Thoughts on the iPhone 15 Pro version of Resident Evil: Village

Capcom's foray into iOS AAA gaming is admirable, but needs more work.

On October 30, Capcom finally released Resident Evil: Village for iOS. Compatible devices are the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, as well as any iPad Pro or iPad Air with an M1 processor. As I mentioned in my September 16 article, I’m excited about the concept of RE games coming to mobile devices soon after their initial launches on consoles and Windows PCs. Smartphones are powerful and ubiquitous, and I believe publishers and developers in the console and PC sphere should integrate smartphone versions into their development pipelines from the onset, without (necessarily) having to adjust or compromise the content of the game to suit mobile devices.

I finally managed to complete the main campaign of Village on my iPhone 15 Pro. To replicate a traditional handheld gaming setup, I eschewed the iOS port’s default touch screen controls in favor of the Backbone, a well-designed physical accessory that latches onto the iPhone 15 Pro’s USB-C port, giving the device physical buttons and joysticks for a more traditional console experience. Bluetooth controllers, including Sony’s DualSense and Xbox Wireless Controllers, are also compatible with Village, but given that portability is the key differentiator for the iOS port, I didn’t bother with such setups.

I’ve discussed my thoughts on Village as a game many times over the past few years, so I’ll focus on the experience on the iPhone 15 Pro.