Resident Evil Village is a 2021 survival horror game created and published by Capcom. It follows Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) and is the eighth main game in the Resident Evil series. Players control Ethan Winters, who searches for his missing daughter in a mysterious European village filled with dangerous, mutated creatures. The game keeps the survival horror style from earlier games, such as searching for items and managing supplies. It also includes more action-based gameplay, with more enemies and a stronger focus on fighting.
Resident Evil Village was first announced during the PlayStation 5 reveal event in June 2020. It was released on May 7, 2021, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Later, versions were released for macOS and Nintendo Switch through cloud gaming in October 2022, PlayStation VR2 in February 2023, iOS in October 2023, and Nintendo Switch 2 in February 2026.
Critics generally praised the game for its gameplay, setting, and variety of activities. However, some criticized its puzzles, boss battles, and performance problems on the Windows version. The increased focus on action gameplay caused mixed reactions. The game won awards such as Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards. By November 2024, it had sold over 10.5 million copies. A sequel, Resident Evil Requiem, was released on February 27, 2026.
Gameplay
Resident Evil Village, like its earlier version Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, allows players to view the game from a first-person perspective or switch to a third-person perspective. The game takes place in a snowy, exploreable European village described as "taken directly from the Victorian era" and is larger and more detailed than its predecessor. Players can climb buildings in the central village and use them to fight enemies. Compared to Biohazard, the game focuses more on action, with the main character, Ethan Winters, having combat skills from military training. The main enemies, Lycans, are quick and smart, can use weapons, and attack in groups. This forces players to decide whether to use limited bullets, fight with their hands, or run away. Like Resident Evil 4 (2005), players can build temporary barriers to block enemies.
The game’s inventory system is similar to Resident Evil 4, featuring a briefcase and the ability to rearrange items for better storage. Players can buy supplies, weapons, upgrades, and items from a merchant named the Duke. Players can hunt animals in the village, and the Duke can cook them into meals. Eating certain side dishes gives players advantages, such as reducing damage when blocking. Treasures and collectibles can be found around the village and sold to the Duke for money.
Players can manually save their progress by using typewriters, which replace the tape recorders from Resident Evil 7. This feature first appeared in a mainline game since Resident Evil 4. A map of the village and a diary with sketches summarizing the story so far can be accessed from the pause menu. Two new features include a photo mode for taking screenshots of in-game moments and a button to skip cutscenes.
The Mercenaries Mode, an arcade-style game mode from earlier Resident Evil games, returns in Village. Players complete timed stages and buy items and upgrades from the Duke’s Emporium. Players who bought Village also received Resident Evil Re:Verse, a six-player online multiplayer game. Re:Verse was delayed for nearly a year and launched in October 2022. IGN criticized the game’s balance, lack of content, and aggressive monetization, while GamingBolt called it the worst Resident Evil game. Re:Verse was shut down on June 29, 2025.
Synopsis
Resident Evil Village takes place four years after the events of Resident Evil 7, mainly on February 9, 2021. Ethan Winters returns as the main character, having defeated a dangerous creature named Eveline in Resident Evil 7. Ethan lives with his wife Mia and his six-month-old daughter Rose. Chris Redfield, a hero from earlier Resident Evil games, and his team suddenly arrive, kill Mia, and take Ethan and Rose. While Ethan and Rose are being transported in a van, a strange creature crashes the van near a village. Ethan must travel through the village to rescue Rose. The village is attacked by wolf-like creatures called Lycans and controlled by four powerful leaders. Lady Dimitrescu, a tall vampire, lives in Castle Dimitrescu with her three daughters and other creatures. Donna Beneviento, a ghost-like figure, rules from her mansion and uses a puppet named Angie. A creature resembling a merman named Salvatore Moreau lives near the village. Karl Heisenberg, who can control electromagnetic energy, leads an army of robot-like soldiers from a factory. All the houses in the village answer to a leader named Mother Miranda, a witch-like figure who is worshiped by the villagers.
Three years after Resident Evil 7, Ethan and Mia move to Europe with their newborn daughter Rose to start a new life. One night, Chris Redfield and his team attack their home, kill Mia, and take Ethan and Rose. The next morning, Ethan wakes up near a crashed truck and finds Rose missing. He walks through a dark forest and discovers a village being attacked by Lycans. Ethan finds villagers hiding in a house but cannot save them during an attack and is captured by Karl Heisenberg. He is brought before Mother Miranda and the other leaders: Alcina Dimitrescu, Donna Beneviento, Salvatore Moreau, and Heisenberg. Ethan escapes a trap set by Heisenberg and goes to Dimitrescu’s castle with help from a mysterious merchant named the Duke. Ethan defeats Dimitrescu and her daughters and finds a bottle containing Rose’s head. The Duke explains that Mother Miranda placed Rose’s body parts in four bottles for a ritual. Rose can be saved if Ethan finds the other bottles.
While searching for the bottles, Ethan learns that Chris Redfield and his team are also in the village. He passes a test by Heisenberg to get the fourth bottle and is invited to a factory. Heisenberg suggests they work together to defeat Miranda, but Ethan refuses when he learns Heisenberg wants to use Rose as a weapon. Ethan escapes and confronts Chris, who reveals that "Mia" was actually Miranda in disguise. Chris explains that Miranda can copy others and tried to take Rose. Chris destroys Heisenberg’s factory while Ethan uses a tank to kill Heisenberg. After the battle, Miranda reveals her plan to take Rose and kills Ethan by removing his heart.
Chris leads his team to save Rose while soldiers from the BSAA distract Miranda. Chris finds a giant fungus called the Megamycete, the source of the mold. He plants a bomb on the fungus and learns that Miranda has lived for over 100 years and helped create the T-Virus. Miranda tried to revive her dead daughter, Eva, using the fungus, but failed. Rose is special because she inherited powers from Ethan and Mia. Chris rescues Mia, who says Ethan might still be alive because of his unique traits.
Ethan is revived by Eveline, who explains that he died earlier but was brought back by her mold, giving him healing powers. The Duke takes Ethan to a ritual site where Miranda tries to revive Eva but accidentally revives Rose instead. Miranda fights Ethan, who kills her, and the Megamycete emerges. Ethan uses his healing powers to detonate the bomb on the fungus, saving Rose and Mia. Chris takes Mia and Rose to safety. Years later, Rose visits Ethan’s grave before leaving on a mission. As she drives away, an unknown person approaches her car.
Rose, now 16, is separated from Mia and protected by Chris. She is teased at school because of her powers from the fungus. A soldier named Canine tells her about a crystal that can remove her powers. He suggests she find research in the fungus’s consciousness. Rose enters the fungus’s world, where she sees a version of Dimitrescu’s castle covered in mold. She meets a spirit named Michael and explores deeper layers of the fungus. She relives painful memories of being bullied and learns about her father’s love through a letter. She faces a version of Eveline and escapes with Michael’s help.
Rose finds the Purifying Crystal, which removes her powers. Miranda’s spirit appears, claiming Canine was an illusion to lure her. Miranda plans to use Rose’s mind to revive her daughter. Michael reveals he is Ethan’s spirit and helps Rose escape. Ethan encourages Rose to leave and fights Miranda. Rose sees her father in danger and decides to help him.
Development
Resident Evil Village was developed for about three and a half years before it was announced in June 2020. Capcom’s Resident Evil team began working on the game on August 8, 2016, while Resident Evil 7 was still about six months away from its release, according to director Morimasa Sato. Since they could not use the success of Resident Evil 7 as a reference, the team kept their initial designs focused on the core survival horror gameplay elements from Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 7. During this early stage, the team created the idea of the village as the central theme, inspired by Resident Evil 4, where the village was also a key location and influenced many gameplay mechanics. The team used Resident Evil 4’s approach to create "a balance of combat, exploration, and puzzle solving." Sato said the new game would include "the essence of Resident Evil 4," while Resident Evil 7 served as the foundation for the game. Producer Tsuyoshi Kanda noted that one lesson from Resident Evil 7 was that horror should not be black and white, but should have variations to appeal to a wider audience. The team aimed for a more balanced mix of action and horror in Village.
Resident Evil 7 was released in January 2017 and was well received by critics and players. This led the team to make the next game a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7, keeping Ethan Winters as the main character and using the same gameplay style. Kanda said this helped complete Ethan’s story, which was left unfinished in Resident Evil 7. The team grew attached to Ethan and worked with other Capcom teams to create a story for him.
As development continued, Sato said the team wanted to give players more freedom in solving problems, making the game "a horror movie that you can play." Kanda explained that, like Resident Evil 4, the team included different horror themes in the village, leading Capcom to describe it as "a theme park of horror." Unlike earlier Resident Evil games, which followed a linear path, the team designed an open-world-style village with optional and secret areas to reward exploration. The main story followed a set order that the team believed was best for the player’s experience. Sato noted that the horror in Village came from the uncertainty of what lurked in the open village, unlike the confined spaces of the Baker mansion in Resident Evil 7. The game also included quieter moments, such as save points, to ease the tension. Sato said the snowy setting was inspired by a research trip to Europe, where the team experienced an unexpected cold snap and snow-covered scenery. They used snow not only for visuals but also as a gameplay element. While Capcom considers Village the eighth main game in the series, its logo uses the Roman numeral "VIII" for 8, but the producers emphasized the "village" theme instead. In a Famitsu interview, Kanda and Peter Fabiano said they wanted the title’s design to reflect the village as a character, helping players remember it. Development was delayed for a month due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
Many enemies in Resident Evil Village were inspired by classic or gothic horror figures. However, the team ensured these enemies were "living beings" within the Resident Evil universe, with scientific explanations for their existence. This approach is consistent with the franchise as a whole. Art director Tomonori Takano said the team drew inspiration from Resident Evil 4 to create memorable characters for the village. They aimed to move away from using zombies to scare players and instead created unique situations and characters that generated fear in new ways. Initially, Capcom considered including hundreds of witches in the village but found this difficult to conceptualize. They switched to vampires for Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters, avoiding typical vampire stereotypes. Castle Dimitrescu was inspired by Peleș Castle in Romania.
The other three houses in the village were based on gothic horror themes: simulacra, mermen, and ghosts, for the Heisenberg, Moreau, and Beneviento houses, respectively. Karl Heisenberg, an engineer with 1960s-style fashion, had a base not covered in snow, likely due to its lower altitude. Salvatore Moreau was designed as "the most repulsive character on Earth," with his domain originally inspired by a frozen lake the team saw during a research trip. House Beneviento expanded ideas from Resident Evil 7, with Donna Beneviento and her puppet Angie considered the scariest of the four lords by some team members. Mother Miranda’s design was inspired by crows, which were symbolic in the game’s village and a recurring theme.
The Lycans’ werewolf-like design was created to fit the gothic horror setting. Sato said the enemies were inspired by werewolves and represented the twisted outcome of humans.
Chris Redfield, a main character in many Resident Evil games, appears as a major supporting character in Village. However, he is shown as more sinister in the game’s trailers, killing Mia and kidnapping Rose, which surprised fans. Kanda described Chris’s role as "a much darker, more sinister one," contrasting with his previous heroic portrayals. His actions create a mystery that Capcom saw as an opportunity to explore his character’s development. Chris becomes playable near the end of the game, with a shift to action-heavy gameplay due to his experience fighting bioweapons.
Similar to Resident Evil 3 (2020), Resident Evil Village included a six-player online multiplayer game called Resident Evil Re:Verse, developed by NeoBards Entertainment.
Release and promotion
Lady Dimitrescu, a character who became popular before the game was released, was shown many times in advertisements and merchandise before the game launched. To promote the game, Capcom held a special lottery to give away a free Resident Evil Village acrylic jigsaw puzzle. People could enter the lottery by tweeting the hashtag #VILLAGE予約. On March 3, AMD announced that the PC version would include ray tracing and AMD FidelityFX technology. Resident Evil Village was the main cover game in the April 2021 issue of Game Informer. On April 30, 2021, a puppet show with the four lords was posted on YouTube. Each puppet said they are not scary. On May 11, 2021, Capcom shared a video showing how they created the game's theme song, "Village of Shadows," on their YouTube channel.
The first demo, called "Maiden," was only available for PlayStation 5 on January 21, 2021. A second demo, called "Village," was released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 users on April 15, 2021. This demo allowed players to explore the village for 30 minutes and could be played only once for eight hours. A third demo, called "Castle," was released for PlayStation early access users on April 24, 2021. It let players explore the castle for 30 minutes and could be played once for eight hours. A fourth demo was released on May 1, 2021, for all platforms. It allowed players to explore both the village and castle for 60 minutes and was available for seven days.
Resident Evil Village was released on May 7, 2021, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. To celebrate the release, Capcom created a large chalk drawing of a Lycan creature on a hillside in Somerset. The artwork was 58 meters high and over 100 meters long. In Japan, the game was released in two versions to follow local rules. One version, called CERO Z, was only for people 18 years old and older and had more violence. The other version, called CERO D, was for people 17 years old and older and had less violence. Both versions had less violence than the international releases. A special collector's edition was available for console versions, including a Chris Redfield figurine, a hardcover art book, and a village map poster. A macOS version and a cloud version for Nintendo Switch were released on October 28, 2022. A virtual reality mode for the PlayStation 5 version was added as free downloadable content on February 22, 2023, with the release of the PlayStation VR2 headset. A version of the game for select iPad and iPhone models was released on October 30, 2023. A Nintendo Switch 2 version was released on February 27, 2026, along with Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Requiem.
At E3 2021, Capcom announced that downloadable content for the game was being developed. At the Capcom Showcase in June 2022, the Winters' Expansion was revealed. This expansion includes a new story called "Shadows of Rose," with Rosemary "Rose" Winters as the main character. It also adds a third-person camera mode for the main story, two new areas, and new playable characters for the Mercenaries mode, including Chris Redfield, Lady Dimitrescu, and Karl Heisenberg. The expansion was released on October 28, 2022, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S versions. It was also released for the Nintendo Switch cloud version on December 2, 2022, and for the macOS version on January 13, 2023.
Reception
Resident Evil Village received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic.
Some critics noted that the gameplay in Resident Evil Village focused more on action than in Resident Evil 7. They compared this change to the shift in Resident Evil 4. Phil Hornshaw of GameSpot said that while Resident Evil 7 had a "dark and creepy haunted house" feel like earlier games, Village took ideas from the "faster, panickier" style of Resident Evil 4. IGN’s Tristan Ogilvie said the game combined the action style of Resident Evil 4 with the modern design of Resident Evil 7. Hornshaw praised the new direction, saying it made the game feel like a good sequel and balanced action with scares. However, Leon Hurley of GameRadar criticized the change, calling the game "one of the 'not a horror game' Resident Evils" and saying it weakened the improvements made in Resident Evil 7. Later parts of the game received mixed opinions because they focused heavily on action. Ogilvie praised the final chapters for their exciting, fast-paced gameplay, while Hornshaw and Hurley said these sections felt too similar to games like Call of Duty and Resident Evil 6.
Critics praised the variety of gameplay in different sections of the game. Hornshaw said the game used many different horror ideas and changed between them smoothly, calling each area "fun, intense, and frightening in its own way." Hurley said the first half of the game had strong atmosphere and one of the best horror moments he had played in a long time, but he thought the second half felt average. He also said the changing ideas kept players excited about what was coming next. Ogilvie noted that each section had different gameplay styles, such as stealth or psychological horror, and said the variety of enemies added more depth to the game. The open-world style of exploration was well received, with Hurley saying it was the first time the series tried open-world gameplay. He said players spent time exploring and discovering surprises. Ogilvie agreed, saying the focus on exploration made the game different from earlier games and felt rewarding.
The game’s boss fights and puzzles received criticism. Hurley said the puzzles were often too simple or had solutions that were spoiled by nearby hints. Ogilvie said the puzzles were either too easy or had answers that were too obvious. Hornshaw said the movement system was the same as in Resident Evil 7 and felt "slow and clunky," making it better for fighting enemies than for boss battles. Hurley said boss fights didn’t feel right for first-person combat because of the slow movement, and players had to move bosses out of their view during fights. Ogilvie said many boss battles were short and not very exciting, saying he would have preferred them to be more engaging. Hornshaw said the story was not one of the best in the series and did not resolve all plot points from Resident Evil 7 or connect well with the larger series. Hurley said the story’s pacing was "inconsistent," with some parts feeling too short or too long. Ogilvie said the story was "a compelling mystery" that kept him interested throughout.
The arcade mode "The Mercenaries," which unlocks after finishing the main game, was praised by Hornshaw for showing how strong the combat was and for being fun on its own. Ogilvie also said the mode was "addictive" and the most valuable bonus to unlock.
The Windows version of the game had performance problems during intense combat. Richard Leadbetter of Digital Foundry said the game had very high frame times and stuttering, especially during fights with enemies like the maidens. He said this was caused by a combination of Denuvo and Capcom’s own anti-tamper software. In July 2021, a pirated version of the game was released, which removed these software protections. Leadbetter tested this version and said it improved the game’s performance. A similar issue had affected Devil May Cry 5, and Capcom later fixed it by removing Denuvo and its DRM. Capcom released a patch for Village that improved performance, making it similar to the pirated version.
Shortly after its release, film director Richard Raaphorst accused Capcom of copying a monster from his film Frankenstein’s Army for the "Sturm" creature in Resident Evil Village.
Resident Evil Village sold over three million copies in its first four days, becoming the third-fastest-selling game in the series, tied with 2019’s Resident Evil 2. At the same time, Capcom said the series had sold 100 million copies since its debut in 1996. From May 3 to May 9, 2021, the PlayStation 4 version of the game was first in Japan’s gaming charts, selling 111,171 units in a week. The PlayStation 5 version sold 38,713 units, reaching fourth place. The game was the best-selling in the United States and the United Kingdom in May 2021. It became the eighth best-selling game of 2021 in the U.S. By May 2022, the game had sold 6.1 million units worldwide, and by June 2022, it had sold 6.4 million. By January 2023, it had sold 7.4 million units. By June 2023, it had sold 8.3 million units. At the end of 2023, it had sold 9.3 million units. By November 2024, it had sold over 10.5 million units. By April 2025, it had sold over 11 million units. By January 2026, it had sold 13.589 million copies.
Resident Evil Village saw increased sales before the release of Resident Evil Requiem and the 30th anniversary of the Resident Evil franchise in 2026.