Capcom isn’t just aiming to make Resident Evil Village a worthy addition to the franchise, but the best one to date.
The developer hasn’t explicitly stated that, of course, though the sequel’s producer clearly subscribes to the idea of achieving such a goal. In recent interviews, Peter Fabiano has been remarkably confident about the quality of Ethan Winters’ return, to the extent that he believes the team has collectively created the best survival horror experience to date bar none. Bold words, then, and we can only hope that self-assuredness is born out of genuine belief. The last thing anyone wants, after all, is a repeat of the debacle that was Resident Evil 6.
Considering the studio’s ability to learn from past mistakes – and the fact that Village is looking to be an evolution of everything that made its predecessor a joy to play – ours and most everyone else’s current impression is one of overwhelming optimism. Perhaps one underperforming aspect of Ethan’s first nightmare, however, is game length.
While a terrific soft reboot, RE7 was far, far shorter than previous entries, oftentimes making it feel much like a proof of concept to be iterated upon in the future. According to Fabiano, Village is “much larger” in that regard, though he doesn’t provide any further specifics. That being the case, it’s unclear whether he means the general world will be more expansive or the campaign itself will take players longer to complete.
Whatever the case, fans won’t have to wait long for a definitive answer. Resident Evil Village is out May 7th for current and last-gen consoles as well as PC, with a playable demo scheduled to arrive sometime before then.
