Resident Evil Village — Quick tips to get you started (and killed less)

Resident Evil Village has a lot of features to sort through, so some quick tips are in order. I’m going to break down all the things new players should know before jumping in. That way, it’ll be easier to make some decisions regarding utilizing the game’s systems. And it always pays to know what the resource distribution is like.

Before we dig in, I do want to say that, if you like a more tense experience, don’t play the game on standard. Start out on hardcore, which will be more in-line with past games. Standard is quite easy for most of the game, which will likely bore some longtime fans.

Resources aren’t like they were last time

Resident Evil 7 drowns players in resources on the standard difficulty. By the end of the game, most people will have much more ammo and healing items than they can conceivably use. In Resident Evil Village, however, things are more scarce. Yes, you’ll find and be able to craft a lot of ammo, but there’s a lot more combat, so that’s to be expected. Your shotgun is going to see a lot of use just like last time, but you need chem fluid to craft shells. And chem fluid is required to make healing items, just like before. Herbs can’t heal you on their own and need to be paired with chem fluid.

But the game doesn’t throw herbs at you, at least in my experience. I didn’t have many herbs on hand by the end of the game. You’ll really want to be careful, lest you hit the final boss and not have enough meds to properly keep yourself alive. You’ll also want to make your shots count, as you won’t often run out of ammo completely, but you can. At one point, the game threw so many enemies at me that I burned through all of my handgun and shotgun ammo. I had to buy up all the available stock at the merchant. And about that. He doesn’t have much stock. If expect to buy healing items and ammo from him after burning through your supplies, you’ll be disappointed. The merchant sells out quickly. He does resupply, but not in large numbers. Be mindful.

Backtrack in the village

The village itself has a lot of treasure and resources to pilfer. But not all of it is immediately accessible. For instance, you’ll notice a lot of wells scattered around, but you can’t interact with them until you get the well wheel. The wells contain a lot of treasure, even combinable ones. You could say it’s well worth seeking out. Additionally, there are a couple of optional bridges you can lower once you get the windmill crank, so don’t forget to hit up those places as well, or you’ll miss out on some really good stuff. There’s a surprising amount of optional content in Resident Evil Village, so pay attention.

Go hunting

Hunting is a new addition to the series. Sure, you could kill enemies and grab resources from them in 4, but in Resident Evil Village, they’re tied to permanent bonuses for Ethan. Some of the hunting spots are easy to miss, so it pays to look at your map and see if there’s a hunting spot whenever you’re in a non-village area.  Fish are especially hard to come by at times, so crouch in the river and knife every one of the suckers you see. Otherwise, you might end up with tons of meat clogging your inventory.

You’ll find pigs, goats, chicken, and fish in the game, and they all get taken down. There are even three legendary animals, so you’ll want to track them down. One is a pig by the shack where you found the woman and her father at the beginning of the game. Another requires you to lower the bridge by the flask altar using the windmill crank. Then get on the boat and go to the left. There’s a big fish in a pond near where you disembark. Once you have the ingredients, Duke will cook them up for you. If you’re making a health improvement dish, it’ll heal you too.

Remember to block

Blocking returns in Resident Evil Village and, unsurprisingly, it’s still important. There are two upgrades to blocking as well, so you can end up greatly reducing the damage you take. Simply put, Ethan doesn’t dodge well. If you’re going to get hit, you might as well block. It makes a huge difference in the amount of damage you receive, even if you’re tanking extremely powerful hits.

You can’t catch me

Even though Resident Evil Village is more action-packed than its predecessor, you don’t want to fight literally everything. Some enemies are better left alone, as they can be massive resource drains. Enemies are slow and easily baited, so draw them out and run away. As long as you’re moving, most of them can’t hit you. The easiest way to make this decision is based on how much room there is to maneuver. If you can’t get around an enemy, you’ll have no choice but to fight it, at least a little. Even nonfatal headshots can stun an enemy long enough for you to get by without taking any damage.

Sell old guns for new ones

You can find a new second handgun and shotgun by exploring, but the best ones are sold by Duke once you get to the factory near the end of the game. Don’t hesitate to sell the ones you already have to buy the upgrades. There’s no reason whatsoever to have two of one weapon type, as that will just become a burden on your inventory. Plus, there are no item boxes in Resident Evil Village.

Pipe bombs are your bestie

There are plenty of times where you’ll be fighting clusters of weaker enemies, which can kick the crap out of your ammo stock. Buy the pipe bomb crafting blueprint from Duke and make them when you need them. If there are three enemies standing nearby, it’s cheaper to use a pipe bomb than shoot them. Plus, pipe bombs are perfect for armored enemies, as a single bomb will blow their armor right off.

That’s all for our Resident Evil Village quick tips. As long as you bear these in mind, you’ll be able to get a leg up on whatever the game throws at you.