Resident Evil 8 Village Review: 8 Ups & 2 Downs

6. The Best Acting Performances Of The Franchise

This entire run of games has never been about the emotional impact. Sure, there might’ve been a sister looking to find her brother or a band of heroes saving the world, but now the story has some real punch to it.

The camp nature of Resident Evil is here, and does show its head when the cast of villains are on screen, but when it comes down to it, this is a serious story of a father trying to find his daughter by any means necessary. RE7's Ethan is so much more than a blank slate, and you will really feel his struggle, to the point you feel for the poor man. Todd Soley puts in the work to portray a wider range of emotions at every moment.

The combination of camp and hard-hitting story revelations doesn’t clash either, this is all mixed together in a way that it just somehow works. It's in part attributed to the performances, as none let the side down for Capcom’s eighth major game.

For example, the player might’ve just been through a hellish ordeal, only for the mood to be lightened by new merchant The Duke, or have the tone twisted by Heisenberg.

This is also the best Chris Redfield has ever been. He now feels like the true franchise lead he was meant to be in some of the earlier games. Each time he and Ethan meet, it’s some of the best acting a Resident Evil has ever had.