After experiencing the “devastation” of seven generations of the Baker family, Ethan, who has had a difficult life, has to face the challenge from the mysterious witch – the mother goddess Miranda and her four aristocrats.
Azina Timitrescu is a beautiful woman who is set to resemble Bloody Mary or Camilla the vampire . Donna Benevento manipulates the ghost girl bride Qiaji to communicate and act, which is easy to associate with horror movies with doll themes such as “Dead Silence”. Salvatore Moreau is an ugly and somewhat simple mermaid monster. Karl Heisenberg is dressed like an exorcist similar to Fan Haixin and is good at manipulating magnets to deal with enemies.
Compared to characters like “Father-in-law” who bring players a sense of fear like a nightmare in Generation 7, the performance of these nobles (except for Donna Benevento) is more like the evil villains commonly seen in action movies. Most of the time, they will cause trouble for Ethan from the “surface”, and although their methods are cruel, they emphasize the bloody and violent elements.
In addition, due to the limitation of the game’s length, the scenes of several nobles in the plot are not actually many. There is not much interaction and communication between Miranda and the four people. Their attitude towards their accomplices is mostly shown indirectly through confrontation with Ethan. From the first experience of the plot, Heisenberg’s image shaping is relatively three-dimensional compared to the other few. His views and behavioral motives towards Ethan and Miranda are a major highlight.
To understand their background, it is necessary to read various documents. In the game, the number and location of documents are reasonable, and the text description is very concise and clear. Combining the plot to gradually uncover the secrets behind these characters is a quite enjoyable process.
In addition to these four leaders, the monsters that inhabit the region are also similar to werewolves, gargoyles, Frankenstein, and other monsters with European folklore. Coupled with the relatively classical and traditional architectural and clothing styles, it is easy to associate them with works of the same genre such as “Bloodborne”.
The process experience of the village, castle, and reservoir part is called “Resident Evil: Yanan” and seems to have no sense of incongruity
Of course, these monsters and their “superpowers” are still related to mold and experimental mutations, and there are relatively detailed explanations in the game process. Whether you can accept this explanation depends on your mileage.
The Grim Reaper rides a horse
Four Nobles with Different Styles ②
In this game, four nobles occupy four major areas: castle, mansion, reservoir, and factory. Together with the village section connecting each area, these make up the entire map of the game. Compared to the previous game, the game stage of “Resident Evil 8” is larger and the exploration space is relatively wider. Players can freely travel between several regions to complete the various collection elements provided by the game.
In addition, the four regions correspond to different themes and gameplay modes. Among them, the castle where Mrs. Timitrescu is located and the factory in Heisenberg are the largest in scale and also occupy a considerable part of the process.
Mrs. Timitrescu’s castle is basically the traditional box-style exploration gameplay of the series. The number of enemies set in the castle is not large, and most of the time it is mainly puzzle exploration. However, players will be pursued by Mrs. Timitrescu and her three daughters during the exploration process. This mechanism is equivalent to the previous tyrant and tracker. After becoming familiar with the terrain of the castle, whether it is the huge Mrs. Timitrescu or her three daughters who can transform into flying insects, players can easily get rid of them, so the pressure on players is not too great.
Compared to castles, Heisenberg’s mechanized factory has set up a large number of modified experimental objects, with more frequent battles and emphasis on the combat experience. Due to the inclusion of numerous combat scenes, this stage in normal difficulty can be said to be one of the most enjoyable parts to play. However, in high difficulty, resources are scarce and enemies are more difficult to deal with, so players may inevitably suffer some hardships.
The process of the Western Pavilion and Reservoir sandwiched in the middle of the game is relatively shorter. The experience of the Western Pavilion is the most special part of the four areas. Due to the plot setting, Ethan will lose his weapon after entering Benevento’s Western Pavilion, and there will be no battles throughout the entire level, which is entirely driven by puzzle exploration.
The most frightening thing is the large monster baby that appears later. Some human baby features can still be seen on the face of the monster baby, but the facial features have been completely distorted. Just looking at it is terrifying. Players can only choose to escape and avoid it, which further increases the pressure when facing it. The whole scene, atmosphere creation, and way of avoiding the monster baby can see some shadows of works such as ” Escape ” and “P.T.”, which are the parts of the game that can leave the most “shadows” on players.
The appearance and cries of the strange baby can drive people crazy, and I don’t want to face it again
The last thing to mention is the puzzles that appear in the game. The difficulty of the puzzles in this game is already at the level of an “open-book exam”, mostly testing the player’s eyesight and observation skills. The hints are often arranged directly next to the puzzles, and the descriptions are also very straightforward. Overall, this game focuses more on the form and expression of the puzzles rather than the gameplay design itself.
[Battle and Collection]
The variety of enemies in Resident Evil 8 has significantly increased, and the different action modes and weaknesses of the monsters make the battles less monotonous. For example, the single-diamond iron soldier is a common monster in Heisenberg Factory, and they often use their arms to block the weak core in front of their chest. Players need to lure them to attack to expose their weaknesses. Although the double-diamond iron soldier encountered in the later stage of the factory looks similar to the single-diamond iron soldier, the weak core is transferred to the back. Therefore, players have to use the terrain to circle behind them in order to effectively strike.
However, there are still some problems with the design of the battle, such as killing monsters out of thin air, appearance of obstruction objects, and the appearance of big monsters like Carmen. In addition, in this generation, players can use blocking actions to resist enemy attacks and reduce damage. Moreover, while resisting, players can also quickly shoot, which is a quite powerful and easy-to-use action mechanism.
With the increase of enemy types, players need to be more targeted in the synthesis and use of combat materials. This is particularly important in high-difficulty games where materials are scarce. Whether to synthesize liquid drugs into shotgun bullets to clean up enemies more efficiently, or synthesize first aid drugs to ensure recovery and endurance… all need to be allocated according to the battle situation or their own combat style.
The boss battles in the game basically continue the design concept of the previous “Resident Evil” series. The exciting cutscenes and multi-stage form changes allow players to enjoy themselves. The battle process itself has no special changes compared to previous games or similar games, including weak point attacks, using terrain to circle or fight and run, etc. I believe that most game players are already very familiar with these strategies. Of course, these bosses still pose a considerable threat to players at high difficulty.
Overall, the production team not only ensures stable performance in Boss battles, but also provides players with an excellent audio-visual experience and a better on-site atmosphere.
In the game, the Duke is a mysterious merchant who appears at various level points. Players can buy supplies, upgrade weapons, and more from him. Although the prices of the items sold by the Duke seem very expensive, as long as players pay attention to collecting treasures to exchange for money, especially those that can be combined like the 4th generation, the funds are still very abundant. Basically, it can guarantee the upgrade of commonly used weapons, backpacks, and the purchase of synthetic formulas.
On the contrary, the limited amount of first aid medicine and ammunition may appear more scarce in certain situations. For example, when going to the Heisenberg factory, there is a long battle process, but there will be no merchants asking players to buy supplies on the way. If not prepared in advance, it is likely to be embarrassing to have a large amount of money but nowhere to spend it.
Sometimes buying more bullets is more practical than upgrading weapons
In addition to selling goods, the Duke can also provide additional cooking services. The poultry, fish, and other meat collected by killing animals in the game can be handed over to the Duke to make dishes. Eating these dishes can permanently improve Ethan’s health point and blocking ability. However, the number and location of animals are completely fixed, essentially still a traditional enhanced collection mechanism.
There are still many treasures in various areas of the game for players to explore and discover, from which they can find powerful weapons like Magnum or other treasures. Coupled with the return of the mercenary mode, the content of this game is more substantial compared to the 7th generation and last year’s Biohazard 3 remake.
[Review Summary]
“Resident Evil 8: Village” due to the change of the stage, the perspective switched to a more macroscopic field, so most of the process of this work does not have the horror atmosphere of the 7th generation in a closed space. The relatively abundant supply of materials and the role of merchants also make the survival pressure of this work smaller. Overall, it is closer to the fast-paced action experience of ” Resident Evil 4 ” .
