Capcom Breathes New Life into Resident Evil Vilage
Resident Evil Re:Verse & Resident Evil Village: Winters' Expansion
The Resident Evil games have been a cornerstone in the horror genre ever since they started coming out in the 90s and have remained a popular title series through the years, not only because of the complex storylines and creepy monster moments that players encounter through the various titles, but also by remaining active with an ever growing fan base. We have seen some of the classic earlier titles get modern day remakes and improvements in every aspect and bringing them to a new up-to-date level of graphics, atmosphere and pace. The most recent entry that has had this improvement treatment is Resident Evil Village that was telling the story of Ethan Winters in search of his missing daughter Rose.
We are also going to discuss another title that just got available and breaks the traditional formula that we are used to in the RE franchise, namely – Resident Evil Re:Verse which is more of a battle arena type and its mechanics, characters and modes. To play the RE VII expansion you must already own the main game or the titles could be bought together (main game + DLC) at our store. So without any further delay let’s dive right in the creepy atmosphere of the Village once again.
Resident Evil Village: Winters’ Expansion:
With the recent release of the Winters’ Expansion we get the title with a variety of significant additions such as a Third person mode for the original base game that gives a fresh new perspective and feel of the plot, updated Mercenary mode with new characters and maps as well as the Shadow of Rose additional mode that brings us back to the village years after the main storyline, in which we play as Rose herself. Let’s have a deeper look at all of them and see what we get lurking in the shadows trying to melt our faces off this time.
Although the main timeline is the same the third person point of view has shifted the outlook of the game’s scale quite a bit. There are many new animations for almost every interactive event such as breaking doors, solving puzzles, using items or overcoming obstacles that weren’t observable before, but still some scenes and dialogues where you do not have control do switch back in first person view. The enemy encounters you get do feel different and much more claustrophobic which is actually emphasized in this new perspective, also there is a new scaling perception for how big or small characters or environments actually are, so if you are looking to replay the Ethan’s search of his kidnapped daughter this could actually give you a fresh new experience of the game.
The mercenary mode has gotten an expansion of its premises by adding new map locales and characters that weren’t previously available to play with such as Lady Dimitrescu and Haisenberg. Their style is melee centered which is quite different from the other options (Chris & Ethan who played in a very similar way) we had, but must be unlocked through the completion of certain objectives, so you have to be actually immersed in the mode for a bit before grabbing on enemies with them. The two new playable characters have totally different mechanics and powers, so that brings in quite the diversity in battles. Lady Dimitrescu uses her dark magic and wand to cast swarms at foes, but her nails and grabs are the main damage dealers at all times, while Haisenberg wields a hefty hammer that could be charged and used to crush all the creatures standing on in its way, as well as setting traps to get stuck in. Both are great add-ons to the mode and notch up the replayability factor on the arenas.
Let us talk a bit about perhaps the biggest addition to the expansion DLC in the release – The Shadow of Rose add-on, which takes place in the same location but years later as you play with a grown-up teenage Rose Winters. This new piece has got multiple new special enemies, items and mechanics that make it quite unique and interesting for players familiar with the base story. It takes us on a journey in which Rose is trying to free herself from the powers she has by getting in contact with the Megamycete hive mind on her quest for answers. It also plays in third person point of view with controls that are the same as main plot.
It is set in a strange world that shifts and twists with lots of the mold we have encountered many times playing as her dad. Coming out of the mold are terrifying monster creatures that only want to grab and “hug” you in order to extract your soul in a pretty relentless manner accompanied by a gruesome animation that shows your face melting into them. They could be really difficult to handle at first but as you progress you do start to regain abilities that enable you to remove the mold and slow them down but not so significantly, so it is still difficult for you to evade them. Also throughout the campaign you seem to have instructional signs and hints with a golden glow on various surfaces to assist you and navigate you through the nightmarish world you find yourself trapped in.
Environments are similar and resemble the ones in the original story, but remixed as it takes place years later and areas are warped in new and confusing ways. The expansion is a bit straightforward, but definitely packed with lots of horror, freakish deaths and scares that we recommend to you to check out and experience by yourself.
Now let’s move forward to the other entry we would like to discuss: Resident Evil Re:Verse
Resident Evil Re:Verse, the online exclusive multiplayer game that lets you battle it out as beloved characters from the Resident Evil series, will be available for free for anyone that's bought either Resident Evil Village or Resident Evil Village Gold Edition!
From the start we must point out that this is not a typical story-based game in the franchise, but rather a multiplayer arena combat shooter/brawler within the spooky universe of the rest of the titles. You get to fight with some familiar characters and enemies in order to experience a completely new way to roam iconic locations in a much faster paced battles with other players.
The way it goes is you choose a human character to play as and the main objective is competing to collect canisters (Virus capsules) scattered around the level. In case you get eliminated by another player you die and automatically get resurrected as a monster of different class depending on the number of collected canisters. The more canisters you got the mightier creature you get transformed into with cases in which you get to play as the violent Tyrant or even Nemesis. The player with most points at the end wins the battle.
The humans you get to play as include Leon S. Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Ada Wong, Claire Redfield and Honk. They all come with different sets of weapons and skill abilities in order to survive longer, some are aggressive and others have a more evasive feel depending on the character you select. Their stats vary between Survivability, Weapon and Skill power and even transformation differences that all could be boosted as you get achievements unlocked and in-game currency.
The creatures on the other hand include Jack Baker, Hunter Gamma, Nemesis, Super Tyrant and probably the most boring of them all - the slow mutant Molded. What you transform into after you die depends on the number of canisters you got at the moment of your death. If you haven’t got any canisters you get the slow mutant, with one you could be either Jack Baker or Hunter Gamma and if you got two you get the big baddies from RE2 and RE3 respectively - Syper Tyrant or Nemesis. Have in mind that when you are in creature mode your health slowly diminishes the longer you go.
Maps and controls should be familiar to fans of the game as they include iconic locations from different titles and you navigate in them with the already established modern game type controls. Capcom has announced three updates in the foreseeable future that would include new skins, emotes and maps so the support for the title should be available for quite some time.
All together a more experimental title in the series that has a new take and possibly could be followed by other diverse ones apart from the mainline games. So head out to our shop and take advantage of both titles together and enjoy the nightmarish experience that Resident Evil has to offer.
