Gameplay
Both 7 and Village are first-person shooters, and both attempt to go back to the series’ roots by reintroducing strangely elaborate puzzles. Both games will force you to combine items, find ornate keys, fit little stone dog heads into door panels… that sort of thing.
But the biggest difference in gameplay lies in the gunplay itself. In Resident Evil 7, you could collect various powerful weapons and attachments but there was no meaningful way to upgrade them. With Village, we see the return of the merchant in the form of the Duke, and it’s already so much more engaging.
The Duke lets you upgrade various aspects of your weapons like reload speed, capacity, firepower, and fire rate. There’s joy to be had in saving up money for upgrades that feel impactful in the game. Not only that, the inventory system from RE4 is back as well, making inventory management a lot more fun in Village.
The enemy variety is also pretty dynamic in Village, compared to the generic mold monsters of 7. Even if you aren’t a fan of vampires and werewolves, and would rather go back to traditional zombies, they sure beat random mold guys coming out of the walls.
Winner: Resident Evil Village. There’s no doubt about it. Village might lack in story and setting, but it’s certainly a lot more fun to play.
