Morbid atmosphere,horrifying enemies and great new gameplay enhancements for the series.
Other things that make the psychotic village people more terrifying besides the psychotic look in their eyes is the fact they act kinda like normal people until they see you and then they'll try to kill you on sight and they have pale skin and will march at you and will try to kill you with a knife for no reason.Some enemies are hooded cultists who have horrifying chanting/laughter and you can hear their chanting from far away and as they get close you'll hear their chanting getting closer and it's quite terrifying,also because of the fact they're carrying weapons.Some enemies are vicious features and some bosses are humans who can mutate into vicious creatures.
Some enemies use carry chainsaws or explosives or shields to block your gunshots(you'll need a shotgun to blast through their shield)and some bosses wear armor to protect them from headshots.Some of the creatures are giant insectoid type things and they can cloak themselves with the environment.
The story is about the president's daughter is missing in Europe and you'll play as Leon and sent to rescue her and you'll need to travel through some dangerous environments where crazy village people,cultists,and vicious creatures are and there is times you'll need to protect her(keep her alive)as well as re-rescue her.
I like how when you're in the village you can explore inside many village and see details such as rotten food inside people's houses and farm animals and everyday items such as tables and chairs and you can even search for ammo.The village has dead trees and sadistic things such as a dog trapped by an animal trap that snaps shut around the animal and you can free the dog and it will help you later and you'll see crows and these things give the village a nice morbid feel.There is also castle environments,sewers and high tech science labs and murky swamps.
You weapons you can use include a handguns(weaker ones that can hold more bullets or powerful magnums),shotgun,automatic assault rifle,sniper rifle,rocket launcher,grenades and a knife that you always keep with you.
There will be times you'll need to use the sniper rifle and it will test your sniping skills.
You can upgrade and will need to upgrade the weapons.Besides just killing enemies,the gameplay also includes puzzles,protecting Ashley,QTE segments and surviving from many,many enemies when you're trapped inside a building.
The music creates a horrifying atmosphere.When psychotic village people walk towards you you'll hear a horrifying sound and the music can be very fast at times to suit the intensity.
The graphics were great on a technical level for their time,realistic and detailed for their time and the artstyle is great too with the dark,morbid,sometimes murky atmosphere.
The aiming mechanics are very smooth.However,it's annoying when you cannot run while you're shooting.
Overall it's one of the best horror titles I've ever played.