With only 30 minutes to play, the first of the new Resident Evil Village demos means you’re racing against the clock to get a taste of what the village has to offer.
As many eager PS5 players did, I set a reminder to make sure I could jump into the first of the new Resident Evil Village demos over the weekend. I preloaded the demo, put my phone on silent and waited in anticipation for the latest taste of the new Resi. While I knew this first demo – which showcased the village itself – only lasted 30 minutes, I didn’t realize how quickly that time would disappear or that the time took into account every second you spent in the demo. What resulted was a frantic dash to take in as much of Village as I could, solving puzzles as quickly as possible and trying to power through every scene, while watching time quickly tick down. This article contains spoilers for the Resident Evil Village ‘village’ demo. The Resident Evil Village ‘village’ demo seems to take place fairly early in the game. Ethan has just got to the dilapidated village and encounters an elderly – some unsettling – woman who talks about how the mysterious figure Mother Miranda brought Ethan’s daughter Rose to the village. Ethan should probably head up to the castle that sits atop the hill for the answers that he needs. The elderly woman makes her departure and the gameplay aspect kicks in.30 minutes isn’t a long time and, in a Resident Evil game, you want to take your time to take in your surroundings. You are typically rewarded for searching every nook and cranny but, with time against you, that’s not really an option. I tried to have a look in some of the shacks that sit around the village, to pick up some resources and uncover some lore but, with the clock not stopping for pauses or cutscenes, I quickly realized that this was more like a time trial – for a level I had never experienced. This particular section sees Ethan aiming to find two crests to slot into the door of the castle, so he can, no doubt, meet the already iconic Lady Dimitrescu. After some speeding about I come across a church which, handily, has one of the crests.
