So I bought this when it first came out. I wasn't able to get the framerate I wanted with the best settings, so I shelved it until I got my new rig.
I think I finished this about a month ago.
Spoiler warning, don't read any of the following if you care about experiencing the story firsthand.
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Resident Evil has had so many identity shifts that it's becoming easier to define it as such. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with that, but it's an indisputable fact that the demand for a scary game is present, and people generally look to this franchise. 5 and 6 are almost without exception regarded as a lesser rung. Resident Evil 4 is often present in this game; again that's not a criticism but it's a little worrying, especially after they seemed to have gotten the train back on the tracks with VII. Overall I'd put Village above 5, 6 and probably even 3. It's clear they wanted to do for 4 what 7 did for 1. I don't think they failed but there were some missteps.
The good:
1) The Duke
2) Exploration, combining treasures and the weapons. That was always fun. I kept hoping for something that would be more of a utility item like the Gravity Gun or the Gloo Gun. Still overall I was pleased.
3) I'll put level design here too. It was fun to go to the different places in this game. I loved the Castle, so much that I was sad there wasn't more and even sadder that you don't get to go back.
4) Heisenberg's autism is hilarious and I think given the palette of the whole game he had the perfect amount of camp. When he gives you one last chance and says "You really don't want to find out what's down there" it was loads of fun.
5) House Beneviento. The best horror is meant to be run through one or two times. The terror of a moment like this wearing off is not indicative of any flaw. This section was awesome.
6) Graphics are of course beautiful. They improved facial animation a lot since 7.
The bad
1) Dimitrescu's patrolling mechanics. This was exceedingly disappointing and I wasn't even trying to test the boundaries of her AI. But it's pretty limited. I played around and found there are a good number of rooms into which she won't follow you. Maybe even worse is the fact that her patrol is fixed-- she doesn't make dynamic decisions, or try to deduce where you've gone based on where she last saw you. I consider this to be a pretty big step backwards. I know some people complained about Mr. X. Those people are wrong. But even if they weren't, this was a terrible way to address the complaint.
2) The entire fish level. Should have been cut from the game, including the fish boss. I almost walked away from the game at that point.
3) The story. Just sucks. The framework for a good tale is there but they hamfisted in a ton of stuff that didn't need to be there, and they made awkward plot errors to move the story along which is one of the worst sins of storytelling. Many things are in there just for flair, and not meant to consider for more than ten seconds or so. The plot dump with
is so disappointing, and they demonstrated that bringing
back into the series had no thought behind it.
4) Werewolves. Why'd it have to be werewolves? Not a whole lot of thought here either. Aside from the fact that werewolves just aren't scary (yeah I know that's just a personal opinion but they're not), it just wasn't executed well. Nobody is confused on how the T-Virus works. Or G, or Las Plagas or even Eveline. The Cadou is largely forgettable. I know it's hardly fair to criticize pseudoscience for not being scientific, but I think there's something to say about it being cohesive. It's just a residual effect of the Mold, both in continuity and literally in the story. As I type this I realize this can be rolled up into #3.
5) The (five) antagonists are, with the exception of Heisenberg, just not done very well. I'm not opposed to going over the top. I understand what they were trying to do. It just wasn't done well. There was a moment of brilliance with Dimitrescu where she starts hunting you, and unfortunately it just didn't pan out. The fish guy, as I said, should have been cut completely. Donna and Angie probably would have been better but there's no exposure or time for them to breathe, so they're almost as forgettable as Moreau. Mother Miranda was an immense letdown, and her presence which is supposed to be ominous just comes across as forced.
The curious
1) Heisenberg's stage. I thought "the Borg" thing was a little on the nose but it was very interesting.
2) Again on backtracking-- how terrifying would it have been if you had to go back to the Beneviento area? I'm sure DLC will be coming, and it wouldn't surprise me if we see more of the "creature," along with a ton more of Dimitrescu.
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Overall, I liked it. I wish I'd waited for a sale, but I'm not sorry I played it. The unlocking and challenges that give you perks give incentive to keep playing.