Boss fights have always been a staple of Resident Evil, but they often ebb and flow between serving as action-heavy encounters or puzzle-esque set pieces. Resident Evil Village ups the action compared to Resident Evil 7, but it strikes a fine balance between combat and the classic Resident Evil gameplay loop.
Resident Evil Village can feel oppressive at times, but it’s arguably easier than Resident Evil 7 in the long run – especially when it comes to bosses. Resident Evil Village’s boss fights are tonally overwhelming, but a little prep time and smart item conservation go a long way.
9 Donna Beneviento
House Beneviento has been terrifying players since release, but it might very well be the easiest area in the game. While the Baby encounter makes for a tense chase on a first playthrough, the whole set piece is over and done within mere minutes. The fight against Donna Beneviento doesn’t fare much better either.
Ethan needs to run all over House Beneviento looking for Angie amidst a sea of dolls. Taking too long to find Angie will result in Ethan taking damage, but she only needs to be found three times, will only spawn on the second floor at the start, and otherwise deals no damage. Angie isn’t too hard to spot either, since she wears a white gown while all the other dolls wear black.
8 Daughters Of Dimitrescu
Lady Dimitrescu’s daughters will be found all about the Castle, prompting three separate battles (though multiple encounters). Each Daughter is fought in a different location, but they all follow the exact same pattern: find a way to let cold air into the room and blast them with your guns. In general, none of the Daughters are particularly difficult.
Bela’s boss arena will already have the window shattered, so just keep your aim on her head. Daniela’s boss arena features a lever that opens a sunroof. She’ll hide behind bookshelves while the roof is up (it’s on a timer), so keep on her and make sure to get hits in before going back to the lever. Cassandra’s boss arena requires you to break a wall down with a Pipe Bomb, but she’s otherwise as simple as Bela.
7 Heisenberg
Resident Evil Village’s take on a mech battle, Heisenberg’s boss fight is much easier than the Factory that precedes it. The first half of the fight sees Ethan piloting a cannon-wielding mech Chris fixed up for him. While not scripted, this portion of the boss is very easy to get through and Heisenberg doesn’t do much damage.
After hurting Heisenberg enough, Ethan will be knocked out of his mech and forced to fight on foot. Keep your cool and just unload into Heisenberg with your strongest guns. It only takes a few shots to stun him in his tracks, allowing you to power through the back half with minimal effort.
6 Urias
Urias is encountered during the Lycan swarm at the start of the game, but he isn’t actually fought until the end of the Stronghold. Considering how much ammo it takes just getting to Urias, this boss can be a real challenge on a first playthrough. You need to conserve your ammo carefully and watch Urias’ movements closely.
Make sure to keep your guard up whenever Urias is swinging, especially since the boss arena is so cramped. Urias will periodically summon enemies to help him, so take them out fast to keep the focus on the boss. Aim for Urias’ head and don’t be afraid to use Magnum ammo if you have it.
5 Moreau
The third Lord fought in the story, the build up to Moreau is rather scripted and on the easy side (featuring the last enemy encounters in the game outside of House Beneviento), but his boss fight is reasonably difficult. Moreau assumes a gigantic grotesque form that’ll lumber after you in a large boss arena.
Aim for the Moreau body inside of the monster's mouth to deal as much damage as possible and always take cover under a roof whenever Moreau starts climbing on top of houses – he’s about to spew out an acid storm that’ll rip through Ethan’s health. Make sure to shoot Moreau while he’s doing this, but be prepared for a long battle. Fortunately, there are barrels all over the arena that can be blown up for extra damage in a pinch.
4 Urias Strajer
Where Ethan fights an Urias, Chris fights the Urias Strajer during his stretch of gameplay. The Urias Strajer is Chris’ only boss fight in Resident Evil Village, but he’s an intense one. The Urias Strajer fights about the same as the Urias, but is far sturdier. Your guns won’t do conventional damage and you’ll need to use a Target Locator to actually hurt the Strajer.
What this means is carefully strafing around the Urias Strajer’s attacks while aiming the Target Locator at it. Once fully charged, a missile will fire down at the Strajer. Do this three times and it’ll drop dead, but don’t expect the last strike to be easy.
3 Sturm
Sturm is fought at the end of Heisenberg’s Factory and can catch most players off guard on their first playthrough. Sturm rushes directly into Ethan, it’s entire body covered in rotating saw blades. Sturm is a fast threat who will keep whipping himself at Ethan, breaking down any walls in your path.
Use this to your advantage and trick Sturm into crashing. This’ll give you an opportunity to shoot the weak point on his back. Sturm requires quicker reflexes than the average boss and takes a fair bit of damage to put down. He also gets harder to manage as the boss arena widens, so make sure to get as many shots in early as possible.
2 Mother Miranda
Mother Miranda is Resident Evil Village’s final boss and a much harder challenge than Eveline was in Resident Evil 7. You’ll need to take advantage of Quick Turning to reposition, keep constant aim on Mother Miranda, and quickly read her telegraphs. While hardly the hardest final boss in Resident Evil, Mother Miranda is a great endgame challenge that pushes you to use all your remaining ammo and First Aid Med as you desperately try to put her down. Enough persistence will kill Miranda, but don’t forget to guard.
1 Lady Dimitrescu
For just how early she’s fought in the story, Lady Dimitrescu is surprisingly difficult. Her boss arena is very small, you’ll have wasted ammo on her three Daughters during the Castle, and your strongest weapon is the Sniper Rifle which won’t have that much ammo this point in the game. Lady Dimitrescu also stalks Ethan through the skies, making it difficult to keep focus on her.
It’s important to shoot at her body whenever she’s flying around and to try to sneak up on her from behind when she lands. The second half of the fight will have her leading Ethan up the Castle Tower, but don’t lose confidence and keep firing straight into Lady D. She’ll fight up close at this stage, but she’s at death’s door.