Ebola Village

EBOLA VILLAGE relies more on familiar genre tropes than original ideas, offering a decent look but falling flat with repetitive gameplay, weak storytelling, predictable level design, and poor animations. While it may provide brief fun for horror enthusiasts, it ultimately remains overshadowed by its inspirations.

Ebola Village is an incredibly sloppy, unpolished clone of Resident Evil. It looks and plays like a PS2 game, the shooting is flimsy, the visuals are incredibly outdated, the voice over is hilarious, there’s also so much unnecessary backtracking. That being said there is a nugget of a good game here; that could’ve benefited from two years of QA and polish. I know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but not sure this is flattering for Capcom’s flagship series. Unless you’ve 100% all Resident Evil games and cannot get enough of that formula, Ebola Village might tickle your fancy. Otherwise, stick to Capcom’s juggernant.

Ebola Village tries to dress itself as classic survival horror, but ends up as a cheap, clumsy, opportunistic copy with dreadful combat, absurd AI, and no personality.

Ebola Village contains moments that, if developed further and without the Resident Evil skin, could be part of at least a noteworthy indie survival horror game.

Ultimately, *Ebola Village* is an example of how mere imitation—devoid of a unique vision—is bound to fail. The game proves that simply copying the surface-level elements of successful franchises isn't enough. Without compelling characters, a gripping story, innovative gameplay mechanics, or technical competence, all that remains is a hollow shell. Much like the disease that inspired its name, this game is best avoided. However, if you happen to be a film fan with a taste for so-called "mockbusters," you might consider giving it a look.

Ebola Village is a unique experience: on the one hand, it aims to capture the essence of classic survival horror games and embrace the nostalgia of first-generation titles, but on the other, its execution is...

Ebola Village is not a modern horror experience, not a technical masterpiece and certainly not a new classic. What you do get, however, is a raw, nostalgic survival horror journey that is sometimes amusing, sometimes irritating, but never entirely without charm. The game is a tribute to classic survival horror, but one that has clearly been made on a shoestring. Ebola Village feels familiar, yet dated, as if you’re playing a game that was accidentally released twenty years too late.

Ebola Village is a textbook example of inspiration without understanding — a clumsy Resident Evil clone that gets nearly everything wrong, right down to its wasted Soviet setting.

Ebola Village tries hard but never really succeeds. It borrows all the classic Resident Evil elements, yet the final result falls short despite Indie Games Studio’s passion and effort. The limited budget shows, and the game would have benefited from revisiting both its design choices and its script. With several issues packed into its three-hour runtime, it’s far from a solid survival horror. Still, there are glimpses of potential: the gunplay works, dismembering enemies is fun, and the atmosphere—though heavily derivative—hits the right notes. Viktor Trokhin clearly has talent, especially as a solo developer, but he needs someone to help channel it better. Maybe a fifth chapter will finally let him shine.

EBOLA VILLAGE delivers a tense, old-school survival horror experience that prioritises atmosphere over action, and for the most part, it succeeds. While the story is light and the game could benefit from some additional visual polish, its unsettling environments, brutal combat and audio design do a great job of keeping the tension high whilst playing.