Aneres11 Posted May 8, 2021 Posted May 8, 2021 My copy arrived. Along with that much other post they had to put an elastic band around it… So definitely a Royal Fail issue it seems. Thankfully I have some time over the weekend to play, so just letting it install its update before I crack on! 2
CrowingJoe79 Posted May 8, 2021 Posted May 8, 2021 I got past the castle. Now I am lost in the village. The puzzles are so easy. There's one where you just shoot five bells to open a door. It's like the weather vanes "puzzle" in RE6, where you did something quite similar. I am somebody who never really cared for puzzles in survival horror games, as they take away from the momentum of the action sometimes. But they are now purposefully made for kids who never started with the older games from the PlayStation era. I swear. Wait until you get to the piano puzzle. That's another one that takes little in the way of effort.
Aneres11 Posted May 8, 2021 Posted May 8, 2021 I’ve not put too many hours into this yet but have come through the Village section and reached the Castle. The gameplay section that featured in the demo is present in the early stages of the game, so I knew what I was doing there which allowed me to quickly progress through that part. So far I have quite mixed feelings. I am enjoying the game, but I am going to go back to the old “it’s not resident evil” thing again. Perhaps the story will tie it together somehow as it progresses, but as with 7, I find myself wondering, again, what made Capcom go in this direction with this franchise. I am playing sections that feel like they’ve been inspired by Arkham Asylums Riddler, parts that feel like they’re trying to recreate the opening hours of RE 4 and then being thrust into a castle that has a striking resemblance to the mansion from the original game in the series. It almost feels like they are trying to keep one foot in the past in it’s locations to satisfy long time fans by being all “hey, here’s a creepy mansion style area” but then they mix it in with some new game play ideas which can feel a bit jarring and out of place. I am reserving full judgement until I have played it through, but I’ve been scratching my head a bit in parts Alongside all of this, there has been quite a few run ins with Chris Redfield, which just further adds to the confusion. Great to see him, but I’d rather be playing as him rather than this Ethan guy, who even after one full game, I still don’t really care about. I’m not invested in him as a character at all which makes it even more of a hard sell for me as he pretty much means nothing to me. I have always found one of Resident Evils strengths is its characters, and have enjoyed playing as many different protagonists over the years (fave being Jill). But Ethan doesn’t live up to any of them, and that makes it even harder for me to invest. I am not hating on the game, it is enjoyable to play. It looks great, controls really nicely, and I am looking forward to finding out more about the strange characters I have met so far. 1 1
CrowingJoe79 Posted May 8, 2021 Posted May 8, 2021 I haven't gotten to the factory section yet, but there's robot things with a red glowing part on them that you have to shoot at. And it's like, oh my God. Why, Capcom? So um, yeah. I don't blame anyone for thinking this has strayed too far from the roots of the franchise. It's honestly all quite ridiculous. #NotMyRE
Aneres11 Posted May 9, 2021 Posted May 9, 2021 Little bit further in now. Back into the village again and now I’m going to be on my way to the next location. I have to say, I’m really enjoying the game. The pace is nice but I am only playing on Casual as the trophy guide I’m following (without spoilers) recommended that so I could collect what’s needed on one play through and then carry all my money and upgrades over on New Game Plus. Already not looking forward to knife only mode! One disappointment: Spoiler The sisters you encounter within the Castle are all killed in the exact same way. And there’s not much thought around it at all. Would have been nice if they decided to just change it up for each sister, and their presence is quite short lived given how much promotional material they feature in. One thing I love is that classic RE map layout. How it is all like a bit of a puzzle with several locked areas that you slowly open up with new keys and items. Something so satisfying about it. Save points seem quite few and far between this time so after an hour or so this afternoon I stopped with my current save. May get around to a little more this evening. 1 1
CrowingJoe79 Posted May 10, 2021 Posted May 10, 2021 Well, I finished it around midnight, and while I thought it was enjoyable, you can tell that they're really jumping the shark with the bizarre ideas they're incorporating into the franchise, like how the mold can basically cause a person to switch up their forms to represent whatever it is they wish to copy. To that, I say, rest in peace to you, Neptune. That was the enormous shark in the first game, in case you don't know. What did you think of the robot boss? That was so funny. Well, that, and the mutated baby that you have to hide from, is now one of my top picks for the most zany, out there additions to this long suffering, survival horror series. They already did something like that in one of The Evil Within games, if not in both of them. By the way, the director of a 2013 film claims that Capcom has stolen his ideas without giving him any credit. Well, well, well... https://www.xboxachievements.com/news/news-38615-frankensteins-army-director-claims-that-resident-evil-village-features-plagiarised-monster-designs.html
Aneres11 Posted May 14, 2021 Posted May 14, 2021 Finished the game this evening. Gotta say, whilst I have been vocal about my disappointment in the direction they were seemingly taking the series, Village is an absolute triumph. I can’t and won’t spoiler it for anyone still wanting to play, but the game really ties the story up superbly. Everything from 7 now makes sense and even previous games are nodded to way back to how the original game even came to be! Or rather the original outbreak. Reading that file right at the end made me !! In terms of the game itself, well it just checked every single box for me. It clocked in at just under 10 hours in the end which I think is a really good campaign length it never felt like it dragged on, and didn’t leave me wanting more (see REmake 3). The actual Village location was really great. A sprawling map that had lots of intricate interlocking sections (classic RE) and nods to previous games with the castle and dolls house a bit later in. Whilst at first I felt it was Capcom’s way of trying to cater to long time fans, it actually worked really well as you don’t spend a huge amount of time in it. That’s both a positive and a negative, really. It’s good because then it doesn’t feel like a desperate play on an old location, but bad because the whole game has been sold with these vampire type characters who barely stick around. Thankfully, (unlike in RE7) there are PLENTY of enemies in this game and a lot of variations of monsters, and that’s without including the boss fights. I really felt like they nailed that aspect of each new area having a different type of enemy that posed a whole new threat. Speaking of boss fights, well there were plenty in the game. None gave me any trouble but I did play on casual, so I’m pretty sure if I went a difficulty up I’d feel the pain way more! Some of the bosses were a little… lazy. Like shoot the glowing dots as per a lot of other RE games we’ve see before, but it’s a minor complaint really. The game looks absolutely stunning in parts. Earlier on, it’s nice enough but as you progress through and it starts to reach sunset some of the areas in the village are just gorgeous. I played around with the photo editor in game a little which was pretty cool. Didn’t really discover it until 3/4 of my way through, but here’s a few I did snap. All in all I absolutely loved the game. It’s going to take some to top this for me I think. I’m honestly so chuffed how the game turned out and I’m really pleased a lot of people are playing this having seen the sales numbers. It just did everything right in my opinion both in terms of the story and the game play. I’ve often found with RE that the story either makes no sense or it leaves you with more questions than answers. 7 was terrible for the latter but it sounds like Capcom heard the feedback and they absolutely nailed it here. Of course, being RE it still leaves you with some questions. The end cut scene in particular. But with this “chapter” seemingly coming to a close now I cannot wait to see where they take it next. They just need to bring back Jill as playable and I’ll be even happier than how I am after playing through this absolute return to form. 2 1
CrowingJoe79 Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 (edited) Spoiler Perhaps it isn't. Did anyone check out YouTube recently? Edited May 15, 2021 by Ike Added spoiler tags
Aneres11 Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 2 hours ago, CrowingJoe79 said: *snip* You really should spoiler tag these things as you’re basically ruining the story and end game for people yet to play…
Hero-of-Time Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 1 hour ago, Aneres11 said: You really should spoiler tag these things as you’re basically ruining the story and end game for people yet to play… Yup. That’s pretty much given me a plot point spoiler right there. 1
Aneres11 Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 5 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Yup. That’s pretty much given me a plot point spoiler right there. Very frustrating. Thankfully, it doesn’t spoil the rest of the story, which is a real high point in my opinion and ties the last two in the series together nicely. But yeah, not ideal at all.
Happenstance Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 Just now, Aneres11 said: Very frustrating. Thankfully, it doesn’t spoil the rest of the story, which is a real high point in my opinion and ties the last two in the series together nicely. But yeah, not ideal at all. It might be worth editing your quote as well. Even if he does spoiler tag the original post, your quote won’t be.
Dcubed Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 (edited) So for those that have finished it... For someone who found RE7 unbelievably boring as fuck (it's basically a glorified walking simulator), is there any real gameplay meat on RE8's bones this time around? From what I can gather, there's a much stronger focus on combat here than in RE7; but is the combat any good? Are there interesting enemy & boss encounters? Are there actual puzzles? (And are they any good?), is there any interesting level design this time around? If so, I might give it a go at some point (probably when it inevitably hits Game Pass in a few months). For what it's worth? I thought RE2: Remake was surprisingly well done. Far better than I was expecting! (Haven't played RE3:R though) Edited May 15, 2021 by Dcubed
Aneres11 Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 5 minutes ago, Dcubed said: So for those that have finished it... For someone who found RE7 unbelievably boring as fuck (it's basically a glorified walking simulator), is there any real gameplay meat on RE8's bones this time around? From what I can gather, there's a much stronger focus on combat here than in RE7; but is the combat any good? Are there interesting enemy & boss encounters? Are there actual puzzles? (And are they any good?), is there any interesting level design this time around? If so, I might give it a go at some point (probably when it inevitably hits Game Pass in a few months). For what it's worth? I thought RE2: Remake was surprisingly well done. Far better than I was expecting! (Haven't played RE3:R though) Yes. It leans much more into combat this time around. The enemies are nicely varied, and including the boss battles there’s plenty to keep you happy. The puzzles are on the weaker side in my opinion. Sometimes they feel a little shoe horned in, and there’s not too many after the mid way point. Level design is always good with RE. Did you finish 7? I found the whole house very well linked together and have always found that to be a huge strength of the RE series. The way areas are off bounds for a time but eventually unlock via progression or through opening new areas of the map is really satisfying and has been a series staple since the beginning. Village is incredibly engrossing. I think you do need to be a fan of the series to get an appreciation of the files that you collect and the nods to previous games, but there’s still a lot of enjoyment to be had with just the actual gameplay. And if not? I guess you could play CoD? 1
Dcubed Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Aneres11 said: Yes. It leans much more into combat this time around. The enemies are nicely varied, and including the boss battles there’s plenty to keep you happy. The puzzles are on the weaker side in my opinion. Sometimes they feel a little shoe horned in, and there’s not too many after the mid way point. Level design is always good with RE. Did you finish 7? I found the whole house very well linked together and have always found that to be a huge strength of the RE series. The way areas are off bounds for a time but eventually unlock via progression or through opening new areas of the map is really satisfying and has been a series staple since the beginning. Village is incredibly engrossing. I think you do need to be a fan of the series to get an appreciation of the files that you collect and the nods to previous games, but there’s still a lot of enjoyment to be had with just the actual gameplay. And if not? I guess you could play CoD? Well I got a fair way into RE7, I really wanted to give it a chance, but it was just so incredibly, mind-numbingly boring that I just couldn't go on (think I got up to the car "boss", or at least a little bit past that part?). You just... don't actually do much of anything in that game! It's pretty much just walking from one cutscene to the next and a very rare, occassional (but still very boring) shootout. It has about as much meaningful gameplay as Cookie Clicker. I've played through the entierty of every mainline RE game, except for RE6 (absolute trash) and RE7 (so boring); so I'm no stranger to the series. Of course, RE4 is one of my absolute favourite games of all time; that much should be obvious! Glad to hear that there seems to be a bit more going on in terms of gameplay in RE8 than in RE7 though Edited May 15, 2021 by Dcubed 1
CrowingJoe79 Posted May 16, 2021 Posted May 16, 2021 RE7 actually still feels scientific. RE8 feels like it has an identity crisis with all of the fantasy silliness going on. RE7 has similar combat, but the Molded enemies are way tougher. The wolf things in RE8 just stand around, and hereby allow you to shoot at them. And in general, I felt that some of the dialogue was very forced sounding. I also believe Chris was once again shoehorned in another major title, because well, Capcom needed a primary character to make the otherwise disjointed story feel like it's worth a crap. Chris showing up and not explaining things properly to Ethan didn't seem right either. I mean, wasn't Ethan supposed to be a recruit? In the opening scene, he mentions they are having a hard time adjusting to their new environment, and Ethan brings up something brief about gaining military training. So it makes little sense that Chris acts all distrusting of him. They were essentially friends.
Aneres11 Posted July 6, 2021 Posted July 6, 2021 (edited) I’m playing through this again on my PS5 at the moment. Just started this morning. I am currently on holiday from work, so enjoying gaming all day, basically! I just managed to get a copy of this and with me having free time decided to dive in again! EDIT Capcom DO use the controller haptics. My bad. Not sure why I didn’t feel them between handgun and shotgun early on when I first got the shotgun, but now I can definitely feel it. So that’s good! Edited July 6, 2021 by Aneres11
CrowingJoe79 Posted June 18, 2022 Posted June 18, 2022 Looking forward to it this October. The full game can now be enjoyed in third person from when the additional content becomes available. But I think Ethan's face will still not be clearly seen. His daughter Rosemary is getting her own storyline, in third person too.
Hero-of-Time Posted September 10, 2022 Posted September 10, 2022 I decided to finally start playing this earlier in the week and nabbed the platinum this morning. The game isn't half as scary/freaky as Resident Evil VII was. Before playing it I was tempted to go the whole small TV route again like I did with Resident Evil VII but I braved it on the big screen and didn't jump once. Go me! I did enjoy the game and loved how it not only was a direct sequel to VII but also how it had connections to the original games and the birth of Umbrella. It was good to see Ethan's character being fleshed out a little more, as well as an explanation as to why he could do the things he could do. One thing that didn't make sense was... Spoiler ...Chris. Him busting in at the start, killing Mia and then dragging Ethan and Rose off to protect them was so stupid. Had Chris just explained to Ethan what was going on from the start then none of this mess would have happened. Granted, they wouldn't have found Mia alive and well but the excuse of Chris saying he didn't have time and wanted to keep Ethan out of it just didn't fly at all. I was very surprised with the amount of time Lady D got in the game. Given that most of the footage and promo material was based around her, I would have thought that she was a major player in the game but that wasn't the case at all. She was like a shoddy version of Nemesis. I actually thought Heisenberg/Magneto was the best out of all the antagonists but they were all pretty weak, to be honest. I think the game starts off very strong. The village and the castle are two great areas to explore but then it starts falling apart after that. House Beneviento had potential but is was essentially a PT ripoff and as for the Heisenberg's Factory, that was a bit of a slog to get through, especially when the game starts throwing swarms of mechanical enemies at you. Saying that, the boss fight in that area gave for one amazing call back and quote. I burst out laughing when I happened. Spoiler Amazing! Trophy wise, it was a Resident Evil game through and through. Speedruns, knives only, hardest difficulty, limited health uses, collectibles....yeah, it's a doozy. I played through the game normally at first, just to enjoy the story but also to pick up all of the collectibles and try to use less than 4 healing items. Doing this unlocked the hardest difficulty in the game. I then ran through the hardest difficulty but also went for the speedrun trophy which requires you to finish the game in under 3 hours. I had to watch a few videos on this to try and figure out my best route. I managed to do it with 10 minutes to spare. Had I not bought and upgraded the magnum then I doubt this would have been possible for me on this run. My final playthrough I went with the knives only route. There are a couple of times where you can use a pistol to knock down or stop certain bits of the environment but the rest has to be done with a knife. Yup, even the boss battles. The last trophies I needed were for the Mercenaries mode and this is the platinum killer for a lot of people, which is why the S rank on every level trophy has one of the lowest trophy percentages in the game. It's all about the right weapon loadout and memorising the level layout and spawn points. Trying to keep the combo going was the key to success but it took many attempts on each of the stages to finally pull off. With me playing the game well after release, there were plenty of helpful strategies to look at on YouTube and I just mixed and matched a few until I found a style that worked for me. Like I said, I did enjoy the game and it is good to once again be caught up with the mainline series but I do think VII was the stronger game out of Ethan's adventures. Spoiler Gonna be interesting to see if Rose is used as a protag for any new entries in the series. To be honest, I'm more interested in why the BSAA are now using bioweapons instead of soldiers. Chris is looking to go and bust some skulls but I'm not getting my hopes up. I'm still angry about how hyped I was at the Code Veronica ending and then Capcom gave us the middle finger and released Resident Evil 4. That's all of the mainline Resident Evil games platinumed. I still need to play Resident Evil 4 and Code Veronica but neither of them came with a platinum trophy, not to mention the EU version of CV is broke. I'd have to buy the US version if i'm going to play it. At least the remake of 4 should come with a platinum but I do have the PS4 version sat on the shelf at some point. I actually tried playing it earlier in the year after I finished Resident Evil 6 but the controls are absolutely awful, especially after coming off of 6.
Fierce_LiNk Posted September 10, 2022 Posted September 10, 2022 I've got a copy of VII sat waiting for me in a drawer, but I haven't plucked up the courage to pick it up and get started just yet. The demo was awesome and I really enjoyed it. Might make a start on that soon before looking at village...
Hero-of-Time Posted September 10, 2022 Posted September 10, 2022 8 minutes ago, Fierce_LiNk said: I've got a copy of VII sat waiting for me in a drawer, but I haven't plucked up the courage to pick it up and get started just yet. The demo was awesome and I really enjoyed it. Might make a start on that soon before looking at village... I finally plucked up the courage and played it this year. Look at the thread to see the setup I used to be brave enough to play it. Well worth it though. It was a great experience and done well to recapture the feeling of the older RE games.
Fierce_LiNk Posted September 10, 2022 Posted September 10, 2022 1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said: I finally plucked up the courage and played it this year. Look at the thread to see the setup I used to be brave enough to play it. Well worth it though. It was a great experience and done well to recapture the feeling of the older RE games. I'll take a look! Just been doing some reading up on it and it seems to be rated quite highly amongst survival horror fans. How long is it in terms of length? What's the save system like? Just trying to judge when to start at and how it'll fit in all of my other shit.
Hero-of-Time Posted September 10, 2022 Posted September 10, 2022 1 minute ago, Fierce_LiNk said: I'll take a look! Just been doing some reading up on it and it seems to be rated quite highly amongst survival horror fans. How long is it in terms of length? What's the save system like? Just trying to judge when to start at and how it'll fit in all of my other shit. It's about 8-10 hours long on a first run. You save using tape players but can use them whenever you want. It's only on the highest difficulty where they have limited uses. The game also auto saves on regular occasions.
Recommended Posts