#16 Resident Evil 8: Village - Heisenberg's Factory - Sturm and Karl Heisenberg

Resident Evil 8: Village is an Action Survival Horror game of the renowned franchised developed and published by Capcom. First in the series, it is a direct sequel from the previous Resident Evil 7: biohazard featuring the same protagonist, Ethan Winters. Set three years after the events of the previous game, Ethan had been living peacefully with his wife Mia and six month year-old daughter Rosemary in a snowy village along Eastern Romania per the instruction and under the protection of Chris Redfield. One night during a supposedly peaceful night, Chris and his Hound Wolf Squad suddenly raided the house, assassinated Mia, knocked Ethan out, and abducted him and Rosemary for no apparent reason. After some time, Ethan waked up next to a crashed transport truck where he endeavors to search for Rosemary and find out the reason why Chris did what he did. Proceeding to his goal, he would reach a village deep within the forest wherein he would face various adversities and dark secrets that are better left unsaid. Receiving varying favorable scores (in Metacritic) of 83 (PC and XBSX), 81 (PS4) and 84 (PS5), the game went on to have lower critic scores when compared to the previous game. Despite the lower scores, the game still became one of the best games of the year 2021 and as a result, received 60 Game of the Year Awards from gaming media outlets and award shows. Praises were place on its first attempt at a semi-open world design which was a fresh element in the series, the setting which is reminiscent of Resident Evil 4, the variety of the horror elements in some of its main sections particularly its psychological horror part which was considered by many as one of the scariest moments in franchise history, the additions of more enemies akin to Resident Evil 4 which makes a more intense fights, the variety of its enemies which is an improvement from the previous game, and the inclusion of the Mercenary mode which is fun and addictive. Anent the game’s weaknesses, the decrease of horror experience in favor of its more Call of Duty action-packed sequences were a major criticism as it diminished the horror survival aspect of the game in which the series is known for, the disappointing boss fights as most were just your typical hit-and-run fights, the easy and simple puzzles, the slow and clunky movements despite the intended faster paced gameplay, and the narrative which although did good on the mystery part, most felt that it was rushed as most plot threads were not answered fully. As for me, this is one of the best games for me in year 2021 even though I found it inferior overall to RE7. I agree on the part that this game is less scary when compared to RE7 which a bummer as it was one of my favorite games in the franchise. However, I still enjoyed the game especially its earlier parts where it is more horror inclined. As to the latter parts of the game, I still found it to be decent and fun despite it being more action-oriented since it made a good balance between action and horror. Still, would have preferred more horror oriented sections though. Moreover, I also did not like the semi open world design the game had made since it is one of the factors that diminished the horror aspects of the game, less claustrophobic areas, and it is a hassle to keep on returning to the areas you should have already explored. As to the other matters, unlike the critics, I like the game’s overarching narrative, its characters and the surprises (subtle or no) you will encounter on the way to the end. A lot of things will be revealed which are interesting for me and gave a proper conclusion to the Ethan era of the Resident Evil franchise. I also agree with the criticisms on the boss fights which are inferior compared to the previous game which gave varying strategies against its main bosses. Overall, an enjoyable and good addition to one of the most well-known franchise in gaming history and I believe a recommended game to the avid fans and those who want to try franchise but is scared of horror games, enjoy the walkthrough!!!