With Resident Evil Village’s launch right around the corner, Capcom have well and truly kicked the marketing machine into gear. Several crucial new details about the game have recently emerged, and here, we’re going to talk about some of them.
ENVIROMENTS
Capcom have previously said that Resident Evil Village is going to be a significantly larger game than Resident Evil 7- but it seems set to be larger than most, if not all, other games in the series as well. Speaking recently with Game Informer for their RE Village cover story, the developers confirmed that the game will have the largest environments in the series’ history. And we’re not just talking about how expansive they are in terms of area- they’re going to be quite intricately designed as well, with the developers stating that environments in RE Village are also the most vertical the series has ever seen- which will come into play in combat encounters as well. Additionally, owing to the larger size of the areas, Ethan’s movement speed in the game has also been increased, but to ensure that the game sticks to being a horror experience, Capcom have ramped up the intensity of encounters as well.
LYCANS
Enemy variety seems to be the name of the game in Resident Evil Village, and of the many, many different kinds of monstrosities Ethan will be squaring off against in the game, the werewolves – called Lycans – have to be some of the most intriguing. As revealed in the aforementioned Game Informer cover feature, Lycans will come in many shapes and sizes, and they will have different behaviours depending on the situation- if they’re hunting you in a pack, they will be more aggressive, while if they’re alone, they’ll tend to hang back a little bit. Lycans can also hide in bushes and wait to ambush you, so you’re always going to have to be on your toes.
MORE LYCAN DETAILS
Several more details also suggest that Lycans are going to be extremely formidable foes. For instance, it seems they’re one of several ways Capcom is looking to leverage the larger and more vertical level design of Resident Evil Village. Lycans can move extremely fast and close long distances pretty quickly, which means putting some distance between you and them isn’t always an easy way out. Meanwhile, Lycans can also climb up buildings and try and break through walls and barricades, so hiding out or looking for the high ground is also going to provide only temporary respite.
HUNTING
For the first time ever in a Resident Evil game, Village is also going to have a hunting mechanic. The titular village will have several animals in it, and they’ll serve mechanical purposes as well. Players can hunt these animals and waste previous bullets, but the meat you get from them in return can be crucial. Take that meat to the Duke, who will cook up special meals for you that will upgrade your base stats, including your health, your movement speed, and your guard defence (which determines how much damage you take while you’re guarding against incoming attacks).
WEAPON UPGRADES
Of course, the Duke will be able to upgrade more than your base stats- he will also upgrade your weapons. Using currency you get from killing enemies and exploring and looting the environments, you will be able to not only purchase new weapons, but also upgrade the ones you have. Each weapon will have standard upgrade options, of course, but you will also be able to purchase mods for certain weapons- such a cheek rest for a rifle to decrease its sway, or a hair trigger for a shotgun to increase its rate of fire, or a larger magazine for a handgun to increase its clip capacity.
PHOTO MODE
Capcom recently showed off Resident Evil Village gameplay for the PS4 Pro for the first time ever, courtesy of a video that was published by IGN- and while there’s plenty to say about how its looking and performing on last-gen hardware, there is one pretty important thing that the video lets slip as well. During a specific cutscene, you can see an option for pressing the start button for a photo mode in the bottom right of the screen. A photo mode hasn’t been officially confirmed by Capcom for the game yet, but seeing as this comes directly from the game itself, a formal confirmation seems like a formality at this point.
THE MERCENARIES
In 1999, Capcom introduced The Mercenaries with Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, and since then, it has grown into a beloved fan favourite. The time attack mode has appeared in new iterations several times in subsequent releases over the years, including Resident Evil 4, 5, and 6, and even spawned a standalone spinoff release in Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D for the 3DS. Fans have been begging for it to come back for a long time now (especially after its absence in last year’s RE3 remake), and finally, Capcom have listened, confirming during the recent RE Showcase that Resident Evil Village will have a Mercenaries mode.
MORE MERCENARIES DETAILS
RE Village’s take on The Mercenaries is going to throw several new elements into the mix. Players will move from area to area as you take on hordes of enemies from the game in time attack scenarios, which is familiar enough to anyone who’s played the mode before. New this time, however, is the shop- between each area, you’ll visit the Duke, and using the currency you’ve earned from previous rounds, you’ll be able to purchase items and weapons, and upgrade the weapons you have in your arsenal. Meanwhile, each area will also have ability pickups, which can provide various buffs, such as increasing long-range damage, enhancing the damage of specific weapons, improving your healing, increasing your movement speed, and more.
NEXT DEMO
The Maiden demo for Resident Evil Village has been available exclusively for PS5 for some time now, but of course, true to Capcom’s promise, the game will be receiving a second demo soon, one that will be meatier, feature combat, and focus on a section from the final game itself. During their recent RE Showcase, Capcom confirmed that the demo will be launching across all platforms on May 1, and will allow players to explore the castle and the village areas.
DEMO SCHEDULE
Before the Village and Castle demo goes live for all platforms a couple of weeks from now, PlayStation players will be getting early access to both areas. On April 17 at 5 PM PDT, the Village demo will kick off on PlayStation, while on April 24 at 5 PM PDT, the Castle demo will kick off. In both cases, however, you will only have 30 minutes each to play, and both demos will only be available for a short window of 8 hours. Meanwhile, when the combined Village and Castle demo goes live on all platforms on May 1, the total time limit will be 60 minutes, and you will be able to play the demo any time you want until the game’s launch.