What’s On The Shelf | Games, Music & Culture

With the recent release of Resident Evil Requiem, I decided now was the perfect time to strike while the iron was hot and capture the collective attention of the nation by talking about the previous entry in the series: Resident Evil Village. Timing is one of my greatest traits—alongside humility and being the only true Gamer in existence.

The Calm Before the Storm

You once again step into the shoes of Ethan Winters, a sentient bucket of beige paint who has apparently never been surprised by anything in his life. Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time Ethan responded to something completely insane with the emotional enthusiasm of someone reading a grocery list, I wouldn’t need my day job.

Ethan is living with his wife Mia, the survivor of the events in Resident Evil Biohazard, along with their infant daughter Rosemary. They’ve settled down in a picturesque home somewhere in what I can only describe as “Eastern Europe-ish.” Snowy forests, cozy houses, vaguely unsettling vibes—you know the type.

Naturally, this quiet domestic bliss lasts about ten minutes.

In a scene that would make Michael Bay weep tears of patriotic joy, the silence is shattered by a ridiculous amount of gunfire tearing through the walls—and through Mia. The culprit? Everyone’s favorite boulder-punching super soldier, Chris Redfield. Chris strolls into the scene, guns blazing, shoots Mia, kidnaps Ethan and Rosemary, and refuses to elaborate.

Classic Chris.

The ride doesn’t last long. The convoy transporting Ethan crashes, and he awakens in the wreckage alone. Rosemary is gone. Chris is gone. The soldiers are gone. And the only path forward leads into a dark forest toward a mysterious village.

What could possibly go wrong?

First-Person Fear

Like its predecessor, Resident Evil Village primarily plays from a first-person perspective. Coming directly from the recent Resident Evil remakes—which use a third-person viewpoint—the shift can initially feel a bit jarring.

There is an optional third-person mode now, but if I’m being honest, first-person feels like the intended experience. Being directly inside Ethan’s perspective makes the horror far more immediate. When something jumps out at you, it’s not happening to a character across the screen—it’s happening right in front of your face.

Movement also feels noticeably quicker than the protagonists of the remakes. Ethan moves with a bit more urgency, and combat encounters lean slightly more toward action than pure survival horror. It creates a tone that sits somewhere between Resident Evil 7 and the faster, more combat-focused Resident Evil 4.

The result is a game that still feels tense but isn’t afraid to occasionally let you feel like an action hero.

Fight or Flight

Eventually, after stumbling through snowy woods and thorny brush, Ethan reaches the titular village. It’s not exactly welcoming.

The place is run-down, abandoned, and crawling with danger. The first surviving villager you encounter hands you a pistol—a customary greeting in this world apparently—before promptly getting snatched away by one of the monsters lurking outside.

Resident Evil has always been great at creating enemies that feel zombie-adjacent without always being literal zombies. Resident Evil 4 had Las Plagas, Resident Evil 7 had the Molded, and Village introduces us to the Lycans.

As the name suggests, Lycans are essentially werewolves—fast, aggressive, and absolutely delighted to turn Ethan into a midnight snack.

The early sections of the game throw you into chaotic encounters where survival becomes the priority. Sometimes the best option is simply to run. Other times, you’ll empty your entire pistol magazine into a charging Lycan and hope for the best.

Both approaches are valid.

Eventually you discover a small group of villagers holed up inside a nearby home. Suspicious of outsiders—as every horror movie villager should be—they reluctantly accept Ethan’s help in their fight against the Lycans.

Pro tip: Don’t get too attached to them.

Enter the Lords

Soon after, Ethan is captured and brought before the mysterious rulers of the region: the Four Lords and their leader, Mother Miranda.

Each of these characters embodies a different horror archetype.

Lady Dimitrescu is the towering vampire aristocrat who quickly became an internet phenomenon. Moreau is a grotesque fish-like creature living near the reservoir. Donna Beneviento rules over a deeply unsettling house full of dolls. Karl Heisenberg controls a nightmarish factory filled with mechanical horrors.

And above them all sits Mother Miranda—the woman responsible for kidnapping Rosemary.

Naturally, Ethan makes it his mission to tear through the entire supernatural aristocracy to get his daughter back.

After escaping their initial capture—through a wild chase sequence involving Heisenberg’s trap-filled factory—you begin the central structure of the game: hunting down each of the Lords within their own territory.

This is where Village really shines.

Four Horrors, Four Styles

Each Lord’s domain feels like its own miniature horror experience.

Castle Dimitrescu channels classic gothic horror, complete with winding corridors, looming chandeliers, and Lady Dimitrescu stalking you like an overgrown vampire tyrant. Moreau’s section leans into grotesque creature horror and environmental hazards.

Then there’s House Beneviento.

If you’ve played the game, you already know.

If you haven’t, let’s just say there’s a particular section involving a very large baby that has permanently secured rent-free housing in my brain. The game temporarily strips away your weapons and forces you into pure survival mode, creating one of the most terrifying sequences in the entire franchise.

Finally, Heisenberg’s factory shifts the tone again, delivering a more industrial and action-heavy finale before the story pushes toward its conclusion.

This constant shift in style keeps the game feeling fresh, though it occasionally comes at the cost of cohesion. Unlike Resident Evil 7, which maintained a consistent tone throughout its Baker family nightmare, Village can sometimes feel like several horror games stitched together.

Still, the variety is hard to complain about.

Resident Evil, But a Little Louder

Despite its experimentation, the core Resident Evil DNA is still very much intact.

Inventory space remains limited. You’re still combining herbs to create healing items. Resource management still matters.

That said, ammunition feels noticeably more plentiful than in Resident Evil 7. While there are still moments where you feel under-equipped for a fight, there are also stretches where Ethan starts to feel suspiciously like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando.

This tonal shift toward action feels like a deliberate nod to Resident Evil 4, one of the most beloved entries in the series.

And honestly? It mostly works.

The Duke—your friendly traveling merchant—adds another layer to this evolution. Through him, you can purchase weapons, upgrade gear, and sell treasures found throughout the village. His presence reinforces the RE4 influence while giving players more agency in how they approach combat.

Final Thoughts

Resident Evil Village slides comfortably into the long legacy of the franchise as another high-quality entry from Capcom.

Visually, the game is stunning. Snow-covered forests, gothic castles, industrial factories, and grotesque monsters are all rendered with incredible detail. The sound design is equally strong, with creaking floorboards, distant howls, and sudden bursts of violence constantly keeping players on edge.

While the shifting tones between each section can occasionally make the overall experience feel slightly disjointed, the individual moments are often spectacular.

The game rarely gives you time to breathe. Every new area forces Ethan to adapt quickly to new enemies, new mechanics, and new dangers. At times it can feel overwhelming—like the game is constantly throwing fresh ideas at you before you’ve had time to process the previous one.

But those high points?

They’re phenomenal.

Between Lady Dimitrescu’s castle, the infamous baby sequence, and the relentless escalation of the story, Resident Evil Village delivers some of the most memorable moments the franchise has seen in years.

There’s a reason Resident Evil remains the poster child for survival horror. Capcom has spent decades refining the formula, experimenting just enough to keep things fresh without losing the tension that made the series iconic in the first place.

Village may jump between horror styles more than its predecessors, but when it hits its high points, it hits them hard. Between the gothic castle, the unforgettable baby sequence, and the relentless push toward Mother Miranda, the game delivers moments that linger long after the credits roll.

And if nothing else, it proves one thing beyond any doubt: Ethan Winters may be a bucket of beige paint—but he’s one very durable bucket.