This gameplay footage has been brightened a bit for better viewing. Capcom / iantothemax (YouTube)

I approached. The creature charged me, screaming. I panicked and pulled the trigger. After the shock wore off, muscle memory pushed me forward to see what it dropped.

“Meat?” I thought. “Why would a lycan drop… oh my god.”

It was a pig. I had shot a pig. A gentle swine. A beautiful hog. I felt sick.

Resident Evil Village is full of animals. Random black birds, for example, can be sniped for small bundles of cash à la Resident Evil 4. After leaving Lady Dimitrescu’s castle, you’ll come upon a small pond of fish that you can slice up and harvest, but you can’t eat them immediately. For a few hours, you’ll probably find yourself gathering a ton of different meats, from poultry to pork, wondering what the heck you’re supposed to do with them. The Duke, Village’s resident merchant, will eventually offer to cook up this tasty flesh into a variety of stat-boosting meals. There are even special animals that provide special meat for even better recipes.

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That’s all to say that the pig I obliterated didn’t die in vain. The pork the little dude provided me went into making a “Bird and Beast Pilaf” that decreased the amount of damage I took from enemy attacks while blocking. It was apparently pretty good, too, going by the sloppy noises Ethan and The Duke made while chowing down on the dish. I only wish I had been able to acquire the meat under more humane circumstances, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers while running from terrifying bioweapons.