Resident Evil Village Being Described As Open World, Metroidvania Game

Thanks to a generous helping of new information provided at last week’s showcase, horror fans now have a much better idea of how Resident Evil Village will feel to play.

Adopting the same first-person perspective as its predecessor, the eighth installment sees Ethan Winters and his wife Mia facing an all-new nightmare in what was supposed to be a quiet getaway in the remote European countryside. With the full picture unlikely to reveal itself until the sequel arrives this spring, all we can do right now is speculate with regard to major story beats, but suffice it to say the driving force behind Ethan’s actions here has to do with the retrieval of his stolen daughter.

Chances are, Lady Dimitrescu (AKA the Tall Lady) is directly involved in the child’s disappearance and only by making his way through a township populated with all sorts of horrors will the protagonist be able to set up a meeting with the former. Interestingly, however, recent amendments to Village‘s SteamDB page suggest that the road to victory won’t be linear but one with multiple opportunities to stray off the beaten path.

Just how expansive the game world will be isn’t clear, but according to additional details provided by AestheticGamer over on Twitter, Capcom is internally comparing level design to that of a Metroidvania (i.e. revisiting locations with newfound items or abilities to unlock previously inaccessible areas). “Resident Evil Village has a sorta small open-world design, Metroidvania is the word the team uses,” they say, adding, “there’s more of a focus on exploration, every area connecting & returning to areas than most RE games.”

Assuming all of the above is accurate – and judging by AestheticGamer’s track record, we’d be surprised if it wasn’t – players will have plenty of reason to explore every nook and cranny of Resident Evil Village when it arrives on May 7th for current and last-gen consoles as well as PC. Pre-orders for several editions are open now, one of which will set you back a whopping $1800. See here for further details.