Resident Evil Village Switch 2 Review – Excellent Blockbuster Action

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Resident Evil Village builds on the success of Resident Evil 7, which revitalized the franchise with a first-person perspective and a focus on classic survival horror. Village offers another cleverly crafted, terrifying experience, but with more action and a larger, more open world to explore compared to the intensely confined setting of Resident Evil 7’s Baker estate.

Five years after it first came out, Resident Evil Village is now available on the Nintendo Switch 2, alongside Resident Evil 7 and Requiem. Thankfully, the game is just as enjoyable as ever. This Switch 2 version of Village is a well-done port that truly showcases how great the original game is.

Ethan wakes up in a terrifying village filled with creatures from nightmares. He’ll face all sorts of monsters, including werewolves, vampires, zombies, and even more dangerous beings.

Resident Evil Village, the eighth major installment in the popular horror series, takes place a few years after the events of Resident Evil 7. Ethan, Mia, and their young daughter Rose are living in a secluded European village under the protection of the BSAA. While the Winters family is attempting to rebuild their lives, the terrifying experiences they endured at the Baker estate continue to haunt them.

The game starts with a shocking turn of events: a team of soldiers, led by Chris Redfield, raids the Winters’ home. They kill Mia right before Ethan’s eyes, then kidnap his daughter, Rose, and capture Ethan himself. When he comes to, Ethan is in a terrifying, shadowy village where he must fight off a variety of creatures – from lycans and vampires to zombies and other horrors.

While the story in Resident Evil Village isn’t flawless – even dedicated fans acknowledge that – it’s consistently fun to experience. Without giving away any spoilers, some plot twists later in the game unfortunately diminish earlier parts, particularly concerning Chris’s role. However, overall, there’s a lot to appreciate. Village features compelling characters – the villains and the Duke stand out – and offers interesting connections to the broader Resident Evil universe that long-time fans will enjoy. It also provides a satisfying conclusion to the Winters story arc, and sheds new light on events from Resident Evil 7 with its revelations.

What really makes Village stand out isn’t the story, but how fun it is to play and how well it’s designed.

What Village does best isn’t its story, but how it plays. Compared to the constant fear of Resident Evil 7, Village tones down the horror a bit and increases the action. When it does try to scare you – and it often does – it’s very effective, but a lot of the game focuses on challenging, fast-paced combat inspired by Resident Evil 5. Luckily, Village excels at both horror and action, and generally strikes a good balance between the two.

Honestly, what really grabbed me about this game was how diverse and cool the enemies were – both how they looked and how they fought! Plus, the boss battles were amazing, and every encounter felt really well thought-out. It all adds up to a game that constantly keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat, in the best way possible.

One of the best parts of Resident Evil 8 Village is how well its levels are designed and encourage players to explore. The main village area is a fantastic central location that stays fun to wander through the entire game, and other sections are also memorable. Castle Dimitrescu is a clear standout, and while some fans have mixed feelings about the late-game Heisenberg’s Factory, I personally really enjoyed it—though the haunted dollhouse section can feel a little slow. Overall, Village consistently features excellent, complex, and interconnected level design that makes exploring rewarding, just as you’d expect from a Resident Evil game.

The game’s action is enhanced by a solid progression system. Players can buy weapons, supplies, and upgrades from a character named the Duke, who acts as a shopkeeper. Additionally, finding and selling hidden treasures encourages thorough exploration of the game world.

Upgrading and buying things in Village always feels worthwhile, especially given the game’s challenging economy. The game does a great job of making you feel like you’re constantly moving forward. You can also find items hidden around the village that help with this progression. This makes exploring every part of the village and surrounding areas consistently rewarding, with lots of optional quests, helpful rewards, and hidden secrets to discover.

Beyond the main story, which takes 10-12 hours to complete, there’s a lot more to enjoy in the game. Players can unlock things like the Village of Shadows difficulty level, and the Mercenaries mode offers fast-paced action with surprising depth. This re-release, the Gold Edition on Nintendo Switch 2, also includes the expansion, Shadows of Rose, which continues the story with Ethan’s daughter, Rose, several years after the original game’s events.

Shadows of Rose is an interesting but somewhat rough addition to the Resident Evil series. While it doesn’t quite reach the level of quality as the base game, Village, it still offers around three hours of worthwhile gameplay. The game also includes a free third-person mode for Village, letting players experience it from a different perspective. However, I wouldn’t recommend it – the game was originally built for first-person, and the third-person mode feels awkward as a result, despite being a nice option for those who want it.

Simply put, Resident Evil Village is a stunning game visually. This was clear when it came out in 2021, and it still holds up beautifully today.

Resident Evil Village is a stunning game, and that hasn’t changed since its release in 2021. While the version on the Switch 2 isn’t as visually polished as the PS5 version, it still looks fantastic despite being a little rough around the edges.

While the game runs well on the Switch 2, there are occasional performance hiccups. It generally maintains a smooth 60 frames per second indoors, but frame rates can dip in outdoor areas – like the main village – or during intense battles with many enemies and explosions. These dips aren’t severe enough to make the game unplayable, but the action isn’t quite as fluid as it is on other systems.

Ethan Winters’ story is a standout in the Resident Evil series, particularly in recent games. If you’re getting a Switch 2 and love intense survival horror with exciting action, you definitely shouldn’t miss it.

This game was reviewed on the Nintendo Switch 2.

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2026-02-27 21:45