The return of Resident Evil to its mainline entries is welcome news. Still, it doesn’t mean that a new addition will automatically be a winner. Throughout the long history of the series, there are mistakes that are noticeable. These are sometimes fixed in follow-up entries, only to come back in the games released after that.
With Resident Evil 7: Biohazard being the recent entry, its shortcomings are currently most memorable. In order for Resident Evil Village to be something special, these mistakes need to be avoided. Though there are viable solutions for each and every single one of these shortcomings.
10 Minimal Characterization For The Protagonist
While Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is among the better games in the series, it suffers from a rather bland protagonist in Ethan. He’s not even seen during the events of the game, making him interchangeable with any character.
Village needs to figure out who Ethan really is. To do this, the protagonist has to show a certain personality, edgy characterization, and a unique quality. Biohazard makes no attempts in setting Ethan up, and he’s hardly ever spoken of among fans.
9 Extreme Vulnerability Of The Protagonist
The series messed up with Resident Evil 6 portraying the main characters as too strong. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard went overboard in fixing this, with Ethan being too weak. While it’s meant to be a survival game, Village shouldn’t carry over the vulnerable Ethan.
His weak skills make sense in Biohazard due to his inexperience. Still, it was a chore for players to engage in combat because of Ethan’s vulnerability. A return to such a style will only make things repetitive and uninteresting. In its place, Ethan has to come out as a stronger fighter.
8 Lack Of Tie-Ins To The Series Storyline
A palate cleanser in the form of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, while welcome in some regards, alienated the fanbase to the story. After all, the characters and overall arc has been carried forward since the first game.
Biohazard feels like too much of a departure because of this. The story seems more reminiscent to similar games to Resident Evil than the series itself. With Chris Redfield returning for Resident Evil Village, though, it might be that the story will be in greater focus. Village must make regular references to previous characters and events to capture the series' feel.
7 Weapons With Uneven Damage
Earlier games receive praise for the weaponry on hand for players. Resident Evil 6 played this point far too much, while Biohazard downplayed it in the opposite direction. This mistake endures in the series, as strong weapons make things too easy and weaker ones too tiresome.
The fix for this problem is to provide weapons based on Ethan’s prowess. Against more powerful enemies, Village can provide the protagonist with able weapons to make it a balanced fight sequence. In other areas, Ethan can be left to his own devices so that combat is more visceral and gritty.
6 Reliance On Jump Scares
It’s relatively rare to see true horror-filled moments in gaming these days. The Resident Evil series itself has been guilty of doling out jump scares. This can be seen in all the games so far, with perhaps only the first Resident Evil doing a good job at this.
Biohazard kept things scary enough without sudden bursts of scares. However, there are definite instances where jump scares are striking. Resident Evil Village can counter this by making the titular village out to be a horror-inducing environment.
5 Too Much Focus On Action Instead Of Horror Mechanics
The heart of the series remains in bringing horror to life. Barring the fourth game, which, to its credit, pulled action off very well, the franchise has relied too less on its horror roots. Biohazard rectified this problem well, although it’s not certain if Village will follow through.
As evidenced by Resident Evil 6’s failure, being critically lambasted due to mindless action, it’s best to avoid repeating the same mistake. With Village retaining the first-person feature, the horror theme is easily better suited for gameplay mechanics.
4 Tendency For Backtracking
This is a trait in all Capcom games, and a repetitive mistake on their part. The Resident Evil series has been noted for having players revisit the same locations, something that takes away the originality from gameplay.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard tried to make backtracking worthwhile by placing clues that weren’t seen in the first playthrough. However, this still isn’t an altogether engaging style of play. Recent remakes have similarly carried on the backtracking feature. Village has to avoid this to drive home its stronger points.
3 Violence Without Substance
The more unmemorable games in the series have excessive violence in common. These titles show off a lot of blood and over-the-top sequences, which mistakes disgust for horror. While it’s fun to see a level of mayhem, this only counts when it feels rewarding, like during a boss fight.
On other occasions, meaningless splatter of blood over minor enemies, and sequences with people dying, are notable in previous entries. A repeat of this, especially in the bigger map of Village, will no doubt make it come across as uninspired more than anything else.
2 Chris Redfield's Resetting Character Development
One of the things fans want to see in the next game is character development. However, games like Resident Evil 5 and 6 have ignored this aspect, especially when it comes to Chris Redfield.
He learns from his battles, only to revert to being guilt-ridden in his next appearance. This has caused fans to have a disconnect with Chris, and a sizable amount have made others like Leon or Jill their favorite. Village needs to feature Chris as the person who accepts his losses and shortcomings, in order for it to be a true sequel.
1 Uneven Boss Fights
Resident Evil 4 remains evergreen because of the superb bosses on hand. In contrast, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is striking for the lame final chapter and bosses interfering with the pacing of gameplay. The series keeps repeating these mistakes due to the flip flopping nature of the big fights.
Clearly, the best way to fix this problem is to employ the systematic approach seen in Resident Evil 4. However, a more creative way is to eliminate bosses altogether and place emphasis on taking down enemies in larger numbers.