The consensus on Resident Evil Village seems to be fairly positive. It’s not a breath of fresh air, unlike Resident Evil VII which helped redefine the series just like Resident Evil 4 did before it. The game overall feels like a collection of ideas from all of the best entries in the series which certainly isn’t a bad thing.
It can feel like deja vu at times though. The point is there are several things that the game could do to help improve itself. Small things that Capcom could easily patch into the game via future updates from new mechanics to extra modes.
10 Weapon Holstering
When the game starts out with Ethan not holding a weapon, it’s great. One can take in the scenery without having a knife, gun, bomb, or whatever obscuring the view. This is to say this game does not allow players to holster their weapons. Things can be switched out easily with the shortcut D-Pad menu but that’s not the same thing. A way to actually holster weapons would be nice not just for this game but the whole series.
9 Add A Manual Light
For whatever reason Ethan only takes out his light whenever it is pitch black. Near pitch black lighting is okay in his eyes though. What Ethan, or more realistically the game, decides what is flashlight worthy and what isn’t flashlight worthy is bizarre.
Other horror games like The Last of Us allow players to switch their light source on and off at will. This game should have that feature too.
8 Add A Minimap
To its credit, this game does have a quick go-to map thanks to the trackpad on the PS5 controller. However, as fast as that is, it’s not as convenient as having a minimap displayed somewhere in the HUD. Not everyone likes a minimap as it can clutter said HUD. That’s why it should at least be an option in the menu that players can turn on or off whenever they feel like it.
7 Set Up Waypoints
In addition to the minimap, Capcom should also put in a waypoint system. This game isn’t open-world but it does allow for more exploration than some entries in the series. Every time one goes back to the titular village it seems like something new is waiting, which is a positive for the game. It can be clunky to figure out which way to go though, so adding in a waypoint system could help alleviate frustration from backtracking and or getting lost.
6 Bullet Swapping
This goes without saying for the series but every bullet counts no matter what difficulty one is on. A good tip to get more would be to upgrade ammo capacity when a weapon is empty. That’s good advice but on the subject of that system it’s weird that players can’t empty out a chamber from a gun manually or with the help of the merchant aka The Duke. Accidentally loading a gun can be detrimental if said gun was the weaker of two pistols, for example. When trading out pistols, swapping bullets then would make these mistakes less frustrating.
5 Add A Jump Button
The past couple of entries in the series have been fascinated with constantly chasing players. Whether that was from Mr. X in the Resident Evil 2 remake, or Nemesis from the third’s remake to this game with various pursuers, including Lady Dimitrescu. There are times when one can literally get stuck in a corner with no way out except the obvious one that the game won’t allow. For example, there are balconies on the castle’s second floor that Ethan could easily jump down from in order to avoid being cornered. However, there is no command button to jump, but there should be.
4 Add More Saves
Right now players can only save manually twenty times. It’s not as ideal as 99, or infinite like some other games, but it’s still pretty generous. The bigger issue is the amount of typewriters to actually save at. They are few and far between, sometimes with only one per area. It makes backtracking a pain. Yes, there are autosaves thankfully, but knowing when they update or even what they update can be a mystery.
3 Disposable Weapons
Just like in Resident Evil 4, which this game seemingly borrows heavy from, some enemies carry weapons. From maces to crossbows to swords, these werewolves and or zombies are armed to the teeth. Again, like in Resident Evil 4, players cannot use these weapons. In fact, they disintegrate along with the corpse once killed. How does that make sense? Just add disposable weapons to the series already, Capcom.
2 Remove Watermarks
While the addition of a photo mode is appreciated, Capcom does the one thing they shouldn’t have. Every picture taken in this mode has a watermark on it. What’s weird is that photos not taken in this mode and movies on PS5 do not display watermarks.
One can’t have it both ways. It’s sending the wrong message and is confusing.
1 VR Support
This is a big ask and maybe more of a wish for future DLC that’s something a simple update could provide. However, since Resident Evil VII had this option available on day one for PSVR support, this game should have had it too. It would look so great in VR. Just imagine what all the crazy characters would look like up close and personal. If Capcom doesn’t do it, one can bet this option will be added in via a fan mod. This game series is made for VR.