Resident Evil Village for PS5: Everything you need to know

Ice-cold horror is waiting.

Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise shows no signs of slowing down, with the Resident Evil 3 remake landing in April 2020. This series has sold over 100 million copies so far and the next entry is looking to escalate that number.

Resident Evil Village is a strange game based on what we’ve seen so far, abandoning past franchise mainstays and taking our cast to a mysterious snowy village. No longer are the enemies hordes of zombies — instead, we’ll have to battle the likes of werewolf-like Lycans and vampire ladies. Here’s everything we know about Resident Evil Village.

What is Resident Evil Village?

Resident Evil Village is the eighth mainline game in Capcom’s long-running Resident Evil franchise. It’s a survival-horror game being developed for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Google Stadia and Steam.

In addition to a single-player story, Resident Evil Village will bring back the classic Mercenaries gameplay. The multiplayer game RE:Verse is set to launch alongside Village.

Resident Evil Village trailers

Capcom revealed Resident Evil Village at Sony’s PS5 showcase in June 2020.

The second trailer came at a second Sony showcase in September, and revealed more snippets of the story.

The third trailer, which gave us the first glimpse of the imposing Lady Dimitrescu, was released in January 2021.

The fourth trailer was released during Capcom’s Resident Evil showcase in April 2021. This trailer gave us a longer glimpse of all the characters, including Chris Redfield.

Resident Evil Village story, features and gameplay

Resident Evil Village is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and stars that game’s protagonist, Ethan Winters. He’s once again traveling to a remote, rural location looking for his family member. He had settled down with his wife Mia some time after the events of 7. Series regular Chris Redfield attacks his home, kills Mia, and kidnaps Ethan’s daughter Rosemary. He’s now chased the kidnappers to the titular European village.

Unfortunately for Ethan, the village is not your typical rural town. The castle that overlooks the village is ruled by Lady Dimitrescu — also known as Tall Vampire Lady — and her equally bloodthirsty daughters, who all know who Ethan is and seem determined to thwart his rescue. Ethan will also have to contend with the dangerous Lycans, werewolf-like creatures that stalk him throughout the village. They attack in packs, can wield weapons, and even ride horses.

Like its predecessor, Resident Evil Village utilizes a first-person perspective and is built using the RE Engine that has powered Resident Evil 7: Biohazard as well as the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3. If the consistent quality continues, this could end up being one of the best PS5 games so far.

Capcom has released three demos for Village so far. The first, the Maiden demo, allows you to play as a different character than Ethan, who is trying to escape from Dimitrescu castle. It was available exclusively on PS5. Our senior editor Carli Velocci tried it and found it to be a fantastic (if short) audio showcase.

Capcom has since announced two other demos, “Village” and “Castle.” Both are PlayStation-exclusive. These are timed demos, only being available for a few hours, and only allowing up to 30 minutes of play. A combination of the two that allows 60 minutes of play will also be available. As the name suggests, they show off the gameplay in the village and castle, respectively. Both of these demos show off the gameplay more than the story.

Is Resident Evil Village coming to PS4?

Resident Evil Village was initially only confirmed for current-generation machines, including the PS5. This allows the developers to take full advantage of the new hardware such as the ultra-fast SSDs. After stating in 2020 that the team was looking into options for last-generation owners, Capcom revealed at the January 2021 Resident Evil showcase that the game was coming to PS4 and Xbox One, in addition to the previously revealed platforms.

If you buy Resident Evil Village on PS4, you’ll be able to upgrade to the PS5 version for free.

Does Resident Evil Village support PSVR?

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard supported PSVR, allowing players to experience the entire game in terrifying virtual reality. Right now, Capcom has not stated whether or not Resident Evil Village will have similar functionality. No PSVR option has been revealed for Resident Evil Village yet, so it’s looking unlikely.

When is the Resident Evil Village release date?

Resident Evil Village is currently slated to arrive on May 7, 2021. Capcom gave this release date during the January 21 Resident Evil showcase.

The next chapter

Resident Evil Village (PS5)

• $60 at PlayStation
• $60 at Best Buy

From the Baker House to Castle Dimitrescu

Resident Evil Village follows Resident Evil 7 and the story of Ethan Winters, 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. If you have a PS5, you can check out the stand-alone demo Maiden right now.