The second demo for Resident Evil Village has been announced during the Resident Evil Showcase. The original Maiden demo was a PS5 exclusive that showed off the visuals of the game, without featuring any combat.
Capcom held a Resident Evil Showcase event today, to promote upcoming games and reveal new features about the upcoming Resident Evil Village, which is due to be released in a few weeks. The worst kept secret of the event was that another demo was on the way, as its files were discovered on the PlayStation Store. Similar datamine leaks like these have happened in the past, as was the case when the Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo was discovered early by fans.
It was revealed during the Resident Evil Showcase (seen below on the official PlayStation YouTube Channel) that more Resident Evil Village demos are on the way. The next demo for Resident Evil Village will be available on PS4 and PS5 and it will feature sixty minutes of gameplay. The demo will be available in North America from May 1 at 5 PM PDT to May 2 at 5 PM PDT, it will be available in Europe from May 2 at 2 AM CEST to May 3 at 2 AM CEST, and it will be available in Asia from May 2 at 8 AM HKT to May 3 at 8 AM HKT. Players will have the chance to explore both the castle and the village areas in the demo, with a choice available between the two.
PS4 and PS5 owners will also have early access to the demo as part of the “8 Hours In Village” event. The village version of the demo will be available in North America from April 17 at 5 PM PDT to April 18 at 1 AM PDT, it will be available in Europe from April 18 at 7 PM CEST to April 19 at 3 AM CEST, and it will be available in Asia from April 18 at 5 PM HKT to April 19 at 1 AM HKT. The castle version of the demo will be available in North America from April 24 at 5 PM PDT to April 25 at 1 AM PDT, it will be available in Europe from April 25 at 7 PM CEST to April 26 at 3 AM CEST, and it will be available in Asia from April 25 at 5 PM HKT to April 26 at 1 AM HKT. These will give players an eight-hour window to try out the demos for thirty minutes. PS4 and PS5 owners can pre-load the demo starting today.
This feels like an overly complicated way of doing things. It’s great that PlayStation owners will get early access to the demo, but all of these limited-time windows for demos seem unnecessary. Resident Evil Village is one of the most highly-anticipated games of the year, and it doesn’t need lots of messing around just to play its demo.
Resident Evil Village will be released for Google Stadia, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on May 7.
