The VIllage People: Talking About Resident Evil 8

[ShakeWell]

I did it. I stayed up too late last night to do it, but I did it. And I'm never touching fucking Mercs in this game again, unless they add more characters who can do non-Ethan things in DLC.

They did, and I did and Chris is pretty fun to play as because his punches are ridiculously OP.

I‘m playing on Hardcore, so I shouldn’t be too shocked, but the big Lycan assault took me over an hour to get through. I had no idea what to do, or where to go. I’m not sure what I did to end the event, as I was mid death animation when it cut to a weird cutscene with a different group of wolf people, followed by everyone leaving abruptly. Sure as hell isn’t as memorable as everyone in town going to bingo after fighting off Dr. Salvador in RE4.

Speaking of, is this whole game going to be RE4, but they say “fuck” and you lose control of your character way too often?

That event is really hard on Hardcore the first time, but it's on a timer, survive long enough and it ends. I found the best strategy on a first play is run as fast as you can to basement of that first house you enter, then put your back to the wall right before the exit, where you find some rusted metal. If you start to feel overwhelmed, you can book it out of there, but in general, that's a great place to sink a bunch of time.

And yes, basically, except for House Beneviento.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I had no idea it was based on time. I kept running all over the area looking for a way out, which led me to getting swamped out in the open. These new enemies are a big challenge after the four types of mold guys you deal with in RE7.

 

[Adrenaline]

I think the RE4 village scene is time-based as well. 4 was definitely the biggest influence on 8 but it has a lot of different sequences.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I defeated the tall vampire lady. The big fight with her dragon(?) form was both very challenging and a severe drain on my resources. Her death animation was noticeably similar to Eve’s at the end of 7…

That was a couple days ago. Today I mostly puttered around The Village, looking for ammo, treasure and animals to turn into food. The revelation that Ethan’s baby had been quartered and put into jars, but is still somehow “okay” was really extreme. You play as her in the DLC, so I know it all works out in the end.

Has anyone here played the new content yet?

 

[ShakeWell]

I played Mercenaries with Chris, but that's it so far. Haven't done the Rose stuff yet.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I don’t see a bunch of people talking about it online. Maybe most people have moved on to other games?

I continue to find newer handguns and shotguns, which has made me wary about upgrading anything. RE4 also had this situation, yet that game was much more action focused, and money was everywhere. You have to be more careful with your purchases here.

Should I sell the older guns, or do they get special parts or upgrades later, like the starting pistol in RE4 getting the crit boost when fully upgraded?

 

[Adrenaline]

It's definitely pretty late to be releasing DLC for a game. Also I haven't heard very good things.

 

[Pajaro Pete]

The only thing I've heard about Shadow of Rose is that the stealth section is really annoying and unfun

 

[R.R. Bigman]

Aren’t they usually?

I can’t beat Big Fish Guy. Every goddamn enemy in this game is a huge damage sponge, way more than even RE7‘s Madhouse difficulty. The stupid acid attack clips through environments and stunlocks me to death!

What weapons should I be using for big bosses?

 

[smacketh]

I finished the Shadow of Rose on normal. It's okay. And yeah, the stealth section was a drag.

For Big Fish Guy, I think I remember mines and pipe bombs being helpful. And the shotgun of course. And the explosive barrels when you lure him to them.

I think my first playthrough I sold weapons when I found another of its type. Some of them will still get parts you can add on to them. I saved maxing out and upgrading those weapons for additional playthroughs though.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I’m at the last save point, and I am loving this stupid, stupid mess. Heisenberg’s Robocop Factory went on for way too long, yes, but the fight against him with Chris’ goofy battle go-kart was a lot of fun. The big reveal of the fungal super-organism that consumes people’s souls living under Not-Romania was such a delight. I read Joe’s big spoiler about Ethan back in the main thread, yet the manner in which it was shown was still surprising. The Chris section was much shorter and enjoyable than Mia’s Tanker chapter in RE7, which took up most of the third act.

Is there any reason to hold on to treasure at this point? Is there an New Game+ that Carrie’s stuff over?

 

[smacketh]

I’m at the last save point, and I am loving this stupid, stupid mess. Heisenberg’s Robocop Factory went on for way too long, yes, but the fight against him with Chris’ goofy battle go-kart was a lot of fun. The big reveal of the fungal super-organism that consumes people’s souls living under Not-Romania was such a delight. I read Joe’s big spoiler about Ethan back in the main thread, yet the manner in which it was shown was still surprising. The Chris section was much shorter and enjoyable than Mia’s Tanker chapter in RE7, which took up most of the third act.

Is there any reason to hold on to treasure at this point? Is there an New Game+ that Carrie’s stuff over?

I believe everything carries over to new game + except for key/quest items.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

That last boss is the most “video game last boss” I’ve ever seen in this franchise. Feels like something more from the newer Doom games than Resident Evil. It does make up for 7‘s lack of a real final boss. I’m very glad I bought that last shotgun!

I thought RE8 was pretty cool. It does not hit the high’s of RE7’s Baker estate, which I still miss. Conversely, as someone who’s played through 7 a half dozen times a few months ago, I will say that you folks probably don’t remember just how completely everything falls apart the second you leave the estate. On that alone, I will say I like RE8 more.

 

[ShakeWell]

The tanker section of RE7 sucks, but the Baker Estate through the last Jack fight is way better than almost everything Village has to offer (and I did replay Madhouse RE7 right before 8 came out). There's nothing in 8 as lackluster as the Tanker (especially since you have to do it fucking twice), but there's also nothing in 8 as good as the initial house section, the greenhouse fight with Bug Lady, or Lucas' Saw maze. Well... maybe except House Beneviento, but that's a super-short section overall.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

The House Beneviento part is odd. The whole thing is obviously a drug trip brought on by plant alkaloids. Then in Miranda’s lab you find a book saying Donna can also use her magic fungus to remotely control her dolls in addition to her mind altering powers. Aside from the final bit, the dolls don’t factor at all. Seems like there should have been more to that section.

I started a New Game+ today. What should I spend my unfortunately named CP on in the Bonus Shop? The Handcannon sounds good, but it’s [Mr. Dink voice] very expensive.

 

[chud_666]

I'd say 8 falls apart after you leave the castle

 

[ShakeWell]

The House Beneviento part is odd. The whole thing is obviously a drug trip brought on by plant alkaloids. Then in Miranda’s lab you find a book saying Donna can also use her magic fungus to remotely control her dolls in addition to her mind altering powers. Aside from the final bit, the dolls don’t factor at all. Seems like there should have been more to that section.

I started a New Game+ today. What should I spend my unfortunately named CP on in the Bonus Shop? The Handcannon sounds good, but it’s [Mr. Dink voice] very expensive.

It really depends what you like using. The Handcannon definitely does what it says on the tin.

I'd say 8 falls apart after you leave the castle

I agree that Lady D's section is the best, I don't think I'd go as far as you on that one.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

Deep in my second playthrough now. I’ve just fully upgraded the Wolfsbane magnum, which now has infinite ammo. Can I use this for the Village of Shadows difficulty on subsequent runs? That would be a big help.

 

[smacketh]

Deep in my second playthrough now. I’ve just fully upgraded the Wolfsbane magnum, which now has infinite ammo. Can I use this for the Village of Shadows difficulty on subsequent runs? That would be a big help.

Yes, I went into Village of Shadows with an infinite grenade launcher.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I played through the last third of my second run with the infinite Wolfsbane, which tore through everything like they were made of construction paper. I’m a little concerned that VoS difficulty let’s you take something like that into it…

 

[smacketh]

I played through the last third of my second run with the infinite Wolfsbane, which tore through everything like they were made of construction paper. I’m a little concerned that VoS difficulty let’s you take something like that into it…

Yeah, I eventually lost momentum on the VoS difficulty and haven't finished it there. And on the other hand, using the non overpowered weapons didn't feel like an interesting option as enemies take so much damage.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I finished it on Village of Shadows. The infinite Wolfsbane pulls it’s weight on most enemies, and I bought and used the Stake on bosses. The only truly tough bits were, naturally, the couple times where you can’t use your normal load out. The boss fight with Heisenberg on the goofy tank-thing took me nearly an hour, since his health quadrupled from Hardcore and you still can’t heal.

I like RE8 a bit less each time I’ve gone through it. There isn’t much of any heart or charm to anybody in it. Unlike RE4, there aren’t any friendly characters for Ethan to interact with and bounce off of, other than Duke. Chris is barely in it, only really at the end, and the only Lord that sticks out is Heisenberg, who gets way more screen time than Lady Dimitrescu, or Miranda. I fear for the RE4 Remake if this is the tone they’re going for.

I still have the Mercenaries and Shadows of Rose to do. I hope Mercenaries is still fun!

 

[R.R. Bigman]

RE8’s Mercenaries isn’t as good as RE4’s. I got S Ranks in the first four normal stages using a guide to tell me where the hell the enemies are, but I think I have reached my limit. RE4 Mercenaries had so much more freedom to rack up huge combos in clever ways. Here, it’s just memorizing the exact route you need to take through the complicated maps. Plus, no Hunk!

I have also played the first chunk of Shadow of Rose. A year and half for lame mold powers in the same locations?

I can’t help but notice the disparity in DLC between 7 and 8. Did 8 not sell as well?

 

[Pajaro Pete]

as i understand it they didn't plan on doing a DLC campaign for 8, so this was something they didn't even start working on until after the game released. but yes it's still pretty lame.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

That makes sense. 8 didn’t have the multiple dangling plot threads that 7 answered in it’s DLC. 8’s ending seemed more like a sequel hook, but I read somewhere that Capcom said the Winters storyline is over now? Seems odd.

Resident Evil may be heading for another rough patch. Hell, go back to tank controls and pre-rendered backgrounds for 9.

 

[ShakeWell]

8 is the weakest of the games since 7 (3make is great, fight me), but I'm not sure I'm sold that 8's DLC being sub-par heralds some kind of post-Code Veronica dip in overall quality.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I didn’t think “RE 3 Remake is a pretty good time” was a controversial stance. Yeah, it’s half a game, but that half is very fun.

I beat the rest of the Shadow of Rose DLC. I didn’t think the Mia dolls following you section was too bad. The next bit with the patrolling regular dolls and tons of instant deaths for straying even a few steps was torture, I will completely agree. The big payoff of this DLC hinges on the player caring about Ethan Winters, which was a bold decision on Capcom’s part.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

I just played this game and, for the most part, had a really good time! It admittedly takes a really long time to get going, and I found the initial hour or two a little off-putting. They stack the linear story sequences high and deep, and the only "playable" bit is the (fairly disorienting) lycan attack in between all those cutscenes. I went in expecting a more action-oriented game, but the intro is pretty much pure horror. Once I made it to Castle Dimitrescu, though, I started to get a feel for the controls, weapons and enemies, and things came together for me. From then on, it was a mostly-action-oriented romp through a variety of environments with my new favorite meathead, Ethan Winters. Ethan's singular gift is that he's able to find the least-punchy, stupidest response to any and every kind of horror the game throws at him - and I love him for it. He's almost amazingly uncool, just a perfect creation. Add to that one of the dumbest video game stories I can remember playing and it makes for a delightfully campy experience. I had written off RE VII as being too intense for me, but now that I've gotten my feet wet with the first-person RE style I think I might actually give it a shot! Though I expect VII will maintain the horror for a larger percentage of its run time than Village does.