Note– This cloud version of Resident Evil: Village was tested on 100MB UW broadband over WiFi along with a 5G mobile connection.
the demonic resident The series has seen its ups and downs over the years. After a strong start with the original trilogy (and Code Veronica), Capcom’s seminal horror franchise reached what many would say is its peak with the incredible Resident Evil 4, first released on the GameCube in 2004. After With some questionable decisions in the years that followed that eventually led to a notable revival with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Capcom decided to build on the success of Resident Evil 4 for its latest main entry: Resident Evil: Village.
First released in 2021, Resident Evil: Village continues the story of Ethan Winters, a husband and father who we were first introduced to in the previous game (which, interestingly, is due out later this year on Switch, after its direct sequel, go figure, but it’s been available in its cloud version guise in Japan since 2018). After a rather shocking opening sequence involving series veteran Chris Redfield, Ethan ends up in a terrifying European village, complete with a vast ancient castle, a reservoir, an abandoned mansion, and a dilapidated factory. His mission is to rescue his little daughter, Rose, who is kidnapped and now held within the town limits.
Resident Evil’s locations are often just as revered as its cast of heroes and villains, and the same is absolutely true of RE: Village. The setting is almost a character unto itself, with the town acting as a central area from which you can locate and access the other four locations. Each area is remarkably unique in its representation; Castle Dimitrescu is huge and grand, with furnishings and décor brought to life in exquisite detail. On the other hand, the reservoir feels dirty and grimy, with mud and slime covering every surface. Nowhere is unwelcome, with the possible exception of the factory during the latter part of the game, but even this is exceptionally fun to explore.
Of course, places are nothing without their respective inhabitants. This is where RE: Village is a big step up from its immediate predecessor; the variety of enemies you’ll encounter on your 10-12 hour journey is as impressive as it is a bit daunting. The most prominent enemies are the werewolves, whom you will encounter several times throughout the story; these are effectively werewolf-type creatures that lurk on rooftops, waiting for the right moment to attack. Once one of them attacks, the rest will follow suit, leading to segments of combat that will easily match Resident Evil 4 in intensity.
Fortunately, then, Ethan Winters can combat any attack with a variety of different weapons, including the basic pistol, a knife, a shotgun, a sniper rifle, a pipe bomb, and more. Ammo isn’t as readily available as it is in Resident Evil 4, but by picking up items like Chemical Fluid and Gunpowder, you can craft more ammo as you go. If you’re well and truly backed into a corner, a quick tap of ‘L’ will allow Ethan to raise his hands in a defensive stance, limiting any damage taken and allowing for a quick counter to keep enemies at bay. This version also introduces the gyroscope found elsewhere, if you prefer motion controls.
The real star of the show with RE:Village, however, is its boss encounters. No doubt you have already seen a lot of Lady Dimitrescu, perhaps too much, the Internet! – and she stands out as one of the most iconic boss characters in Resident Evil history. The way he stalks you all over the castle, much like Mr. X in the Resident Evil 2 remake, is truly terrifying, especially since you can’t do any damage with your conventional weaponry. The other main characters are just as entertaining in their own right, with a real breakout star being the creepy doll character Donna Benevenento, but it could be argued that Capcom wasn’t quite ready for the icon that Lady Dimitrescu would become, and we. Honestly, I’m a little disappointed in how little he is in the game in general.
However, RE: Village is an entertaining excursion from start to finish and demonstrates Capcom’s excellent ability to pace its horror games to near perfection, having learned lessons in the past. There isn’t a moment here that feels wasted, however, you can optionally extend the experience at your leisure with additional objectives like crafting items, cooking mechanics, treasure hunts, and more. Plus, of course, RE:Village includes the beloved Mercenary Mode where you’ll have to take down waves of enemies to score points, though its implementation here isn’t as strong as previous entries, with limited levels and characters (although this one can improve a little with the upcoming Winters Expansion scheduled for release on Switch in December).
Of course, after seeing the appendix to the title of this Switch version, what everyone is waiting to know is how the game runs in the cloud. Honestly, for the most part, we were pleasantly surprised. During our time with the game, we encountered minimal slowdowns or visual hiccups, with the most serious issue occurring on the initial loading screen, which kept us sitting for five to ten minutes before the action started; probably the result will be on a server. -Side ‘tail’ at the end of the Ubitus cloud company.
Also, loading the inventory screen will produce a circular loading icon instead of item assets for a few moments, but this is a minor quibble. As standard with cloud gaming, there was also very little input latency in certain segments, but again, this was almost completely unnoticeable for the most part. Overall, compared to our experience with A Plague Tale: Requiem, also an Ubitus set, this was absolutely no-brainer.
Having said that, it’s still clear that RE: Village is a cloud game streaming to your Switch. During sections where the lighting is particularly dark, you’ll definitely notice some artifacts in the environment; there is absolutely no way anyone could look at this game and believe that it is running natively. For that reason, we still recommend buying RE:Village on a platform that can handle footage natively, if possible, because streaming technology just isn’t Quite even tobacco quite yet. We suspect it probably won’t be for a while.
However, if Switch is your only option, we suggest trying the eShop demo version for RE:Village first. In Europe, Nintendo has implemented a 14-day refund policy for cloud games if you play for less than two hours which might mitigate any potential buyer’s remorse, but honestly, save yourself the trouble. Our own experience with the game was pretty positive, but give the demo a try, see if it works well for you, then make an informed decision from there, keeping in mind that access will be revoked at a future date.
conclusion
Resident Evil: Village is an excellent sequel to the main Resident Evil series that pays homage to Resident Evil 4 while showing off its own style and identity. The first-person perspective allows for some truly terrifying moments (although a third-person mode is also on the way in the Winters’ Expansion DLC) and the boss encounters are some of the best in the entire series. Of course, running via the cloud means you’re likely to run into some hiccups, along with some iffy load times and potential slowdowns. Our experience with this was pleasantly minimal compared to other cloud builds we’ve played, but be sure to try the demo for yourself. If you only have access to one Switch, this is a pretty solid way to experience a great game.
