Demos are often a double-edged sword. It all depends on what they show, if it fits what will be in the final version or on knowing how to choose well which scenes to show. For example, that ghostly demo of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard didn’t exactly depict what the game would actually be like, even if we liked it.
Luckily, with the second demo of Resident Evil Village, a sequel to Ethan’s adventures, we do have a brief fragment of his story by focusing on the arrival in the village, apart from that we handle several weapons, unlike the first demo, quite a corridor. And we couldn’t have liked the boot more .
Resident Evil 4 Essence, now featuring Lycans
Without a doubt, what I liked the most about this new demo is that here that strong influence of Resident Evil 4 has been evident for this story. While we do not see how Ethan gets to the village exactly, we do feel something similar when arriving in this unknown town where its inhabitants are not what they seem.
That here now there are no zombies and it is a reason for complaint, it still seems like a poor argument, especially considering the whole string of monsters that the saga has had since its inception. In fact, the aforementioned Resident Evil 4 opted for a more intelligent variant that even spoke, hence the lycans, those “lupine monsters of legends”, as one of the documents in Resident Evil Village says, is a logical step that I fully applaud . Besides, it perfectly matches the atmosphere that this Romanian village wants to convey to us.
30 minutes are not much and to top it all, the demo can be passed in less than 5 minutes if we go to pinion, but it has helped me to check the sensational setting of this new installment, which is an evolutionary leap compared to the previous chapter when it comes out expressly on new generation consoles, although PS4 and Xbox One remain at launch. That shade of light and dark to highlight its gloomy appearance in this winter season, contrasts with that lighting (with ray tracing, of course) at key moments of this initial section, where the fire brings out all its uncontrollable potential.
It is not as intense a demo as I would have liked, despite the presence of the aforementioned lycans, but they do show their intelligence to hide among the vegetation and thus surprise us with their attacks. In addition, these lycanthropes are very aggressive, so it will not be so easy to hit them in the head in the face of critics. But it can. And it’s cool how his skull explodes. It is still a very visceral Resident Evil that does not stop with the executions, especially in one of the scenes with its inhabitants, near the end of the demo.
It is curious, because speaking with the few who are not “infected”, they make it clear that before they lived in peace with mother Miranda, but that the situation has changed drastically now, with very few survivors left because of that sudden appearance of so many lycanthropes. Ethan is still unaccompanied by luck, it is clear, it is difficult to find his daughter with so many monsters in this village.
If we take the words of the old woman who greets us when we get there, it seems that it is Ethan’s own daughter that has caused them to “succumb to darkness.” And no, in this demo the imposing Lady Dimitrescu does not appear, but rather the aforementioned mother Miranda, in a very brief scene in which she makes her power clear. We do see references to Dimitrescu and other relevant figures in history in the form of paintings and some documents, but it is a demo that focuses more on the change experienced by the people, experiencing their nightmare in the first person .
Resident Evil Village, Ethan’s new nightmare
In this demo we do not have access to the merchant The Duke, but we can see the redesign of the interface for Ethan, with an inventory very similar to Resident Evil 4 in which to order the objects and where we will continue to manufacture ammunition or medicine from one of his separated, to take advantage of the gunpowder or grass that we collect.
Now the map shows more information, highlighting the key points, such as what key we need to open a door, where there are other places of interest as we discover them … And we also enjoy more tactics in the face of combat, watching a brief sample in the first encounter with the lycanthropes, having the option to shoot the flour sacks to temporarily nullify his vision. Or fortify a house, as in Resident Evil 4 . Here the landmine helps, without a doubt, to create ambushes against the lycans.
Ethan has a stock knife and pistol in this demo, being able to get older a shotgun with a single bullet. But at least he also knows how to defend himself melee, as in the previous adventure, by being able to block the opponent’s attacks . And with a new grappling move to punch and kick them out of the way if they get heavy … or to get away with it without wasting ammo.
Anyone who has played Resident Evil 7: Biohazard will feel right at home. If it is among your favorite Resident Evil, you will love the course taken by Capcom in this installment, especially if you liked the change that Resident Evil 4 made in its day, which also moved away from the classic formula. In Village, for example, the level of difficulty of the puzzle at the final door is testimonial, as you have to rotate the reliefs until you find their correct position. But it is not representative either.
In any case, there will be no shortage of collectibles with which to scrutinize every corner of the map, such as protective goats , which replace the big heads from past installments, such as the Mr. Raccoon from the Resident Evil 2 remake. Or a series of crystals for those that The Duke will give us more lei, the currency of the game.
I really want to taste the final version of May 7 , having another appointment before on the occasion of its second demo, set for April 25 on PS5 and PS4 to show 30 minutes of its castle section. The demo combined with both sections and for all platforms (where Xbox Series, Xbox One, Steam and Stadia are added) will be available for 24 hours on May 2, let’s remember.
