Hackers believe they've worked out why Resident Evil Village performs so poorly on PC – Capcom's own anti-tamper measures.
While millions of us have been enjoying getting to know Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village, it seems that the horror has been a much more terrifying experience for PC players given its frequent stuttering.
Now, however, PC players have compared playing a hacked version of the game that circumvents anti-piracy software with the standard version and report that there's a remarkable difference between the two, suggesting it's Capcom's DRM that's affecting performance.
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"All in-game shutters like the one from when you kill a zombie are fixed because Capcom DRM's entry points are patched out so most of their functions are never executed anymore," explained a hacker called Empress, who reportedly said they had a "much smoother experience" playing a pirated copy of the game.
DSO Gaming, which reported on the issue, went even further, however, and tested the hypothesis for themselves. After playing two hours of a cracked version of Resident Evil Village, the reporter insisted that they "did not get a single stutter during these two hours", adding that "even the catacombs at Lady Dimitrescu’s castle, an area notorious for its stuttering issues when killing enemies, was stutter-free".
"Resident Evil Village – whose core story mode can be completed within 10 to 12 hours – makes the case against the 'more is more' theory of value using deeper gameplay systems and reward items to transform the experience," posits Play writer, Oscar Taylor-Kent.
"Smashed that first play-through? Now try speed-running the game in under three hours for the elusive Dashing Dad silver trophy. It's a completely different challenge, requiring a fresh approach to your map navigation and weapon usage. Thought the last boss was a breeze? Try completing the entire game using only melee weapons.
"We know that Resident Evil Village DLC is coming… but the New Game Plus mode makes a compelling argument that value-for-money rests in multiple replays."
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