If there is something that I can miss in the Resident Evil saga, it is that it creates a real sense of fear in me . I usually associate the Capcom franchise with moments of tension, events that get my pulse racing and make my head boil with all the possible options to make.
However, I don’t remember that moment when my skin froze, my hair stood on end, and a cold spine ran up and down my back. Perhaps it is not even the fault of the game, perhaps it is a task directed at other more recognizable brands in this regard such as Silent Hill or recently the masters of horror: Supermassive Games .
Regardless, Resident Evil Village makes real efforts for it, just like its predecessor. It is enough to remember the first walks through the village or walk through the corridors of Lady Dimitrescu’s castle to hear how the wood complains and creaks , the gate at the back makes a strange noise or simply, everything is too calm.
When that information from the study suggested that the eighth installment would be less terrifying, they forgot to mention a small part: the Beneviento mansion . Those of you who have played this section of the play know perfectly what I mean and those of you who are not warned, since from now on there are real spoilers for the game.
This is not going to be a pleasant walk in the park
Although most of the experience is centered within the four walls of the mansion, it all begins before you walk through its doors. Ethan advances to a new area after taking down Dimitrescu, safe behind his weapons and determined to save his daughter Rose.
The tone already changes, even in the environment itself. A soft mist begins to appear unexpectedly, while graves and corpses hanging from the trees become a common sight. The rickety wooden bridge warns us that the place we are going is far away.
After a short walk, what was once a splendid garden today stands with withered flowers and a stamp of death. To make matters more difficult, Mia begins to appear in front of us, in intervals of sudden hallucinations.
A sign that our family and emotional ties will be the central axis of what is coming our way. A large tomb surrounded by smaller ones are the advance to the elevator that asks us to deliver the photo of Mia and Rose that we have kept from the beginning of the game. We have arrived, the Beneviento mansion stands in the distance, behind a waterfall.
If we look at the designs that Resident Evil Village brings as an extra, we will see that initially Donna Beneviento was going to be the village doctor, which would have deprived us of suffering the Angie doll. In addition, it was even thought of granting a darker past in which all of Donna’s family had thrown themselves from the top of the waterfall, increasing their misfortune.
In the mouth of the wolf
We’ve been in this boss’s zone for too long now and we still haven’t had to face any enemies, fire a shot, and the tension can be cut with a knife . Every step we take around the house investigating if there is something useful is fruitless, since there is nothing, beyond the painting of Donna watching us with Angie.
Without further ado, we find a new elevator and descend. We ended up in a fairly old autopsy room, with wooden arms and legs, and our full-scale wife in the center. To round out the play, Angie takes our weapons away from us and this is where the real show begins.
This is the moment in which Resident Evil Village abandons its conventions and becomes an Outlast or a full-blown Silent Hill . Make no mistake, for a long time the saga was described as survival horror and in this game I have ended up with ammunition and resources to spare to survive without hardship.
The definition of gender falls like a stone on us and the escalation of tension increases even more. The inspection of the wooden Mia allows us to solve various puzzles, while her hallucinogenic appearances disturb us more.
Fear is what I felt when we had to descend those dark stone stairs, with the cry of a baby in the background and a flashlight that barely shines on what we have in front of us. Panic is what I suffered once I returned to the autopsy room and found that the lights had been turned off. Terror is what every fiber of my body screamed when that giant fetus began to chase me .
I put my hand in the fire that that bloody bloody baby, with the distorted cries is a direct inspiration of the same that we could see in the PT demo on PS4. It was one in the morning when I played this part, in the dark in my house and with my helmets on. I do not know what face it would have but I can imagine it, because I did not have that shotgun or sniper that the game had given me, the main way of acting until that moment disappears. Without weapons, with no way to defend ourselves, we have to run without looking back while we continue solving puzzles.
When we finally manage to activate the elevator, a feeling of relief, a weight that is going away, invades us. Although of course, the laugh festival is still missing for a person who has a phobia of dolls . Angie awaits us and among all her brood of toys, we must find her and put an end to her miserable existence.
The tonality of the camera is yellow, with a certain blur, intensifying the effect of the hallucinations that it causes us with its flowers. After playing hide and seek with her, it all ends with a final stab at Donna . The nightmare is over.
One of the best parts of all of Resident Evil Village and one that I have enjoyed the most. Capcom managed to put the word fear on the table and start slapping us with it mercilessly. I don’t know what the future of Resident Evil 9 will be , but with sections close to these, my presence is assured.
Resident Evil Village guides
- How to solve the puzzle in the ablution room of Dimitrescu castle
- Key with the combination of numbers that has the padlock of the village workshop
- How to unlock infinite ammo for any weapon
- Where are the five bells of the atelier puzzle
- How to defeat Bela, Daniela and Cassandra, the daughters of Lady Dimitrescu
- How to kill Donna Beneviento’s puppet
- Where are all the goats
- How to unlock Mercenaries mode
- How to get the Star Wars saber and SS rank in all levels of Mercenaries mode
