Resident Evil Village Really Suits The Third-Person Camera

After loving Resident Evil Village last year, the announcement of some DLC carrying on the game’s story was music to my ears. However, I’m someone who has the attention span of–is that a boulder? Anyway, I’m easily distracted, so despite the fact that the Shadow of Rose DLC campaign is out already, I’ve been replaying the main campaign to remind myself of the story and finish up grabbing collectibles. There’s been two additional playthroughs already and I’m considering a third on the hardest difficulty, just for the hell of it.

I’ve got the gremlin in me, apparently.

Still, the Shadow of Rose DLC also brought some improvements to the rest of Resident Evil Village, including the ability to play as Chris Redfield, Heisenberg and Lady Dimitrescu in The Mercenaries mode. However, the most significant addition to the base game is the inclusion of a third-person camera, bringing the game more in line with the franchise’s recent remakes. After blasting through Village using this third-person camera, it’s amazing how much the camera suits the action of the game.

The third-person camera gives you a much wider view of the action in Resident Evil Village, which is actually kind of liberating for a lot of sections within the game. Playing through the ambush during the first section of the game felt a lot more manageable considering I could see a lot more of what was happening. Keeping Ethan’s head on a swivel feels a lot easier when you’re able to get a much larger view on things.

However, the camera really comes into its own in moments like the Boss Baby section in House Beneviento. Running through the bowels of the house away from the giant monstrous baby feels a lot less stressful in third-person, as the wider viewpoint makes it a lot easier to keep track of where the hell the baby is. Playing in first-person just makes me want to hide in the closet for 20 minutes until the baby goes away forever.

Now, you might be thinking that a third-person camera which tones down the horror of Resident Evil Village might be a bad update, but if anything, the third-person camera angle allows the game to be more accepted as an action-heavy title rather than just a horror title. Having the same camera perspective as Resident Evil 7 meant that Village drew a lot of comparisons to its predecessor, but they’re completely different games.

Resident Evil Village feels much more akin to a Rambo-esque adventure at times, as you run around the European landscape gunning down monsters left and right. The third-person camera takes that feeling and amplifies it to the extreme, actively showing Ethan hip firing an assault rifle while Lycans are gunned down by the dozen. At least, they are for me with my infinite ammo rifle.

This isn’t to say that the first-person view is the wrong way to play, as there’s a few sections where the camera can feel a little cramped (the Factory in particular springs to mind), and the first-person cutscenes are still intact. However, if you’re looking to experience Village from a new perspective, the third-person camera is a great option, and you should definitely check it out.

READ MORE: 25 Best Survival Horror Games You Should Play