Resident Evil Village is launching in May. While that’s still a decent amount of time to replay the last game in the series, it’s not enough if you’re going to leave it to the last minute. Resident Evil 7 had DLC that is also extremely replayable, and might even be integral to the story of Village. I’m planning on replaying the last game and all of its DLC so that I’m going into this next adventure fresh. As to how essential this is for your enjoyment of the next game, I think it’s worth exploring a little.
The first thing we need to bear in mind is that Resident Evil Village is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7. That means that all the story content from the last game will benefit you going into the next one. Capcom likes to throw in easter eggs to older games all over the shop. If you’ve recently replayed Resident Evil 7 and all the DLC, you’ll be able to pick up on those details very easily. They might even help you solve a puzzle or two.
The links between Resident Evil 7 and Village are far closer than those of older games. When we had new protagonists with every release, the story of each game could be far more self-contained. This might well be the first time that Capcom has made a direct sequel using the same protagonist and storylines. I think there will definitely be some trippy stuff going on with Ethan, but for the most part, these games will be intrinsically linked.
Of course, Resident Evil Village has a creepy village, werewolves, and gorgeous vampires. I don’t think there’s going to be much in terms of similarities between it and Resident Evil 7. But that’s why you should remind yourself of how good Resident Evil 7 is. The game was a huge departure from previous entries, and I think that Village will feel like a better game if you go into it with that mindset. Plus, it’s a great excuse to replay one of the best horror games in recent memory. Just watch out for Jack Baker this time around.
