The Resident Evil franchise has a huge base of devoted horror fans. Though I have never been a fan of this series I have decided to play its seventh installment, Biohazard, due to the presence of the screenwriter for the F.E.A.R. game in the dev team. I addmit that I really enjoyed its disturbing atmosphere, storyline and music. The same feelings go to the recently released part titled Village.
Resident Evil Village is a model orchestral horror score.
The game’s plot follows the story from Biohazard. Ethan Winters, the main character, settles down with his wife and a newborn daughter somewhere in Romania. They want to escape and forget the horror they experienced back then in Louisiana. Their happy and safe life will not last long. After some unexpected events Ethan wakes up next to a crashed military vehicle nearby a mysterious village occupied by horrifying creatures preying on the remaining villagers. His main goal is to find his kidnapped daughter and solve another mystery.
The soundtrack was composed mainly by Shusaku Uchiyama and Nao Sato. At first I did not pay much attention to the music because the volume of the score in-game is way too low for me. After adjusting the proportions of the audio I realised how good this score is. Resident Evil Village is a model orchestral horror score combined with sharp electronic vibes.
The soundtrack is more complex than the Biohazard’s score. The horrifying orchestral and synth risers and abstract strings performances (Crisis, Wandering the Dark, She’s Not Here) are always suitable for a good horror soundtrack. The aforementioned track titled Wandering the Dark with the sudden, unnerving percussion strikes accompanies the player in a creepy dungeon of the castle of Lady Dimitrescu, one of the game’s main villains.
Resident Evil Village has a thrilling, unnerving soundtrack that deserves attention.
The basement of the Beneviento house is a terrifying section accompanied by an equally unnerving track that makes players dread the coming moments. The hair rising vocalises combined with strings, percussion and electronics accompanies the scariest sequence of the entire game. The previous RE games did not scare me much but the hideous thing that lurks in that place really deserves the soundtrack it got. The title – Monstrosity – speaks for itself. The haunting vocals are also present in The Hag and The Path.
The other parts of the soundtrack worth to mention surely are Treading Water and Acid Rain which accompany the player during dealing with the fishman mutant Moreau. The enemy is kind enough not to kill Ethan in some parts of the fight which makes him the one who deserves some sympathy and sheds light that not all creatures are evil within the village. The accompanying tribal percussions give the player the chills throughout the internal struggle Moreau endures.
The only flaw is the low volume of the soundtrack in the overall mix.
However, the absolutely blasting enemy fight themes are Propelled and especially The Final Movement. The latter awaits us when we have to fight with Heisenberg, a Diesel-pumped combination of flesh and metal. The harsh synthesizers of both pieces give the player more than enough kick to enjoy the battle.
Apart from terrifying the players, the soundtrack has some soothing yet intriguing parts included. They are related to The Duke, a mysterious travelling merchant who appears in the safe rooms that are typical for this game series. A very interesting part of the score is the end credits theme, Yearning for Dark Shadows, composed by Brian D’Oliveira with the captivating vocals of the Polish folk musician Aga Ujma. The track refers to the in-game animation, Village of Shadows, with the music created by Marcin Przybyłowicz.
Apart from terrifying the players, the soundtrack has some soothing yet intriguing parts.
Resident Evil Village has a thrilling, unnerving soundtrack that deserves attention as it sets the mood of the terrifying eighth chapter in the RE universe. The composers created a seamless and coherent score. The only flaw is the low volume of the soundtrack in the overall mix. I hope Capcom will take it under consideration. They could also stop naming the select options for the score as simple “background music” in the game menu. Welcome to the village of shadows!
