On June 11th, 2019, the world was shown the first trailer for CAPCOM’s upcoming title: Resident Evil Village. Now, about a year and a half later (January 21st, 2021), fans from across the globe were treated to a special digital showcase. Thanks to this showcase, we have been treated to new information about the game and a few upcoming projects.
New Trailer, Story, and Characters
The showcase started off with a new trailer for the game, which revealed some more of the story and gameplay. I adore the visuals and overall game design, now that we’re seeing more. What I also love about this new trailer is that it answers some questions and raises new ones at the same time. For example, we know the reason Ethan Winters is at this village (rescuing his daughter), but then we learn that there’s this “Mother Miranda” person who’s possibly the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. Oh yeah, Village is a direct sequel to the previous game Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, so we’re continuing the story of Ethan Winters and playing as him again (so more first-person gameplay). Fan-favorite Chirs Redfield also makes a return, although I haven’t heard anything about him being a playable character. However, he does appear to play an important role in the story, so it’ll be interesting to see what that role is. Also, it looks like he has some sort of involvement with the kidnapping of Ethan’s daughter. We’re also introduced to “the Duke,” who plays the returning role of the merchant, and I can’t wait to learn more about this interesting character. There’s also this figure that has a similar posture to the main character in Bloodborne. When he was first introduced, it wasn’t made too clear what his alliance was. Now? I’m getting questionable villain vibes from him, although his design is quite enjoyable. Part of me is wondering if he is either the younger brother of Alcina Dimitrescu or is “that fool Heisenberg.” Either way, he’s another character that I can’t wait to learn more about. We also receive a nice introduction (or reintroduction) to the lovely vampire residents of the castle. While there is the beautiful, yet brutal, Alcina Dimitrescu and her daughters, there are also dangerous monsters skulking about in the dungeons of the castle. That’s not all Ethan has to worry about, oh no, there’s a village just outside of the castle with werewolves. There are human-sized werewolves and, so far, there is a giant-sized werewolf that carries a massive hammer.
Release Date and Pre-Orders
Another big thing, that fans were waiting for, is that the release date has been announced. The full game will be released on May 7th, 2021, and currently can be pre-ordered right now. Currently, there’s a PS5 exclusive demo involving a mysterious character known as “the Maiden.” However, fear not, for there will be another demo coming out for other systems/platforms (Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, Steam) later this spring. There are also special packages (editions) that will also be available for pre-order. The first one being the Digital Deluxe Edition, which can be obtained for all platforms. In a nutshell, if you loved Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, you can add some special items from the game (i.e. RE7 filter, saving device). From the looks of it, you also can unlock the max difficulty right away, receive some special safe room music, and some other special goodies in digital form. The Collector’s Edition also has plenty of goodies to offer players when they pre-order it. Not only does it come with all of the content from the Digital Deluxe Edition, but players also get a poster of the map, a redeemable code for the Trauma Pack, a sweet Chris Redfield figure, and a book containing the wonderful art of the game. And that’s not all, oh no, the game comes in a lovely steel book and everything is contained in a delightful collector’s box (that honestly looks amazing). Along with any of these pre-orders, there will be little bonuses you’ll be receiving in the form of a Survival Resource pack and a Mr. Raccoon weapon charm. Also, any digital pre-orders from the Playstation store will come with an exclusive mini-soundtrack; so there’s plenty to be gained from pre-ordering. CAPCOM also announced the Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Bundle, so if you missed out on playing Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, now’s the time to learn what happened before Village is available.
Gameplay
As mentioned earlier, we’re returning to the Resident Evil universe as Ethan Winters, so once again the game will be played from a first-person perspective. Given how beautiful the game looks, it’s a smart way to have people really take in the details of their environment. Along with the returning gameplay mechanics from Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, blocking attacks also becomes an essential part of combat scenarios. With the different types of enemies in the game, coming up with a new strategy will become a crucial part of survival. Remember those friendly red barrels? Those are back and will make your fights somewhat easier, as long as you time the shot perfectly. Although I already mentioned this, the merchant (or “the Duke”) makes a return to the series, so you can purchase items/equipment and sell stuff to him. Another big feature returning to Village is the attache case weapons management system from Resident Evil 4. This bad boy will make organizing your items a more manageable task. They’ve also added a crafting system as well, so you can create all of those lovely healing items and extra ammo. And what’s a Resident Evil game without all of those fun puzzles and the ability to break stuff with your knife to find hidden goodies? Yep, these features are back and it looks like there will be plenty of items to swing at and items to find for solving those puzzles. Last, but not least, there will be plenty of extra objectives hidden throughout the game, so keep an eye out while you’re exploring the area.
25 Years of Resident Evil
With the Resident Evil franchise nearing its 25th anniversary, CAPCOM revealed two special projects at the showcase. The first being a multi-player game called Resident Evil Re:Verse. From the looks of it, it’s some kind of free-for-all game where fans can play as their favorite characters from the franchise. In all honesty, when the first ten seconds were playing, I immediately thought that they were announcing a game made by TellTaleGames because of the art style. While there are a number of fans that are probably excited for this game, I’m personally not looking forward to it. Don’t get me wrong, the concept is alright, just not my thing. However, this game will be available for free to anyone that purchases Resident Evil Village. What I am looking forward to, however, is the upcoming CGI Resident Evil Netflix series that’s coming out. Although they’re calling it a film, the official website states that it’s a series, so we’re going to stick to calling it a series. Titled Resident Evil Infinite Darkness, the series takes place after Resident Evil 4 (another addition to the neverending timeline) and follows Leon and Claire, who find themselves in yet another zombie outbreak. These two definitely need a vacation or at least a nice spa day with all of these outbreaks they’re sent to deal with. While no release date has been confirmed, we do know that it will be sometime this year and it will available world-wide (so everyone will be able to enjoy it). Also, for any fans of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, there will be a limited-time event where players can collect some iconic outfits and items from the original trilogy. Leon’s iconic Raccoon City Police Department uniform will be available as a type of login bonus if you log in during the event. So if any of you are interested, go check that out and have fun playing The Division 2 while this event is going on (February 2nd to the 15th).
Overall Thoughts
All-in-all, the showcase was mildly enjoyable. Fans received a moderate amount of information on Village (especially on the release date and pre-orders) and were given additional information on other projects. While I’m probably not going to play Village myself, I will still enjoy watching other people play and see what kind of new lore we’re going to add to the timeline. I am, however, very much looking forward to learn more about the Netflix series that’s currently in production. Now that I’ve shared my thoughts, what are all of you looking forward to the most? Were there any reveals that you can wait to learn more about? If you did, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments down below. Until then, this is Tracy Preston/CuriousCat-13: signing off.
One Response
Good job on this showcase review. Without having any background knowledge of this game, it seemed quite detailed and thorough. I watched about half of the “3rd trailer” preview and had to turn it off. Got wigged-out pretty fast – no surprise there. I’ll probably have a nightmare tonight 😉
Good job on explaining the how/when options of special package availability. Also good detail with pointing out examples of items and equipment that can be purchased.
Personally I would have broken out your sections into a couple of paragraphs, allowing the readers to take a breath with you between your thoughts.
Really liked the Leon and Claire humor of needing a spa day. Made me laugh.
Overall – wicked job. 😉