How Long Is Resident Evil Village?
With Resident Evil Village finally released into the wild, how long does it take to beat Capcom's eighth main game?
Tom Chapman
06th May 2021 15:30
Man the battlements of Castle Dimitrescu, because Resident Evil Village is finally here. Capcom is taking a bite out of the gothic horror genre with this wild ride of werewolves, maidens, gargoyles, and vampires. Although this is billed as something of a spiritual successor to the beloved Resident Evil 4 in terms of aesthetic, it's clear that Village makes even RE4's chainsaw-wielding Doctor Salvador and the spiky Iron Maidens look tame.
While the first demo gave us a look into the bowels of Castle Dimitrescu, it was in the multi-platform second release that we finally got to explore combat. With the extended demo giving players the chance to explore both the Village and Castle sections of the game, it soon became clear we'd only scratched the surface of what would be a much bigger Resi game.
Stepping out into twisted realms of House Dimitrescu, Beneviento, Moreau, and Heisenberg, each of the heads needs besting before you can tackle the mysterious Mother Miranda. If you want to know how much time you'll be pouring into Resident Evil Village, here's how long it takes to beat.
- Related: Resident Evil Village Review Roundup
How long is Resident Evil Village?
Resident Evil Village starts off simple enough, as returning protagonist Ethan Winters is faced with tragedy and goes in search of his kidnapped daughter. After finally leaving the horrors of RE7's Baker Ranch behind him, it's five years later that the ghosts of Ethan's past come to haunt him. There's also the return of Chris Redfield and some potentially shady ties to the seemingly obsolete Umbrella Corporation. More than just shooting your way through waves of Lycans and zombies, Village includes elements of stealth play and puzzles to beef up your playtime.
Resident Evil games have been criticised for sometimes being on the shorter side, however, Village backs plenty of bang for your buck. Although everyone's playthrough will be different, a standard run of Village should take about 11 hours to complete. Of course, the replayability of Resident Evil games encourages you to go back and relive the horror all over again to unlock every little secret and puzzle piece to the wider world of increasingly complicated lore.
How does Resident Evil Village's length compare to the other games?
Despite its rave reviews for taking the series back to its horror roots in a truly terrifying way, Resident Evil 7 was criticised for its short campaign. You could rattle through the bare bones of the Baker bloodbath in around 4-5 hours. Village is slightly longer, with a quick whip through the four houses taking about 6-8 hours. Of course, the 10-11 hour estimate is based on polishing off the whole thing and making sure you've got the most out of Village.
In terms of where Village sits among the rest of its brothers and sisters, it's a pretty average runtime. While the next-gen nightmare is much longer than the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and its measly 6-hour playtime, it's a far cry from Resident Evil 6's bloated 21.5 hours for the main story. Then again, the 2012 game was slammed for its cinematic aesthetic and throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, into it.
With replayability, remember that Village also brings back the fan-favourite Mercenaries Mode. Added to this, there are the Hardcore and Village of Shadows difficulties to bump up your time. Finally, buying Village unlocks access to the delayed Resident Evil Re:Verse multiplayer. Even if Ethan will hopefully be kicking back by the fire getting his happy ending by teatime, Village opens to door to a lot more than just the main story. Some might think that 11 hours isn't enough from Capcom in terms of the campaign, but don't forget there's a tonne of extra content that makes Resident Evil Village well worth buying a copy from the Duke.
Images via Capcom
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
