Gameplay overview from my RE Village video walkthrough.
Gameplay overview from my RE Village video walkthrough.
Here's a video from my current Hardcore NG+ playthrough. Sadly I'd forgotten to set ShadowPlay to 20 min so it doesn't show the whole battle. It is however an example of how to kill one of the toughest enemies in the game with minimal resources and no damage. I took damage at one point, but it was due to a stupid mistake.
This is the Varcolac Alpha, the alpha werewolf of the game. I find luring it out of the wheat field makes it easier to see and deal with, plus there's a handy cabin to retreat to. Killing it will get you the Crystal Ancient Beast, which at 80,000 Lei, is the most valuable thing in the game, whether you're talking corpse loot, or even assembled valuables.
You're also rewarded with the Leader of the Pack trophy, which nets you 10,000 Completion Points you can spend on bonus items, like better weapons.
Interesting. I enjoyed the fight with the STURM and especially the "Heisenberg" boss. That character is impressive, lol. The game is quite challenging in RE: Village. Sadly, I couldn't even finish it because I got stuck early on. A lot of puzzles are involved, which isn't my favorite, but it would have been nice if the game was more straightforward. I really want to play it again, but it would need a lot of patience and puzzle-solving from me.
Also, do you plan to create a complete and full video walkthrough? I understand it would be very time-consuming and difficult.
The puzzles once you've solved or looked them up are not hard to remember I find, and they're mostly in the castle. Once you get outside, the game gets better, and even better yet when you get to the Stronghold, Heisenberg's Factory, and the Chris Redfield segment.
Yeah I plan on doing a full video walkthrough, possibly even on Village of Shadows difficulty if I can manage it. Once I finish this Hardcore NG+ playthrough, I plan to do Hardcore with a fresh start. That will be my first indication of whether I might be able to handle Village of Shadows with a fresh start, which I may skip straight to instead of a NG+ on VoS, if my Hardcore fresh start goes well.
I've been studying videos of those whom have mastered the game, like Aether, whom has a sub 2.5 hr run on VoS with no damage taken, using no saves or restarts. The guy even did a run where he killed all the optional bosses too no damage, including the Varcolac Alpha with just a knife. It involved slashing and blocking for about 24 min , then right after he took on two armored Lycans back to back the same way, totally nuts! While I won't dare attempt a no damage or no save run, there ARE some good pointers to pick up that most anyone can accomplish, like how to easily survive the 3 or so min werewolf attack at the start of the game unscathed.
I just finished the Stronghold (werewolf lair) on this Hardcore NG+ run, and did pretty well this time. Prior I had also beaten all the optional bosses and collected and assembled all the valuables, neither of which did I manage last playthrough. You can get a pretty crazy amount of cash just from valuables that don't require combat, and even some loot protected by those optional bosses can be gotten without fighting them.
There's indeed a lot to know about this game. Right now I'm battling Heisenberg's mechanically enhanced enemies in the factory, but for now, here's that Stronghold video. At first I thought at the 4:20 mark I wasted an ineffective shot at the barrel, thinking it would have made more sense to shoot it at the start of the next wave of werewolves, where one stands up on a ledge nearby. Then I realized his loot may not have been reachable if he died up there. On VoS though, I imagine ammo will be just as valuable as corpse loot, so I may keep it in mind anyway.
The only other mistakes that stood out was trouble zeroing the archers, and my taking too long to find the dang gem on the spiked crystal at the 10:30 mark, really felt stupid I forgot to look there. Just prior to that gem cave I downed Urias so fast he couldn't even summons any minions though, but then with all that cash I spoke of earlier, I was able to upgrade my weapons pretty good.
I have the first two sections of the Factory. I overlooked some items in the initial part but managed to collect them before moving on to the second. In the second part, I concentrated on demonstrating all the pickups, and confirmed the search by displaying a blue status with the map when exiting zones. This approach will also be used during my walkthrough.
These attempts were successful overall. I had numerous flashbangs at hand, most of which I managed to locate. It's extremely useful to have three for the Soldat Jet and Panzer enemies—both heavily armored and requiring more ammunition than it's worth to defeat. I also succeeded in solving the Iron Horse Labyrinth puzzle this time, which I hadn't managed before. This puzzle is by far the most challenging of the four labyrinths, but I finally grasped its mechanics.
At the 12:22 point in Part 1, upon discovering the loot in the small fenced area where Soldat Elris (with one auger arm) was resting during the final playthrough, I understood that if I could attract Soldat Zwei (with two auger arms) toward the fence, there would be an opportunity to circle around the machinery and potentially break through. This insight became clear when I observed him breaking through a fence to reach me while near one of those high-voltage coils. A recent video guide suggested using an explosive in that room to wake up Soldat Elris, allowing him to pass through the fence. However, this method consumed an explosive and required extra ammo for the Soldat Elris, which I had to manage carefully.
Strategies like these, along with using flashbangs and luring the Haulers into heavy machinery in the Engine Room, are techniques I'm practicing for new challenges. Here, every bit of ammo and currency is crucial.
Other notable points included a flawless hit on Soldat Elris at the 7:26 mark in Part 1, three kills against Haulers at the 1:20 mark in Part 2 using just three shotgun rounds and one pipe bomb, and a solid snipe at 12:27 in Part 2 through a window filled with Haulers—including a two-for-one opportunity. These achievements, though small, contribute significantly to my resource management.
Still, I often make the error of firing too many shots at Soldat Elris when they're closing in. It's better to wait until they reach the stationary thrust pose at the end, even if it means slowing down a bit. Haulers can be taken down with two well-placed headshots and a well-upgraded shotgun at close range (especially in Hardcore), but their movement patterns make it difficult. That's why I prefer using a pipe bomb to soften them up or finish them off when they're grouped together.
This completion of my Hardcore NG+ run really shows the NG+ style here. I was almost concerned about wasting time on a new start in Hardcore, especially for Village of Shadows. I had an overwhelming amount of Mines, Magnum, and Grenade Launcher ammo, which made the last three boss fights feel too simple.
In reality, it was so straightforward I combined the Sturm and Heisenberg fights into one video, as it took under 40 seconds to defeat the Sturm boss. I also tried a new starting method for Sturm that I hadn’t seen before, and it made perfect sense. Miranda progressed quickly too, and I didn’t even need to use a health vial this time.
For my planned walkthroughs, I considered making two videos. Initially, I thought about just a Village of Shadows guide, but then I thought most players who start fresh on VoS likely don’t need a guide as much as those trying a new run in Hardcore. So having both seemed a reasonable choice to me.
Good quality gameplay clips. I assume the New Game+ feature only becomes available after completing the entire game at any difficulty setting? I was hoping someone could share a SAVE file, and if possible, use the same one to restart the game from the start, provided it’s safe to do so. At least I’d retain all weapon upgrades, wouldn’t I? There are a few websites offering these save files online, but they’re typically for pirated versions, which we should avoid. I have a legitimate Steam copy, though. I believe the files are stored at this location: ...Steam\userdata\user-id-1196590-remote-win64_save.
Also, gamepressure has some save files for key levels, encounters, and areas in the game. I’m not certain they’ll work with my Steam copy, but I’ll test them after updating the full game again.
https://www.gamepressure.com/download.asp?ID=78135
Thanks, I'm making progress on my Hardcore fresh start run, and the techniques I've picked up about saving ammo with the killing knife in the dungeon are helping.
Since the linked page mentions C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\Your_SteamID\1196590 for instructions, I assume it's based on a Steam copy, so it should work.