Resident Evil Village is the best on PS5 — Here's why

Resident Evil Village is the best on PS5 — Here's why

Correction: this article initially incorrectly stated that the Xbox Series X|S does not have 3D audio; it does in the form of Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos.

Yes, "Resident Evil 7: Resident Evil Village" is not only on PS5. Nevertheless, after navigating the winding castle corridors and poorly lit structures and fighting off hordes of lycanthropes, vampires, and various other monsters, I am more than glad I played "Resident Evil Village" on the PS5.

Of course, this poses certain major problems for many who want the best version of "Resident Evil 7: Resident Evil Village." As you know, the battle of supply and demand is currently at a disadvantage, with the latter crushing the former due to chip shortages. When I won the PS5 restocking battle, it was due to a lot of time, effort, and good fortune.

Yes, my review of "Resident Evil 7: Resident Evil Village" was written by me, but I am not alone in this. My colleague Denise Privette played "Resident Evil Village" on both PS4 and PS5 and said, "I agree 100% that Village runs much better on PS5." So let me explain why the best new game deserves one of the most difficult consoles to get.

Initially, I all but assumed that "Resident Evil 7: Resident Evil" would look better on the PS5 than on the PS4. We all know that the power of the new consoles is miles above what the older generation PS4 offers. However, after playing a bit of "RE8," Ethan Winters' awful European vacation, I realized that the PS5 was better.

That's because the PS5's Tempest 3D AudioTech allows for three-dimensional, spatial sound - the Xbox Series X|S has spatial audio with Dolby Atmos and Windows Sonic. This is because the 3D audio experienced with the AirPods Pro and Apple TV Plus was a bit gimmicky.

But once the headset was attached to the headphone jack on the PS5 controller (no need for a Sony-specific 3D Pulse headset), I realized that Resident Evil Village truly came to life with this more intimate audio. I had quite a bit of trouble at the end of Dimitrescu Castle when Mrs. Dimitrescu and her daughter Daniela came after me. It took me a while to figure out where to go, and only with headphones on did I get a better sense of where one of these tormentors was sneaking up on me from my vantage point.

Late in the game, this became even more valuable when Ethan was attacked from all angles. Flaming arrows rained down from above, and Lycans came at him from behind, trying to bite Ethan's neck off. That's when I remembered to put on my headphones. By using audio as a cue, I could better know when a threat was growling close enough to be a problem, and I could turn around just in time.

It would also be easier to hear "Resident Evil 7: Resident Evil Village" on a PS5 than on a PS4. As anyone who has played a demanding title like "The Last of Us Part II" on a PS4 knows, that console can be extremely loud. My colleague Denise Privett confirmed that Resident Evil Village has the same effect, saying that her PS4 got "super loud" while playing.

Two of my colleagues say that the PS4 version of the game does not look as good; Denise, who has played on both PS5 and PS4, says, "I noticed that the wolf's fur is almost see-through. Perhaps the PS4 couldn't handle the graphics."

There is one exception to the PS5's advantage: when Digital Foundry staff investigated the differences between PS5 and Xbox Series X, they found that ray tracing (enabled by default), when compared to Xbox Series X, in the third lord's area performance was found to be slightly lower.

Since this is a watery space, a lot of reflections occur, which leads to a slight dip. The PS5 frame rate was as low as 46 frames per second, while the Xbox Series X (53 fps) was closer to the 60 fps standard at the same moment.

However, I have played that level many times (for fun) and don't consider it a major problem.

My first taste of the originality of the PS5 dual-sense controller's adaptive triggers came when I played around with "Astro's Playroom," a free PS5 software that is a great preview of what is possible with the PS5's L1/L2 and R1/R2 buttons.

So when you switch from weapon to weapon and fire your F2 sniper rifle for the first time, you can really feel the difference. I'm no firearms expert, but even I would feel like every gun I shoot is different, and it's great that the PS5 gives you that feeling; the PC and Xbox Series X and S don't have anything like this, and I'm sure that the PS5 will give you the same feeling when you switch weapons for the first time.

Overall, I liked "Resident Evil 7: Resident Evil Village" on PS5 because it felt all-consuming. This is evident in the small number of loading screens. This is due to the PS5's lightning-fast SSD, one of its biggest advantages over the PS4.

According to Dennis, the PS4 version of RE8 had shorter load times than Resident Evil 7 on the same console, but there are still loading screens; Resident Evil 7: Resident Evil Village on PS5 has zero loading overall, but the long elevator right to load the next map Maybe it was meant to.

That said, you can certainly play "Resident Evil 7: Resident Evil Village" on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, if you have a choice. I would play it on PS5, but the Xbox Series X|S 3D audio is also a contender. This title is one of the top contenders for game of the year, and the immersive difference allows you to fully experience this wonderful homage to horror films.

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