It's hard to say who the first boss in Resident Evil Village is. The traditional answer here is Lady Dimitrescu, but that's not exactly right. While she's the first house that must be invaded, players will tangle with Urias during an overwhelming situation in the early moments (there's even an achievement for those who manage to take Urias out early).
But he's not one of the Lords and he's not the thematic final boss, he's more of a mini-boss. Even excluding Urias, though, Ethan will have to tangle with a trap designed by Heisenberg before getting to Lady Dimitrescu. And it's quite the thriller, filled with multiple opportunities for instant death, fire arrows, and another appearance from Urias. Oh, and don't forget that Ethan's hands are shackled during the entire thing.
Getting Caught By Heisenberg
- Complete the artwork on the stone door.
- Explore the castle.
- Watch the cutscene.
The game's first puzzle involves finding stone faces and placing them in a piece of art. Completing it will open the path to this encounter. Thankfully, the way forward is linear. Ethan will have his progress rudely interrupted by Heisenberg. After a few cutscenes, Ethan will get tossed into a series of traps with a limited time to escape.
Running Through The Gauntlet
During the scene, Ethan will jump through a hole in the floor. After doing so, the player will be returned to controlling Ethan. At first, there is really very little guesswork to be done as zombies chase from behind and the gauntlet has a narrow passage.
During this chase scene, the zombies in the walls are decorative and do not pose an actual threat, so continue to run until getting to a fork in the road.
At this juncture, make a left turn. The right side will have a zombie and, with his hands bound, Ethan is unable to attack during this sequence.
Press "Examine" on the wood boards and Ethan will automatically kick them out of the way. Hop down onto the ledge below.
Keep going forward as fast as possible so that the archers can't get off their shots. Urias will crash the party and, after a cutscene where he smashes the stone bridge, players will once again regain control of Ethan.
Thwarting The Three Spike Traps
After sliding down a tunnel, Ethan will be in a room where the spiked ceiling is collapsing down upon him. Smash through the wood on the side of this room and crawl through to the next hall.
The next hall also has a spiked ceiling that is slowly descending, though this one is defeated by moving quickly forward until out of range of the ceiling. Then make a right turn and take a breather.
The third spike trap is deceptive, it will appear that Ethan has escaped, but as soon as he heads for the exit, a spiked wheel that covers the length of the room will spin toward him. Turn around quickly and find a nook on the right to hide out in.
Ethan will use this chance to cut his shackles free and, congratulations, you've beaten Heisenberg's gauntlet!