Capcom released a ton of exciting new details about Resident Evil Village during their ‘Resident Evil Showcase’ on 15th April. Perhaps most exciting of all was the announcement of a time-limited Resident Evil Village demo for PS4 and PS5 beginning on 17th April. Now, it’s not quite as straightforward to play this demo as you might think – and it’s split into two parts.
But don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Take a look below to find out how you can access the demo on PS4 and PS5, and when it’ll be available for players on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and Google Stadia. We’ve also provided a recap of part one of the demo in case you don’t get chance to play it…
Resident Evil Village demo: How to play and times
The two-part Resident Evil Village demo for PS4 and PS5 is titled ‘8 Hours in Village’. It gives players the chance to experience the Village and Castle areas of the game. Unfortunately, the demos are very much teasers. So, the window of opportunity to access them is narrow. And you only have 30 minutes to play each demo within the available time slots. These are the dates and times to remember if you want to try the demos for yourself…
Village demo:
- North America – 17 April, 5pm – 18 April, 1am PDT
- UK – 18 April, 6pm – 19 April, 2am BST
- Europe – 18 April, 7pm – 19 April, 3am CEST
- Asia – 18 April, 5pm – 19 April, 1am HKT
Castle demo:
- North America – 24 April, 5pm – 25 April, 1am PDT
- UK – 25 April, 6pm – 26 April, 2am BST
- Europe – 25 April, 7pm – 26 April, 3am CEST
- Asia – 25 April, 5pm – 26 April, 1am HKT
A full 60-minute demo will come later and combines the Village and Castle demos. It will arrive on all platforms on 1st and 2nd May in the US and UK respectively.
Resident Evil Village demo: New trailer
Here is the brand new trailer for Resident Evil Village, which debuted at the ‘Resident Evil Showcase’. And yes – it includes everyone’s favourite vampire lady…
Resident Evil Village demo: Recap
**SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE VILLAGE GAMEPLAY DEMO**
Resident Evil Village picks up the story a few years after Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. It features familiar first-person gameplay, but has switched things up for the series in a big way. This instalment is based heavily in medieval folklore, and looks to be packed full of witches, vampires, werewolves, castles, and all that good stuff. Protagonist Ethan Winters is back, and this time he finds himself in a spooky European village trying to find his daughter Rose. And this is where the Village portion of the new gameplay demo starts.
As the demo begins, Ethan immediately encounters a creepy old woman. She recognises Ethan and informs him that his daughter was brought to the village by Mother Miranda. Because of Rose’s arrival in the village, it has apparently “fallen into darkness”. Ethan is surprised to learn Rose is in the village, and sets off looking for her.
At this point, the player is able to wander around the small, snow-covered village (hence ‘Village demo’). Equipped with a knife and a pistol, Ethan needs to open a castle gate to progress his search for Rose. To do this, you have to find two crests to unlock the gate. The first one can be found relatively easily by exploring the area. Before too long, it’s clear you’re joined by ‘something else’ in the village and you find a shotgun and ammo.
How does the demo end?
You soon encounter werewolf-like creatures and take refuge in a small shack where an elderly man and his adult daughter, Elena, are hiding. As Ethan isn’t from the village, they’re scared but quickly realise he might be their only chance at survival. However, the old man has been injured by one of the monsters, and they need to find the other survivors. They’re at Luiza’s house.
After some brief exploration, Ethan, Elena, and her father arrive there. As expected, they encounter a group of terrified survivors and Ethan demands to know what’s going on. Luiza explains that the monsters showed up out of nowhere and attacked the village.
Elena’s father suddenly begins to transform into a monster and he accidentally starts a fire while tearing the survivors to shreds. Ethan and Elena try to escape in a truck but end up stuck after crashing through the walls of the house. They flee through a hole in the ceiling and are about to escape through a window in the attic, but Elena’s father reappears. Elena runs to help him, but they both fall into the fire raging below. So, Ethan decides to head for the castle to find Rose – which Elena warned him is full of “blood and death”.
On his way to the castle gate, Ethan finds the second crest and witnesses a man being killed by a mysterious figure as he screams “Stop! Mother Miranda!”. However, the figure disappears into the distance. When you arrive at the castle gate, you need to solve an easy puzzle to open it. Part one of the demo ends here.
Have you played the demo and are you excited for Resident Evil Village? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
