The moment he places his jacket on Rose before detonating himself? That’s the saddest the franchise has been since the death of the Tyrant in RE2. Hardcore horror purists complain that Village isn't as scary as RE7 . They are right—mostly. The first hour (the attack on the house) and House Beneviento are peak terror. However, the middle section (the stronghold) and the factory lean hard into RE4 action.
His dialogue is dad-joke territory: "I'm not going to be a part of your little science fair!" But that naivety makes the violence visceral. When he loses his fingers, gets his heart ripped out, or has his hand reattached with first aid juice, you feel it because Ethan complains about it constantly. By the end, when the twist reveals what he truly is, his persistence stops being annoying and becomes heartbreakingly tragic. Underneath the lycan swarms and the vampire groupies, Village is a game about a father trying to stop his legacy from being cannibalized.
When Capcom dropped the first-person perspective with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard , they told us they were going "back to horror." But no one predicted they would follow that swampy, hillbilly gore-fest with a full-blown Gothic fever dream. Enter Resident Evil Village (RE8). resident.evil 8
He is the grounding force. After you barely survive the fetus in House Beneviento, returning to The Duke’s warm cart feels like coming home. He buys your lei, sells you a grenade launcher, and never asks why you smell like amniotic fluid. In a game about isolation, The Duke is your only friend—and that makes his mysterious nature even scarier. Ethan is still a piece of plywood in terms of charisma, but Village weaponizes his lack of personality. He is not Leon Kennedy (cool spy) or Chris Redfield (super soldier). He is a systems engineer.
9/10 Play it if: You like Gothic architecture, Duke’s cooking, and crying over a man made of mold. The moment he places his jacket on Rose
Whether you are here for the Lady Dimitrescu memes, the grueling "Village of Shadows" difficulty, or the surprisingly emotional ending, RE8 delivers. It proves that Resident Evil isn't a zombie franchise anymore (pun intended). It is a survival horror platform —capable of telling any horror story it wants.
But here’s the thing: Village is atmospheric dread. It is the feeling of walking through a foggy forest knowing a werewolf is tracking you. It is the unease of seeing a giant puppet move when you aren't looking. It balances action and anxiety perfectly. Final Thoughts Resident Evil Village is a bold, beautiful, and bizarre entry. It respects the past (RE4's inventory, RE1's puzzles) while bulldozing a path into the future (supernatural powers, full-on fantasy aesthetics). They are right—mostly
What was your favorite Lord to fight? Did the baby actually make you scream? Let me know in the comments below!