Like its predecessor, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Resident Evil Village uses a first-person perspective. It is set in a snowy explorable Eastern European village, described as "pulled straight from the Victorian era" and much larger and more immersive than its predecessor.[1] Structures and buildings in the central village can be climbed and used to fight enemies.[1] Compared to Biohazard, the game is more action-focused, with protagonist Ethan Winters now equipped with more combat skills due to military training.[2] The game's primary enemies, the werewolf-like Lycans, are not only agile and intelligent, but can wield weapons and attack in packs, forcing the player to rethink their strategy on whether to utilize sparse ammunition, use melee combat, or simply run away.[3][4][5] Similar to Resident Evil 4, makeshift barricades can be used to fend off enemies.[4]
The inventory management mechanic is similar to that of Resident Evil 4, featuring a briefcase and the ability to move and rotate items for better storage space. Players can buy supplies, weapons, upgrades, and items from a merchant, called the Duke.[6] The players can also hunt animals in the village and have them cooked into dishes by the Duke. Eating side dishes allows the player to gain certain advantages such as decreasing the damage taken while blocking.[7] Treasures and collectibles can be found around the village, and sold to the Duke for currency.[1]
Players can manually save the game progress by locating and using typewriters, which replaces the tape recorders seen in Resident Evil 7 and marks their first appearance in a mainline game since Resident Evil 4.[8] A map of the village can be accessed from the pause menu, as well as a diary with sketches recapping the player's progress in the story so far.[4] Two new features added to the game were photo mode, which gave players the opportunity to screenshot in-game moments, and a button to skip cutscenes.[9]
Similar to Resident Evil 3 (2020), Resident Evil Village will include a six-player online multiplayer game, Resident Evil RE:Verse,[10] which was delayed until summer 2021,[11] and was later further delayed until 2022.[12] The Mercenaries Mode also makes a returning appearance in Village. Like its previous Resident Evil entries, it is an arcade-style game mode.
