Resident Evil Village Guide – 15 Tips and Tricks to Keep in Mind

There’s a lot going on in Resident Evil Village. True to the series’ identity, this is a dense game, and it throws formidable challenges at you that take many different forms and are always fun to overcome. And as you prepare to jump into Ethan’s journey through this village of monstrosities, here, we’re going to list out a few handy pointers that will hopefully let you become better equipped to deal with Resident Evil Village’s many horrors.

BLUE IS GOOD

Regularly checking your map is a core part of most Resident Evil games, and so it is in Village too. This is a tip that those familiar with the series will know all too well, but if you’re a newcomer, always keep this in your mind- if a room on the map is highlighted in blue, that means it’s cleared, and you’ve done everything here you can do. If a room is red, there’s still something there you haven’t found, whether that’s crafting components, ammo or items, or treasures.

KEEN AN EYE OUT FOR THE SHINY STUFF

Speaking of treasures- Resident Evil Village brings back the shiny, sparkling treasures of Resident Evil 4, and just like in that game, many of these are often hiding in plain sight. They could be stuck to the walls, to the ceilings, to rafters in nooks that can only be seen from specific angles. Always survey your surroundings carefully, and if you see something sparkling, make sure you shoot it down. The cash you get for collecting treasures is invaluable.

SOME TREASURES CAN BE COMBINED

Again, just like in Resident Evil 4, some treasures can be combined with each other to make them more valuable. Don’t immediately sell off every treasure you find- head to your list of treasures in the menu, and the game will tell you if a certain treasure can be combined with others. Fully completed treasure sets earn you significantly larger quantities of cash when sold to the Duke, so always keep that in mind.

EXPLORE THOROUGHLY

This should go without saying, especially in a Resident Evil game, but we’re gonna say it anyway, because it’s important to remember. From missable treasures to animals to new weapons to notes and logs to even some secret bosses, Resident Evil Village has a lot of stuff hiding behind optional content that you can miss entirely, so make sure that you don’t rush through the game. Any time you enter a new area, explore it as thoroughly as possible.

THERE’S MORE TO EXPLORE EACH TIME YOU RETURN TO THE VILLAGE

In fact, you should explore thoroughly not only when you’re entering a new area, but also when returning to older ones. You’ll be returning to the village, which serves as a central hub, multiple times throughout the game, and each time, you’ll be able to head to new sections that were previously inaccessible. From being able to unlock doors to being able to head to far off locations that you couldn’t get to before, the village will expand each time you return to it. Every time you come back, make sure you take some time to explore it some more before you resume the main quest again.

HUNT ALL THE ANIMALS

Animal hunting is a completely new mechanic in Resident Evil Village, and it’s quite crucial. The Duke can cook up special meals to permanently increase your max health, guard defence, and movement speed- which, as you would expect, is very important. Animals are often hidden in secret and optional areas though, both in the village and in the locations that serve as the game’s main “dungeons” (so to speak), so always keep an eye out for them. Checking your map often is a good idea- but remember that if your map is too zoomed out, spots where animals can be found won’t show up on it. Oh, and one more thing- don’t waste bullets on hunting animals. Use your knife.

DON’T WASTE MONEY ON UPGRADING THE STARTING PISTOL

Like Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Village has you spending money to upgrade your weapons throughout the entire game. We’d recommend not immediately getting started on that though. More specifically, don’t waste money on upgrading the pistol that you start the game with- you get a better pistol not long afterward, and it’s better to save up and use your money to upgrade that instead.

CRAFTING SHOTGUN OR SNIPER RIFLE AMMO IS BETTER THAN CRAFTING PISTOL AMMO

You’ll be picking up crafting resources and using them to craft ammo throughout Resident Evil Village, but if you have a choice, it’s better to use those to craft ammo for your shotgun or your sniper rifle than for your handgun. Handgun ammo drops are plentiful in the game, while the Duke also sells handgun bullets for pretty cheap prices. Sure, sometimes you might find yourself with little to no ammo, in which case you’ll have no choice but to use your resources to craft handgun bullets. But if you can help it, prioritize other, more powerful ammo types.

SHOOT CROWS

Just like Resident Evil 4, you can shoot down crows that you spot in your surroundings, and just like Resident Evil 4, they often drop cash. If you’re ever short on money, shooting crows is a pretty good way to build up a decent reserve. They don’t drop massive quantities of cash, of course, and you also need to keep an eye on how much ammo you have and whether you can afford to waste it on shooting crows, but if you have dire need of money, they’re a good last resort, if nothing else.

SHOOT DOWN THE CAGES

Shooting crows might not always be worth it, but shooting cages almost always is. Often, you’ll find small yellow bird cages hanging from trees or ceilings in Resident Evil Village. Every time you do, make sure you shoot them down. They always give you either ammo or crafting resources, which is always useful.

PRIOROTIZE INVENTORY EXPANSION PURCHASES

Resident Evil Village brings back the Tetris-style attache briefcase inventory management of Resident Evil 4, and you can, of course, expand your inventory by purchasing briefcase expansions from the Duke. In fact, we’d recommend buying those as soon as and every time they become available. Expanding your inventory to make sure you can fit the weapons you acquire throughout the game (in addition to all the different ammo types and health items) is quite important, so prioritize these purchases over everything else.

GUARDING IS CRUCIAL

Guarding is not a new mechanic – Resident Evil 7 had it as well – but it’s much more important this time. You’ll often be attacked by large mobs of enemies, which means you’ll often find yourself cornered and surrounded. In these situations, guarding against attacks is crucial to avoid taking too much damage, especially if you increase your guard defence using the Duke’s special meals. Properly timed guards also allow you to follow up by pushing enemies away, which can also give you invaluable windows to shoot staggered enemies while creating some breathing room for yourself.

TURN OFF AIM ACCELERATION

Bafflingly, Resident Evil Village has aim acceleration on by default. In case you don’t know what that is, as its name suggests, aim accelerate progressively increases the movement speed of your reticle while you’re aiming down sights. It’s an absolute nuisance, and makes aiming extremely difficult and messy, which can make most combat encounters unnecessarily tough and sloppy. As soon as you begin the game, head into the settings and turn off aim acceleration.

TURN OFF ADAPTIVE TRIGGERS

If you’re playing Resident Evil Village on a PS5, you’re gonna want to turn off adaptive triggers as well. The game doesn’t use the DualSense’s adaptive triggers as well as you’d hope- every so often, the trigger will jam, leading to either missing your target completely, or not being able to fire off a shot at all. It’s just annoying. It gets in the way of enjoying the combat. Give it a try for yourself if you feel like it to see if you like the implementation better than we did, but we’d recommend turning it off in the settings as soon as you start playing.

MERCENARIES TIPS

Resident Evil Village brings back Mercenaries after many years of demands from fans, and there are a few basic pointers you should keep in mind while playing it. For starters, cash is limited, so it’s better to have two weapons in your inventory and focus on spending money on their upgrades rather than buying every weapon you possibly can. The good thing about this is that that’ll let you sell off ammo for guns you’re not using. For instance, if you’re going with a handgun-shotgun combo, you’re free to sell off any sniper rifle ammo you find, which goes for a surprising amount of money- giving you more to spend on weapon upgrades for the guns you have in your arsenal.

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