Resident Evil 8 - The Village

Just finished my half an hour with the demo - Felt very much like a returned the resident evil I remember.

Graphics very good. inventory still clunky. searching was fun. Bad acting but still fun.

What did others think?

Resident Evil Village Review - Eurogamer

Resident Evil Village: The Village | My Fav Thing In... (Resident Evil Village Gameplay & Review) - Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Resident Evil Village Review - IGN

Resident Evil Village - Easy Allies Review

Resident Evil Village Video Review - Gamespot

This is only from the demo, but it's pretty impressive to see Ray Tracing on Series S, even if it turns it into a sluggish 30+ fps game.

Also, we're finally seeing games take advantage of the slight power advantage of the Series X over the PS5. Usually the PS5 tended to run games at 60 fps as did the Series X, but with PS5 using checkerboard and the Series X occasionally dropping frames. The theory was Microsoft's tools weren't as well-developed as Sony's and later to get into devs hands. Now that gap seems to be lessening and the Series X is showing its extra headroom can be taken advantage of.

Still, we're talking about high end devices running impressively well in this game. I mean, you have to look at eyelashes to see a real difference.

As much as I want this, I’m trying really hard to resist. I still haven’t finished 7, I seriously doubt my 1080ti will be able to run it in 4K, plus I hear the game is only about 10-15 hours long depending on how you play it. I guess I’ll wait for the inevitable sale.

Glycerine wrote:

As much as I want this, I’m trying really hard to resist. I still haven’t finished 7, I seriously doubt my 1080ti will be able to run it in 4K, plus I hear the game is only about 10-15 hours long depending on how you play it. I guess I’ll wait for the inevitable sale.

Just realized today that RE7 is on Game Pass. Hang around long enough and 8 will turn up there too?

Yay more RE4 less RE7! This just went way up my list of games to play.

I love RE4 as much as the next person, but I am a bit sad to learn that they've strayed so far from the horror elements of RE7. They were just so well done.

Man, this console generation is amazing. There may be a lack of new games atm, but that's fine because we're getting some truly well made games from a technical standpoint. 60 fps + optional ray tracing? I am shocked this is a thing.

Yeah, that looks pretty amazing.

Edit: One thing I found odd on the series S, that the reviewer also brought up, was the uncapped 2k. Given the power of the console it would have made more sense to do 1080p 60 OR 2k 30.

story spoilers

Spoiler:

Unless Ethan is not human I can't suspend my disbelief that when his hands are pierced by meat hooks they would not work anymore. Even if he pulled his hands off, which I don't think he could do, the muscles would't work anymore of holding a gun, opening doors, etc.
It was just so ridiculous I was instantly pulled out the world. I expect the enemies to be supernatural but it feels like they are making the everyman hero into one as well.
Now I didn't play 7 so many Ethan was already a superhuman but it certainly pulled me out of the moment when he pulled his hand off the hook and then just poured some med on it as the hand worked.

Was able to put three hours in to this so just initial impressions. The game is really good - particularly when you get to the castle portion of the game - which isn't too far in to it. Love exploring the castle, even with the constant danger. And the game looks amazing - not even able to run it with the highest settings (PC) and it still is so impressive. Particularly the character animations and just all the world detail.

Was a huge fan of 7 so will see where this stands but so far so good. This game seems a bit lighter on the puzzle elements and heavier on the action elements. I like the puzzle elements more myself. But still early in the game so will see how it goes.

To Farley's comment.

Spoiler:

No I don't recall Ethan being super human in the last game. So yeah when all this damage is being done to him I'm like no way. There's an even more ridiculous sequence with The Tall Lady and Ethan where I was wondering how he possibly recover from it. But they're explaining it away with the medicine being a cure all - which is stupid but on par with how RE game herbs work. But yeah a bit too much of a gamey element for something that's being a lot more serious.

farley3k wrote:

story spoilers

Spoiler:

Unless Ethan is not human I can't suspend my disbelief that when his hands are pierced by meat hooks they would not work anymore. Even if he pulled his hands off, which I don't think he could do, the muscles would't work anymore of holding a gun, opening doors, etc.
It was just so ridiculous I was instantly pulled out the world. I expect the enemies to be supernatural but it feels like they are making the everyman hero into one as well.
Now I didn't play 7 so many Ethan was already a superhuman but it certainly pulled me out of the moment when he pulled his hand off the hook and then just poured some med on it as the hand worked.

Spoiler:

They do explain Ethan's fairly hilarious plot armor/penchant for being dismembered and quickly recovering from it later on in the game. Or at least, they come up with an in-universe excuse.

In the previous game he had a hand amputated with an axe and then stapled back on, and there’s an optional scene where his leg is amputated at the knee with a shovel and then reattached by pouring medicine on it. Both instances he’s up and running around fine like nothing happened within minutes. Video games.

You've got to understand what's driving him.

It's not money, and it's not fame. You don't even need a credit card to access it. In-game it can be strong and sudden, and it's cruel sometimes, but it might just save Ethan's life.

I may turn the difficulty to easy. I am scared the first time the enemy pops out and attacks but after the 3rd time the big lady kills me as we play "chase" it isn't scary anymore it is just annoying. Also bullet sponge enemies are not more scary they are just....well spongy. I think that playing on casual will still give me the story scares without the annoyances.

Still having fun though with the exploration and light puzzles solving.

Re: Digital Foundry and the impressiveness of the game, some of this comes down to RE Engine itself. I've sung my praises for Capcom's developers and engineers, but even I was surprised at the performance I got out of my base PS4 playing the demo. Heck, I'd have played with higher details on my PC (which is currently having framerate issues with a far, far less optimized Nier: Replicant at points) if it weren't for the fact doing so killed my stream. I was still getting around 60fps playing the game, but the stream couldn't even hit 30fps. Interesting how it worked out that way.

But yeah, game engine is impressively optimized.

Re: Less RE7, more RE4, I am a tad disappointed by this myself. RE7's best decision was in focusing on the Bakers more than the big evil Umbrella plot, and it helped make the game that much more enjoyable even after the final hours turned into a slog of Molded. But, after there were enough players that griped about RE7 being too scary, Capcom decided to ease down the horror and increase the action and RE4 influence.

The real shame is that one of RE4's best qualities is the self-awareness of it all. Leon may have a lot of bad one-liners, but they add to the wink-and-nudge element that allows the game to mock their own monologuing villains. RE8 continues the serious tone of RE7, but it's feeling like the narrative itself is right back to the silliest of RE plot tendencies. Far better acted than the series origin, though. But man does it make Ethan less tolerable when he's got actual dialogue instead of mostly just reactions.

Lastly, as already mentioned in previous spoilers...

Spoiler:

Ethan was able to reattach his leg with nothing more than the healing powers of green herb medicine poured on like bactine. So, yeah, he'll be able to reattach some parts here as well with such magic liquied.

Also gonna share this because I thought it was pretty neat:

I think 7 being numbered was a mistake, while Village being not 8 is continuing the mistake. Or not. I simply feel like we're being pulled in different directions and I'm not sure where the next game will take us.

Actually, I take it back, that's perfect. Keep it up, Capcom.

I tried Resident Evil 1 remake and turned it off and uninstalled it after about an hour or so. I just couldn't get past the crappy inventory, save and camera. Going to try RE2 remake this week to see if this one sticks.

that was some just daytime soap opera, over rought, eye rolling crap at the end. And one of the horrible, horrible bullet sponge, pointless final bosses.

Good up until the end but really falls apart by the end.

All the Resident Evils are anime soap opera cartoons

That's unfortunate. Still in the middle(?) portion of the game and have loved everything from when you get to the castle and on. Did not like the start of the game so if it ends crummy too then at least its consistent.

It is getting a bit actiony now though. Had a huge fight on way to Salvatore. After that fight had to actually craft some ammo. Hadn't had to do that since near the start of the game.

Guess I'll be trying to save the magnum ammo for the final boss fights.

beanman101283 wrote:

All the Resident Evils are anime soap opera cartoons :lol:

Come now, anime is a very different breed of camp.

Resident Evil ranges anywhere from Sci-Fi original movie to Evil Dead 2.

whispa wrote:

I tried Resident Evil 1 remake and turned it off and uninstalled it after about an hour or so. I just couldn't get past the crappy inventory, save and camera. Going to try RE2 remake this week to see if this one sticks.

The controls are a real hurdle coming to it now. I had the same "what the hell is this?" reaction when I played it a couple of years ago, but it was worth sticking with it until I got used to them. RE1 Remake is my favourite in the series now, along with the RE2 remake.

Alien Love Gardener wrote:
whispa wrote:

I tried Resident Evil 1 remake and turned it off and uninstalled it after about an hour or so. I just couldn't get past the crappy inventory, save and camera. Going to try RE2 remake this week to see if this one sticks.

The controls are a real hurdle coming to it now. I had the same "what the hell is this?" reaction when I played it a couple of years ago, but it was worth sticking with it until I got used to them. RE1 Remake is my favourite in the series now, along with the RE2 remake.

Thanks, I will give it another shot. I played it way back in the 90's but now, comparing to more modern games, I think I just need to bear through the beginning and learn controls to try it again. Really looking forward to the other RE's too.

There is something about this franchise and my incredible enjoyment of the games, and yet moments that I can't help but think "I never want to go through that again".

The first major moment of such things in RE Village was during the second major location, following the Castle:

Spoiler:

I don't know why, but giant mutant baby following me really freaked me out. Perhaps because, at first, I had no clear idea what I was looking at. I saw the lengthy, supremely thick umbilical along the floor, but visibility was so trash that as soon as I saw a mass of flesh move, I spun around and started fleeing. So I was basically running from a monster I had no recognition of with a pounding heart.

Having had enough experience fleeing the Bakers, Mr. X, and now Dimitrescu and daughters, it really wasn't all that much to flee from Monster Baby as well. However, I will say the final reveal of it was... well, it dispelled some of the mystique, I guess. It still looked freaky and awful, but it also looked like... a big ol' monster.

Interesting that they said this game was going to be "less scary" than RE7, and then that part happened.

I do have a question regarding a treasure located just outside that little not-mansion, however.

Spoiler:

The Gardener. I managed to kill/cheese him, but it cost all my ammo and all my crafting resources. I ended up cheesing it, as he'll only pursue you so far up the stairs/path, as will his zombie sirens that join him. You can basically just slash at the zombies with your knife as they descend the steps. Similarly, he'll swing at you up to a point, but then his A.I. will send him back to the tomb to wander.

Still, he took so much ammunition that I'm wondering if anyone else waited until later in the game to take him on. The reward in the end is roughly... 45-50k lei? with his axe being of greater value. There's basically no reason to do it other than to do it, as I'm not sure the monetary gain is worth the loss not only in ammunition, but in resources with which to craft more.

ccesarano wrote:

There is something about this franchise and my incredible enjoyment of the games, and yet moments that I can't help but think "I never want to go through that again".

The first major moment of such things in RE Village was during the second major location, following the Castle:

Spoiler:

I don't know why, but giant mutant baby following me really freaked me out. Perhaps because, at first, I had no clear idea what I was looking at. I saw the lengthy, supremely thick umbilical along the floor, but visibility was so trash that as soon as I saw a mass of flesh move, I spun around and started fleeing. So I was basically running from a monster I had no recognition of with a pounding heart.

Having had enough experience fleeing the Bakers, Mr. X, and now Dimitrescu and daughters, it really wasn't all that much to flee from Monster Baby as well. However, I will say the final reveal of it was... well, it dispelled some of the mystique, I guess. It still looked freaky and awful, but it also looked like... a big ol' monster.

My actual heart was pounding at the end of that.

to your second question:

Spoiler:

I didn't take him on until after the third area and I had upgraded my arsenal more. Still took a bit to take him down.

ccesarano wrote:

Interesting that they said this game was going to be "less scary" than RE7, and then that part happened.

I thought the game was much less scary than RE7 in general, but that particular section you're referencing freaked me the hell out too. It only lasted 5 minutes tops, but it felt like an eternity.

Played further, and this game's got some ups-and-downs when it comes to the combat. I mostly enjoy it, but it doesn't feel like all the encounters have been given the same care as even those in Resident Evil 4, which is clearly the inspiration for this game's direction. Heck, I'd say there's moments of Resident Evil 5 or 6 that are better balanced for it.

I won't say where, but I'm sure many can guess that I was in a location with tons of spawning lycans, and it seemed as if the spawns were infinite up to a point. ...actually I'll get a bit more specific.

Spoiler:

Opening the gate of the stronghold seems to trigger a never-ending series of waves, so that when you defeat one wave another will just follow behind. So as soon as you flick one switch, you best get yourself to the next, but then be ready to run in circles as the gate takes its sweet time opening up. The second was the interior room where you have to fight one of the armored wolf guys, who are my number one most disliked foe in the entire game.

In RE4-6, the player has a variety of close-quarters combat options for when they inevitably become overwhelmed. They were most limited in RE4, but they existed. You could ninja-kick someone so long as you got them to hesitate. The perspective also allowed you to better handle crowds of enemies.

RE Village seems to want to surround and swarm you, which means you'll want to have your back against the wall. But having your back against the wall feels like it's just going to surround you further and overwhelm you. So I'll be trying to move, progressing forward while shotgunning or otherwise shooting guys in the face, only to suddenly get struck in the back by... a guy that jumped in from above? I hadn't seen? Did he just spawn in? Blocking interrupts nearly every action, including reloading, which is very unfortunate because even if Ethan's got, say, the new grenade into the launcher, blocking will keep your ammo count at 0 because the animation didn't finish, or didn't progress enough. This becomes a major issue when all your crowd clearing weapons are out of ammunition and you got three or more guys in your face, each taking turns attacking without providing a window for reloading.

RE4 didn't have any moment that quite matched up with the opening fight where he had to just survive, but no single set piece also felt so frustrating as I had felt in that part of Village. In contrast, the earliest lycan invasion you have to survive is handled better in that you have far more options as to where you can run for a moment's reprieve.

Of course, I also played a lot more of RE4, to the point that I've learned much of its tricks for select set-pieces.

Perhaps part of it is also me trying to emphasize running away too often. In contrast to two boss fights:

Spoiler:

While fighting Moreau, I tried to run more often than not due to his sheer bulk. This ultimately led to me getting knocked about all over the place, taking damage, and having to suffer through Ethan's lengthy recovery. On the other hand, while fighting Santa Wolfman in the Stronghold, I blocked his hammer strike and took nearly no damage, nor did I get knocked back. Just block the hammer or axe and shoot him in the face with the shotgun. It was a far... I'll call it far more fair fight. Still, makes me wonder if I could have blocked some of Moreau's attacks and had an easier time of it.

I also wonder if some of my issues would persist if this game adopted the third-person camera of RE4 or RE2 Remake. It's possible the enemy AI is better designed for a third-person camera, as it's far more aggressive than what's in RE7.

Anyway, that's just some griping. I'm ultimately having a good time and do want to go through it again. Heck, I kind of just want to marathon all the RE games I have, thanks to playing this. It's a good time. Just some frustrations with how the enemy AI and combat is designed, leaving me feeling quite overwhelmed at points.

Though, admittedly, the only times I've died are...

Spoiler:

...twice getting knocked into the water while fleeing from Moreau.

So despite my gripes, I've been able to survive nearly everything that's been tossed at me.

Ethan's block ability is superhuman.

My god. That ball maze in Heisenberg's Factory has me frustrated to no end. Way too complicated for this engine to handle the finesse you need in some of the maze areas. Literally had to stop playing the game as I kept losing the ball on the first gear puzzle - something I had gotten past multiple times previous.

That prize better let me buy out the rest of the Dukes items.

I think the problems with that puzzle are how slowly the first turnstile moves, causing every restart to suffer through it, and the unreliable nature of the physics engine. It takes too much to get the ball rolling (literally) and then is comparatively too difficult to stop or slow. It's also a difficult path to read.

I beat the game last night. Overall I thought it was a blast but the story leaves me feeling mixed.