied to upgrading a single key.

Seeing others feedback on the level design made me open my eyes more to this game, like the Factory for instance. People hate it for looking bland and getting lost, like what!? Imagine getting lost in an RE game, wouldn’t want that to happen! The factory was also reminiscent of the Marshalling Yard design from RE2. Too bad it’s ruined by a Metal Gear tank battle at the end. Besides that, I think many areas of the game look bland besides the Castle.

I agree. The few ones that I sort-of liked were all about scanning your surroundings and were lifted from The Last of Us Part 2 (a game the people behind this one liked a lot). At first I thought the piano puzzle was going to be tough (like "Jeez, now I have to learn all the notes! And I am tone-deaf!"), then it turned out to be so simple it was insulting. Also, very few of them had something to do with actually moving forward.

I knew the inventory was going to suck from the first time they showed it on video: the minute I saw you had different menus for different items (like RE4 but expanded), I knew the survival horror element was going out of the window. RE7 felt like the games of old in that regard because of the limited amount of items you could carry. The only thing I liked was that all the guns had to be found rather than bought from the Merchant like in 4.

Everyone talks about "Metroid" and "Castlevania", but to me the level design was very reminiscent of "Doom" (the original one): you go around looking for secret passages and whatnot to either get extra items or discover a shortcut. The only difference is that in Village you can return to MOST of the locations.

Personally I hated the factory as a level because I kept getting lost...but not for the good reasons. Actually, I never got lost in a RE game: the devs always prided themselves with making every room unique-looking, which made sure you knew where you were...that was one of the reasons they canned 1.5, as the realistic setting felt "boring". A nice maze-like level were the sewers in RE2make: you could get lost, but they were so much better-designed it was actually fun and helped building up the tension.

 

[UniqTeas]

I think the labyrinth like angle of the Factory has charm to it. It adds an effective level of frustration while you are essentially being hunted. It is not my favorite level in the game, but I think it is effective at adding a layer of fear. The enemies are terrifying and each one feels planned and specific to keep you guessing when the next one is coming. The jetpack Soldats were a little silly, but still creepy. I plan on doing my speed run as my next playthrough of the game and I am worried about the factory taking up too much time when having to go back and create each item from their mold. But I think I know the way now.

I think that overall, this game does what RE6 tried to do more effectively. In RE6, you have a Gears of War campaign, a Left 4 Dead Campaign, and a Jake/Sherry hybrid campaign. Capcom literally pulled effects and visuals from the games they were imitating and the game felt a little bit lost and choppy. However, Village takes the concept of different types of horror and gives us 4 Lords/Areas to manifest those horror effects (to varying degrees). No one area feels the same, but they all feel genuinely connected - possibly because the map and area design are so wonderfully rendered. The art and function of the game keep the themes focused and I think that ties everything together enough.

And yes, some of the connections to the other games were a little pushed - but the game is an exact sequel to RE7 which was far removed from the remainder of the series, so overall, I think Capcom had an effective method of incorporating the rest of the RE lore. The Spencer connection is a little silly as well. But hey, at least they tried something. haha