'Resident Evil 7: Biohazard' and 'Resident Evil Village' Switch 2 Review
While the headline for Nintendo fans was undoubtedly the launch of Resident Evil Requiem on Switch 2, a day-and-date release with PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S versions, Capcom also brought ports of the previous two mainline games in the series, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village, to the console. Both titles were launched as Gold Editions, which included all the DLC, with RE7 costing $40 and Village checking in at $50.
Given that these games first came out nine and nearly five years ago, respectively, I won’t spend much time discussing the actual gameplay. However, for anyone completely new to it, RE7 was the series’ switch to a first-person camera, moving in a much slower, more horror-based direction. You play as Ethan Winters, who heads to an old plantation on the Louisiana bayou in search of his missing wife.
Although it’s well-regarded and helped right the franchise’s ship after the missteps of Resident Evil 6, the two games released since RE7 have taken the series back in more of an action-oriented direction, making it feel disconnected in some ways from the other RE titles. Still, as its overall Metascore of 86 suggests, it’s a very good game—assuming you can embrace its methodical pacing.
Village is a direct sequel to RE7, set four years after that game’s events as you again step into the shoes of Ethan Winters, who has reunited with his wife and now has an infant daughter, Rose. That peace is short-lived, and Ethan soon finds himself trying to track down his child in a European village overrun with werewolves and controlled by the mysterious Mother Miranda and her four lieutenants, including series favorite Lady Dimitrescu.
The game remains in the first-person perspective—third-person support was added via a patch, but it always felt stilted to me, despite that being my preferred style for RE games—though it contains a lot more action than its predecessor. Having the four sub-bosses also allowed Village to mix up the gameplay, including the creepy Beneviento section. It holds an 84 on Metacritic.
Of course, with the games having been available for years on other systems, the real question for prospective buyers is how they perform on the Nintendo Switch 2. In that regard, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Let’s start with Resident Evil 7. When docked, it looks to be superior to the PlayStation 4 version in most areas. The frame rate felt locked in with no obvious stutters. It looks crisp as a handheld as well, which is good news as the audience beyond Nintendo-only gamers is likely to be limited to those seeking a portable version.
Moving on to Village, things bog down a little as the Switch 2 tries to handle the newer game’s larger outside areas, resulting in some frame-rate drops—this is most noticeable in handheld mode. It once again clears the PS4, though having replayed Village and its DLC in 2025 on my PlayStation 5, it comes up short of what Sony’s current-gen console can conjure.
Final Score (8/10)
If you’re a Resident Evil fan who has been tethered to the Nintendo ecosystem, the arrival of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village should be viewed as nothing but good news. RE7 runs very well, and though Village encounters some hiccups, it’s not rampant enough to undermine the experience of what I would consider the superior game of the two.