When itch.io creator Oco played Resident Evil Village for the first time, their first thought about the game was how much it reminded them of the old Castlevania games. Now, after two months of development, they've released Residentvania, a Resident Evil demake that turns Castle Dimitrescu into the first stage from the original Castlevania.
Much like the source material, Residentvania has players controlling Ethan Winters as he fights his way through Castle Dimitrescu and the monsters that lie within. However, this Resident Evil demake reimagines the area with the level design and gameplay of the NES Castlevania. Anyone who's seen that game can recognize many of the classic elements and how they're recreated or updated for this mash-up. We've got the classic scene of Simon Belmont approaching and standing before the gates to the castle. Gameplay-wise, Ethan uses his trusty knife instead of a whip, and the sub-weapons, now simply known as weapons, are various firearms that use ammo instead of hearts. Ethan's pistol fires a single projectile straight forward, much like Simon's knife, and the grenade launcher fires shots in an arc similar to the axe. There's even some good ol' life-restoring wall chicken in the form of some ciorba de legume.
As for the enemies, the zombies and bats are replaced with the ghoulish Moroaicǎ and the gargoyle-like Samcă. At the end of the stage/game, Ethan faces off against Bella Dimitrescu instead of the giant bat Simon battles. Fan-favorite Lady Dimitrescu is, sadly, absent as a boss, but a portrait of her can be seen in the game. Oco says that the game took two months to develop all the assets and make the game.
Residentvania is available to download for free on itch.io.
