Resident Evil will forever be one of Stuff‘s favourite franchises. From its overly campy roots in the original game back in the 90’s to the genuine horror of the seventh entry in 2017, we doubt we’ll ever get bored with it. Especially after seeing the first proper gameplay trailer for the eighth game in the mainline series: Resident Evil: Village. While it was revealed back in 2020 during a PlayStation 5 hype trailer, Capcom has been very quiet regarding the actual content of the game. That all changed last night.
During the 30 minute showcase, we got a substantial slice of Resident Evil: Village to gawk at, and it looks fantastic. Serving as a direct sequel to the last game, players will take control of Ethan Winters, still a relatively new protagonist to the series, as he searches for a lost family member in a spooky town and, eventually, the looming castle overlooking the valley. From the looks of things, there are werewolves, witches, at least one vampire and a large man selling wares for a price. We’ve come a long way from Umbrella Corp zombies.
Village… people?
What else did we glean from the trailer? Well, Capcom was obviously stoked with the first-person camera of the last game and have opted to stick with it. It’s a wise decision if you ask us as it goes a long way to instil that sense of claustrophobia and dread that’s so familiar to Resident Evil. The inventory system seems to be more broadly based on Resident Evil 4, as players can rotate and organise their items in some rather aesthetically appealing ways.
During the showcase, Capcom also showed off RE:Verse a multiplayer game that sees players assume the roles of their favourite characters from throughout the franchise and battle to the death… except its not actually death. When players die they’ll be transformed into a hideous monstrosity to try and bring down the players that are still standing. That mode is coming in May and we’re sure to see more information as we get closer to the release.
The most exciting part of it all is that fans can get a taste of Resident Evil: Village sooner than expected… if you own a PS5. There’s a free demo for the game available from today, well ahead of the game’s 7 May release on PS5, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC.
(Source: Ars Technica)