Resident Evil Village is the hugely successful 8th installment in the massively popular Resident Evil series. This is a game that fans have been enjoying since its 2001 release – and even more so since 2023 and onwards thanks to it’s release in VR. Resident Evil in virtual reality is hands down one of the scariest VR experiences you could submit your heart to. Early in February 2021 this became a reality of PlayStation 5 owners with the free official PSVR2 update for RE:village. But PC gamers didn’t miss out, because the Preydog mod made in very easy to experience this blood fest on the PC, also for free. But PC modders were not finished, as in January 2024 the massive UEVR mod was released, giving PC VR fans even more ways to enjoy RE Village in a virtual environment.

But which is the best over all experience? Which is easiest to get in to, which offers a more immersive experience, which is graphically more impressive?

If you want to enjoy this amazing game to the max and you have a PC and a PlayStation, deliberate no more – because we have done the work for you and reveal how to achieve the very best in scary horrific heart pounding RE Village horror right here.

First – Let’s look at how easy it is to get set up and playing RE Village in VR, starting with the PSVR2 on the PS5.

RE:Village VR Setup – PSVR2

It will come as no surprise that when it comes to accessibility and easy gaming, the PSVR2 is going to be quickest and easiest way to experience this game in VR.

It really cannot get much simpler than putting on the PS5, plugging the PSVR2 in, putting it on your head and select the game. No faffing around with settings, installing custom mods or software, or getting mad because your HMD battery is is almost flat. Nope, none of that nonsense, this is literally plug and play horror. Game on!

RE:Village VR Setup – PreyDog’s RE VR Mod

Over on the PC we have a different situation – there is no official VR version of RE Village on the PC. There are however two options for putting yourself right into the virtual hell of RE Village though, and the first one is PreyDog’s RE VR framework.
Let’s walk through the setup and see if it compares at all to the PSVR2 in simplicity, or is it a nightmare before you even step into the virtual village?

Step 1 – Download PreyDog’s RE8 VR mod.
Step 2 – Right click on RE Village in Steam, select Properties and uncheck the Steam Overlay and Game theatre options. Note that as on Nov 2023 the Game Theater option has moved to the Advanced Settings in Steam VR settings.
Step 3 – Now select “Installed Files” and click Browse to enter the game installation folder. Copy the RE8VR zip file in here, then unzip it. No existing files are overwritten. This creates a “reframework” folder, if you can see this – you are all set, power up your HMD then start RE Village in steam as normal!

So this was a bit more work than playing on the PSVR2 but remember you only have to do this once! Once it is installed it’s virtually the same experience as on the PSVR2, start the game, put on your HMD and you are smack in the middle of one of the most horrific VR games every made.

However! There are some great tweaks that can also be installed to improve the graphics with HD textures, and improve motion etc, full details of these additional tweak can be found on this page along with lots of trouble shooting solutions.

 

Also – in Graphics Settings you will want to make the following tweaks to the in-game Graphic Options to get the game looking stunning in VR without killing your PC.

1 –  Switch of HDR and Vertical sync.
2 – Set Anti Aliasing to SMAA or Off
3 – Set Texture Filter Quality to High (ANISO x16)
4 – Keep shadows on Low if you frame rate is struggling, otherwise you can leave this set to High
5 – Switch Screen space Reflections, Volumetric Lighting, Ambient Occlusion, Bloom, Lens Flare, Motion blur, Depth of Field, Lens Distortion and Film Noise all to Off

On the PSVR2 the graphics are amazing with a great balance between bright scenes which are very bright, clear and sharp, and dark scenes which are very black and ominous. The downside however the mura effect which is notable through all but the most bright of scenes, and can be distracting in low light scenes. I also noticed there are no shadows on PSVR2 – not a big deal, but shadows adds a little to the immersion.

However there are some real upsides compared to playing on the PC with the Vive Pro – most notably anti aliasing. On the PC there seems to be no way of eliminating those pesky shimmering edges. But the PSVR2 has no shimmering or jaggy edges at all! It handles every scene perfectly with no distracting edge shimmering. Coming from PC VR to PSVR2 this is the first thing you would notice and the difference is huge.

For example, 10 minutes into the game we get our first look at the castle in the distance, and it looks great. Distance graphics can be a challenge in VR but the PSVR2 manages it easily here, drawing a convincing vista.

 

 

 

On the PC with a Vive Pro, the graphics are also tremendous, and benefit from shadow effects absent on the PlayStation. This is such a sumptuous game to enjoy in VR! 

However there are two things which hold the PC experience back – anti aliasing and texture pop-up. Looking at the same castle scene here – there is a lot of shimmering around the edges. I also noticed a lot of this in the earlier kitchen scene. These issues are totally absent in the PlayStation though –  which looks much better without shimmering edges. I also noticed that at times, on the PC with Preydog’s mod, body parts are missing that are not missing on the PlayStation. For example the PS5 shows your arms up to your elbows, but on the PC they are only visible up to the forearm. This is a minor detail, but a difference none the less.

Another annoying graphical issue on the PC is texture pop-up. This happened frequently with rocks faces. They would be smooth and lacking in detail, then all of a sudden pop up with realistic textures. 

Overall, graphically the PSVR2 provides a better experience in many areas as there is no distracting texture pop-up and there is no anti aliasing issues at all. However, if the mura effect is something that bothers you, and you don’t mind the anti aliasing on the PCVR, then perhaps the PC is the best option.