Resident Evil 8 Village for Xbox Series X, S and PC: Trailers, recommended specs, release date — Everything you need to know
The next Resident Evil game has been announced, and it’s looking like nothing this series has done before.
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The Resident Evil franchise as a whole is experiencing a revival, something that began with the success ofResident Evil 7: Biohazardin 2017. That game forsook a lot of the action-oriented elements that later games had taken and run with. Since then, Capcom has seen great success with the Resident Evil 2 remake receiving critical acclaim and outselling the original title. TheResident Evil 3 remakewas released in April 2020, and while it had some action, it was still very horror-focused.
As a result, the recent (and-long rumored) announcement of Resident Evil Village came as no surprise. This game appears to be taking some significant departures from past titles while still retaining the strong horror element of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Resident Evil Village is currently slated to arrive on May 7, 2021. Witches, werewolves, a snowy village, and an absolutely beefy Chris Redfield are just some of everything that we know so far.
Ethan can never catch a break
Resident Evil Village follows Resident Evil 7 and Ethan Winters' story, who has to enter a mysterious castle in search of his kidnapped daughter. You’ll get to contend against horrific creatures, including Lady Dimitrescu and her insect daughters.
What is Resident Evil Village?
Source: Capcom
Resident Evil Village is the next Resident Evil game from Capcom. It’s the eighth mainline game in the series, with the “VILL” in “VILLAGE” being bolded as a nod to “8” or Resident Evil 8. With that said, the official title is Resident Evil Village.
Resident Evil Village is ultimately a first-person survival horror game, tasking players to fight monsters with various weapons and scavenge for supplies in a dark setting. Resident Evil 7 was the first in the series to flip to first-person, and the tradition continues for Resident Evil Village, which follows the same protagonist as the previous game.
Resident Evil Village Trailers
Source: Capcom
Here is the announcement trailer for Resident Evil Village, whichwas shownduring Sony’sPS5showcase, The Future of Gaming. You may need to sign in to an account to bypass YouTube’s age-rating filter.
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At a later showcase, we got to see another trailer showing more glimpses of the horror that awaits:
In the January 2021 showcase, a third trailer focused on what is inside that mysterious castle:
During an April 2021 showcase, Capcom revealed a fourth trailer for the game, showcasing more of the plot and mechanics.
Resident Evil Village story, gameplay and features
Source: Capcom
Ethan Winters, the main protagonist of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, is the protagonist here again. Resident Evil Village takes place a few years after the events of the Baker Mansion, as Ethan and his wife Mia are trying to live in peace. Chris Redfield shows up and turns Ethan’s life upside-down.
Source: Capcom
As Ethan tracks Chris down and attempts to rescue his kidnapped daughter, he finds himself in a mysterious snowy European village with a foreboding castle — Dimitrescu Castle, home of several creepy individuals. The most notorious on social media is known as Lady Dimitrescu, notable for her immense height and vampiric traits. She commands her witch-like daughters (who can shift into swarms of insects) to hunt Ethan down. There’s also a house of werewolf-like beings led by a man called Karl Heisenberg, among other antagonists that have yet to be detailed.
Here’s everything else we know about the story, gameplay, and new features.
Resident Evil Village Multiplayer RE:Verse
Source: Capcom
Capcom seems desperate to add some form of on-going service to Resident Evil, despite repeated failed attempts. In any case, maybe they’ll get it right this time.
Resident Evil Village will come bundled with a separate RE:Verse mode, which is essentially a five-minute deathmatch mode for 4-6 players. In RE:Verse, you play as iconic characters from across the series. When your character is killed, you can respawn as one of the game’s iconic bioweapon charactrers, in “revenge”-style gameplay.
Will Resident Evil Village be on Xbox One?
Source: Capcom
While it was rumored that a current-generation version was in development at some point, Resident Evil Village is only officially coming to next-generation hardware: theXbox Series X,Xbox Series S, PS5, and PC. This allows Capcom to take full advantage of the next-generation hardware, including vastly superior graphics and CPU tech alongside ultra-fast SSDs.
With all that said, Capcomrecently statedat Tokyo Game Show 2020 that the team is looking into a version for Xbox One and PS4 but that “no promises” are being made. At the January 2021 showcase, Capcom confirmed that Xbox One and PS4 versions were coming. The Xbox One version supports Smart Delivery, meaning you’ll get a free upgrade to the higher-generation version.
Resident Evil Village PC requirements
Resident Evil Village runs on the RE Engine like its predecessor, which proved to be quite performant in general. In terms ofPC specs, Resident Evil guns for 60 FPS across all systems as a baseline, but also lists a range of additional visual enhancements you can achieve with ray tracing and higher-end cards for 4K. Capcom notes that more intense scenes may degrade performance, as you might expect.
Resident Evil Village Xbox performance
Resident Evil Village will match the PS5 onXbox Series X, but also offer a range of other performance modes and resolutions across the entire Xbox portfolio. Here’s what Capcom is estimating for performance, although exact capabilities will have to wait for a more thorough analysis. Capcom estimates an average 45 FPS for systems running ray tracing dynamic lighting modes, but the frame rates will be unlocked, so it may prove to be more performant than what has been listed.
We have no information on what type of sound features will be supported, but we expect you’ll want one of thebest Xbox headsetsto take advantage of this game, for the maximum spook factor.
When is the release date for Resident Evil Village?
Source: Capcom
After Capcom initially stated a broad “2021” release window, a release date wasannouncedduring a showcase on January 21, 2021.Resident Evil Village is currently set to release on May 7, 2021. When it does arrive, it’s likely to be one of the best Xbox horror games. We’ll have a review up hopefully in time for launch.
Ethan can never catch a break
Resident Evil Village follows Resident Evil 7 and Ethan Winters' story, who has to enter a mysterious castle in search of his kidnapped daughter. You’ll get to contend against horrific creatures, including Lady Dimitrescu and her insect daughters.
Xbox Series X/S
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Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.
