Board 8 > Resident Evil Village Review Round-Up

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/resident-evil-village-review-roundup/
https://opencritic.com/game/10995/resident-evil-village

OpenCritic - Mighty, 86 (Critic Average), 90% (Critics Recommend)

Lots of RE4 comparisons as I suspected. Heavily action focused while still balancing horror nicely. Hype is astronomical if it already wasn't before.

IGN - 8/10 - Roaming the streets of Resident Evil Village is like visiting a disturbing and deadly Disneyland, where every attraction is a house of horrors. I got just as big a thrill out of reveling in its frenzied violence as I did retracing my steps through the gradually revealed recesses of its sizable village setting to uncover the darkest story secrets of its monstrous main cast. Boss fights are a bit of a letdown but the great variety of enemies throughout keeps things tense, especially on Hardcore mode. The fact that it's very much a throwback to the fast-paced action of Resident Evil 4 also means it largely takes a step back from the slow-burn scares of Resident Evil 7's excellent opening hours, which may well disappoint those who prefer more psychological dread to blowing off heads. But if you have an itch for action-heavy survival-horror, then Resident Evil Village will scratch it like a fistful of Lady Dimitrescus freakish fingernails.

GameInformer - 9.3/10 - Village doesn't pull any punches when it comes to horror, but a consistent rollout of new weapons and tools makes it hard to walk away from these terrors

GameSpot - 9/10 - Resident Evil 7 was an excellent return to the horror underpinnings of the franchise, but cunningly altered with new ideas and a new perspective. Similarly, Village is an intelligent reintroduction of the best action elements of Resident Evil. Though it captures some of the same things that made RE7 such a breath of fresh air (or maybe rancid, stale, mold-filled air, but in a good way), Village evolves to become its own unique creature. It makes you wonder what beautifully twisted fiend Resident Evil might mutate into in the future.

Polygon - Recommendation - Eventually, the swings between horror and action became so common that, moment to moment, I had no idea what Id see next. Thats the cycle that Resident Evil Village keeps chasing: the hesitation, anticipation, and payoff that make both action and horror such powerful draws. Its definitely an action game, and despite all the shooting, its also a horror game. And while it induces both creeping dread and righteous fury, its biggest triumph is in not-so-quietly arguing that horror and action arent that different after all. Theyre both just ways to get your blood pumping.

GamesRadar+ - 3.5/5 - I feel like I want to give Resident Evil Village a running commentary of scores, such is the range and variety of its sections: 8, 9 (...Jesus, maybe a 10?), 8, 7, 6 There's so much going on but it chops and changes from beat to beat in such a way you can almost see the line between sections. Most noticeably it feels like there's a real difference between the first and second half. The opening is strong, clever, and fun - full of atmosphere and intrigue as you explore (and features a part that's probably one of the best stand-alone horror levels of the year). While the latter half veers into 'okay' territory, with some combat slogs, a boss fight that's a bit of a stretch even by Resident Evil standards and, while it's still good, it lacks the same spark and craft as the beginning.

PC Gamer - 85/100 - Village can occasionally feel like half a dozen different horror games jammed together. But the strength and variety of its ideas, the quality of the art direction, and its darkly evocative atmosphere more than make up for it. It's a bold and experimental horror game, but also one that leans into the series' past gloriesparticularly Resident Evil 4. There's a lot of Mikami's 2005 reinvention here, from the enigmatic merchant and weapon upgrades, to the rural setting and corrupted villagers. But ultimately, Village is its own game with its own identity, and the elements it borrows from earlier sequels never define it. This is a quality horror game in its own right, and proof Resident Evil still has the power to thrill, surprise, and scare 25 years on.

Comicbook.com - 4/5 - With as far as Village reaches and as much as it tries to incorporate into one short experience one playthrough lasted just under 11 hours it has more successes than shortcomings to show for its efforts. Its not perfect, though it shows how Resident Evil can grow outside of its comfort zones while still managing to pay respects to history and satisfy all types of players.

VGC - 4/5 - Resident Evil: Village, the eighth entry in the mainline series, follows on from its immediate predecessor, but splices its DNA with that of 2005s seminal Resident Evil 4. Its a volatile cocktail of formidable forces that slowly congeals into a potent combination.

VG247 - 4/5 - Resident Evil Village is an excellent and worthy sequel to RE7, even if it cant quite meet that games heights and action-lovers are in for a real treat.

EasyAllies - 9/10

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Resident Evil Village is an excellent and worthy sequel to RE7, even if it cant quite meet that games heights and action-lovers are in for a real treat.

I was very ambivalent towards 7 and am definitely not an action-lover, insofar as RE is concerned. I already know they're gonna get my money regardless so I guess they are winning anyway, but that doesn't give me especially high hopes for my experience

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I'm worried because I've heard it warps into the worst parts of RE6 at some point. Which makes me wonder (and I've stayed mostly blacked out on coverage so this is entirely my own personal unfounded concern) that we might see a CVX-esque character shift halfway through, especially since they already have the FPS stuff for Chris from Not a Hero already finished anyway.

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This has increased my hype ten-fold!

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FFDragon posted...

I'm worried because I've heard it warps into the worst parts of RE6 at some point. Which makes me wonder (and I've stayed mostly blacked out on coverage so this is entirely my own personal unfounded concern) that we might see a CVX-esque character shift halfway through, especially since they already have the FPS stuff for Chris from Not a Hero already finished anyway.

Interesting theory I could actually see that happening. I really hope it doesn't get RE6 crazy though.

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Chris gotta vent his anger somehow

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I mean I'm still hyped obviously but it's a nagging concern, especially with how hard reviews seem to be hammering "action-focused" a lot and still having RE6 PTSD.

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RE6 setpieces are still awesome in a vacuum.

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I haven't played RE6 in years, I should probably replay it. Every time I consider it I get sad that the crossing paths stuff is almost assuredly dead, that was a cool concept.

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I honestly enjoy RE6 for the most part nowadays, but I would be fine if they never returned to that style ever again. The worst part of RE6 are the headache inducing bosses that drag on way too long. The action in the game is superb, it's like a character action game pasted on top of a RE skin.

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Yeah definitely enjoyed my second playthrough of RE6 much more than my first.

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Snake5555555555 posted...

The worst part of RE6 are the headache inducing bosses that drag on way too long.

I kind of love these on some level, at least the last one with Leon. I have fond memories of playing through the whole game with some friends and having this exchange:

"Okay, so the rest of the campaign is a boss fight against this guy."

"Oh, we're almost finished?"

"No."

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I've beaten every mainline game multiple times except for 6 (and I couldn't even bring myself to finish the DEMO). Please no 6.

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Hrm, I enjoyed 6 for what it was, but I'm fine if we never go back to it. I would like another co-op RE game though. Been six years since Revelations 2, we're due one.

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JackMan posted...

Hrm, I enjoyed 6 for what it was, but I'm fine if we never go back to it. I would like another co-op RE game though. Been six years since Revelations 2, we're due one.

But Resistance :P

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Snake5555555555 posted...

But Resistance :P

No. Bad.

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Hmmmm well I'm not sure about all this RE6 love, sounds like Star Was Prequel apologists level of pretending a hilariously awful game ws good.

BUT I do like what I'm hearing about RE4 comparisons. I still wish they would stop with the first person stuff because I am not a fan of first person horror, but I get a lot of people are.

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6 is a weird, but bad game.

6 being action oriented isn't the worst thing about that game, it's basically everything else on how it handled those action oriented gameplay/designs.

Excited for 8 regardless, just not sure if I want it day one.

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It's down a tad to an 84 average on both OC/MC now.

I'm not sure what to make of the action focus, I quite like 5 (not 6), but 7 and RE2make were both exactly what I wanted for the series, and I hoped it would continue in that direction. If it tails off in the back half... well, maybe it is the true successor to RE4 >_>

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I like 6 more than 5 and 3

But that's about it

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ninkendo posted...

I like 6 more than 5 and 3

But that's about it

Terrible opinion even though I am one of the last person who will ever defend RE5's shameless copy pasting of RE4.

So now people think RE6 is ok or even good? Seriously? I think this may literally have topped people doing a 180 on MGS4. I have officially seen everything on this board.

To be fair I've only played it multiplayer with a friend and after it was already patched to fix the camera issues it launched with

The game has 100% more Leon then 5 though so it wins by default

Jake is also pretty good

The only parts I thought were straight up terrible was the 1st half of Chris's campaign but then once he started roid raging on everyone I thought it was hilarious

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ninkendo posted...

Jake is also pretty good

shine no take it back

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"Jake was pretty cool"

"Actually Count Dooku was a great villain"

Same energy.

I will not stand for this revisionist history. RE6 was an embarrassing product.

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I've always said that I wanted jake in another game!

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So reviews are not exactly lighting the world on fire but this is Resident Evil so of course I'll play it day one. It is arriving at my doorstep tomorrow or day after at the latest. Can't wait.

The only concern I have is the length. RE3 remake was offensively short and literally cut off many areas from the original. I hope this game is at least 10 hours.

I also thought Jake was okay. Piers sucked though. And I dont even remember Leons partners name.

Worth pointing out I also played co-op after the game was patched. Adas campaign being single player originally was the dumbest.

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is an 80+ average really not good enough for people lol

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First runs seem to be taking 9-10 hours on average from what I've seen.

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JackMan posted...

And I dont even remember Leons partners name.

Helena!

Leon big into milfs now

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Reminder that R3make wasn't made by the same team that made RE2make, but this one is.

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Bane_Of_Despair posted...

is an 80+ average really not good enough for people lol

It is good enough but not great. Resident Evil 3 Remake had an 80 on metacritic last I checked and that was a disappointing game.

Let's not pretend gaming reviews are measured on a 1-10 scale where 5 is the average.

And before this devolves into a reviews don't matter argument I'll spare everyone a lot of time and stop.

FFDragon posted...

First runs seem to be taking 9-10 hours on average from what I've seen.

That's like an hour more than RE7 and 3-4 hours more than RE3 for me. Not bad considering I felt RE7 dragged a little towards the end despite being a short game. RE7 had one of the best first half in a video game and set the bar too high for the 2nd half.

https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22420808/resident-evil-village-review-ps5-pc-xbox-series-x-one-ps4

Polygon says it's the PERFECT COCKTAIL OF HORROR AND ACTION

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I wonder when I actually get to start the game

I'm gonna be flying out to Michigan Friday morning, but I'm bringing my ps5 with me. I'll try to pick it up on my way to my mom's house, but once I get there I'm probably passing out unless I manage to sleep on the plane

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Yes the series has, 6 aside, set quite a high bar for reviews. This would be on the lower end. Still good though! Im looking forward to it.

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Piers > Helena > Jake. I will not stand for this Piers slander, he was a good man! Chris sucked in 6 though.

The RE games that scored above 90 on Meta with original release:
RE4 96
CV 94 (aw yeahhh)
RE2make 93
RE1 91
REmake 91
RE3 91

This is def on the lower end but it's right around what 7 got so that doesn't matter much I guess.

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I think it's flawed to compare Metacritic scores from a couple decades ago to modern scores. Critics used to hand out 9/10 scores like candy. Newer sources are clearly using a wider range these days. Like, it's clear the critical perception of 7 is higher than 3 ever was, even if the average score does not reflect that. Critics have just realized they can use an 8-10 range to say something is great instead of relying exclusively on stupidly high scores.

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Dreamcast reviews in particular were wacky. Go and compare the Dreamcast scores for Sonic Adventure with the scores for the rereleases not long after.

A better comparison would be be Code Veronica X getting 84. But just for fun, heres the review ranking of numbered Resident Evils, using the first or main versions, ties sorted by number of reviews:

Resident Evil 4 - 96
Resident Evil 2 Remake - 91
Resident Evil Remake - 91
Resident Evil - 91
Resident Evil 2 - 89
Resident Evil 7 - 86
Resident Evil 8 - 84
Resident Evil 5 - 83
Resident Evil 0 - 83
Resident Evil 3 Remake - 79
Resident Evil 6 - 67

Cant find a page for OG 3 but it got 88 on gamerankings and the Dreamcast port got 79.

I have to say though, 8 notwithstanding because I havent played it, swap OG 1 and 2 and thats a pretty solid ranking. And if we remove all of the pre-PS2/Gamecube era games you get:

4>2R>=1R>7>5>=0>3R>6

That seems about right!

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Are 5s scores just inflated because it was so long sought after from 4, or do people really think it deserves to be tied with 0

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If anything its 0s scores that are inflated IMO

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Axl_Rose_85 posted...

Let's not pretend gaming reviews are measured on a 1-10 scale where 5 is the average.

Let's not pretend that as gamers we seek 9/10 and 10/10 experiences, so when we play something that disappoints us we call it bad, even though we basically never play truly bad games.

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pjbasis posted...

even though we basically never play truly bad games.

Spoken like someone who never put time into Umbrella Corps.

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ORC was enough for me

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6 is outright bad, not just disappointing. 5 was disappointing.

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I play truly bad games all the time to appreciate everything else more

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Lightning Strikes posted...

6 is outright bad, not just disappointing. 5 was disappointing.

Why jump to prove my point like that

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6 is a bad game. I'm sorry but anyone who says otherwise has probably very low standards.

Yes 6 is bad, and I am sincere in my belief of this. Reviewers were kind because production values.

I like Giant Bombs review on that one:

https://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/resident-evil-6-review/1900-528/

The most lavishly produced bad game in history!

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Operation Raccoon City was not a good game by any stretch, but there were definitely still fun moments (Birkin hallway) and characters (on the USS side at least (Four Eyes top tier)).

Umbrella Corps was excruciatingly and irredeemably vile.

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