Standing over nine feet tall, sporting a flowing white dress and capped with a wide-brimmed black hat, Resident Evil Village's Lady Dimitrescu has quickly cemented her place in popular culture. So it's disappointing to find that – in the game itself – she's very much a minor player, and that's a particular shame since the more prominent adversaries are a lot less interesting.

Before Resident Evil 7 reinvigorated the then-ailing series by switching to a first-person perspective, in 2005 Resident Evil 4 did a similar trick by relocating the story away from the urban US locations overserved by the first three games (more if you include the spin offs). Placing the action in a rural European village (together with a then revolutionary over-shoulder camera) really shook things up and it remains one of the most popular survival horror games to this day. So it's no wonder that Capcom has returned to a similar location – this time a village located in Transylvania – for part eight.

Following on from the previous game, protagonist Ethan Winters finds himself in the mysterious, nameless village. Most of the denizens have mutated into werewolves, and its these creatures that pose the most enduring threat. The village is governed by four bosses (including Lady Dimistrescu) who are all controlled by a supreme leader known as Lady Miranda, and each boss resides in a different area on the outskirts of the village which itself acts a hub. Fortunately, once you clear out the infestation of lycanthropes, you're more or less able to freely pass through the village, although doing so without a mini-map (the screen displays no HUD information whatsoever) quickly becomes very testing.

Your arsenal mainly consists of pistol, shotgun and sniper rifle but it's possible to upgrade and replace these weapons whenever you encounter the Duke: a bizarre, giant, passive aggressive merchant. Ammunition isn't nearly as scarce as in previous games but it's certainly not plentiful. Combat against the hordes can be demanding – particularly later on as they vastly increase in number – but the game does a great job, in its most tense encounters, of making you think you're on the verge of death without too often spoiling the fun with a 'game over' screen. The boss battles are especially well designed (much like the previous game): varied and challenging but readable and fair. Anyone still tortured by nightmares of Resident Evil 4's legendary difficulty should sleep soundly now.

Although the plot can't quite live up to its predecessor's superb twist, it's compelling enough to drive the story over 10 hours to a satisfying conclusion. While Resident Evil Village doesn't add anything transformative to the genre, it liberally pays homage to some of the very best bits from a series that's – incredibly – endured for more than a quarter of a century. If only it had better capitalised on its most striking character. Still, she's a vampire, so maybe next time?

Out now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Stadia.