Resident Evil Village - East and West Old Town explored, Bolt Cutter location explained
How to survive your introduction of the village - and the lycans.
Resident Evil Village's East Old Town and West Old Town are your introduction to the titular location, and can be a little confusing to explore due to their sprawling nature.
Though you'll come across some locked gates and doors, don't worry - you'll need to come back a little later to full explore each location, though grabbing the Bolt Cutters along the way will help you initially.
As well as introducing you to the village, it also gives you a taste of a brand new enemy type for the series - werewolves - whose bark is worse than their bite.
For help elsewhere in the game, see our Resident Evil Village walkthrough and list of Goats of Warding locations.
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Approaching West Old Town
After the brief introduction in Ethan and Mia's House, you'll be outside an overturned vehicle. Check the File on the ground by the body, then follow the trail of footprints through the woods. Keep pushing on - it's pretty linear - past some crows and a short bridge until you reach a hut, with the door to your right.
You can interact with a few things in the hut, but the aim is to go through a door in the back and down in the basement.
At the end of the basement is a wardrobe you can open, containing a brush and some blood. As you back away, you'll hear a ruckus upstairs. Head back up, crouch underneath the wardrobe, and leave out of the gap in the wall.
Exploring West Old Town in Resident Evil Village
Follow this route away from the hut to the cliff edge overlooking the village. Head down the path to find a dead horse and a house to your right. Inside this house is a drawer you need a lockpick for, and beyond that, a well and further beyond that a locked gate which requires the Iron Insignia Key - in short, nothing you can do much with for now.
To progress, you need to go down the route to the left of the first house; if you're looking at the map, going in a north-west direction. You know you are on the right path when you see hanging goat heads.
Take the linear route down until you come to a locked gate on your left and a house to your right, as well as another locked gate which requires the Iron Insignia Key.
Enter the house. There is a crate on your right, which when approached, displays the message 'Some force could break it'; to open it, grab the Knife just ahead, and interact with it for a Med Kit.
Enter the next room and to progress, interact with the curtain in the corner.
After the cutscene, you'll have the LEMI - a small semi-automatic pistol - and be in a basement full of bodies. Continue onwards for another cutscene.
To defeat the werewolf, it's a case of shooting it in the chest and if you can, the head. They will be fairly slow most of the time, and will occasionally duck to the side, so take your time and fire when you know you can land a hit. If they get close enough to attack, hold L1 / LB to guard; this will block the attack and prevent most damage. Keep shooting until it's down.
Bolt Cutters location and exploring East Old Town in Resident Evil Village
There is a building to your left with a Herb and Chem Fluid, a crafting item, so use these to heal up if you were injured in battle.
To progress, return into the house and the alcove covered by a curtain earlier. There you will find the Bolt Cutters - a key item allowing you to cut down the chains locking gates.
Head outside and use it on the gate opposite.
Cross the stream to the barn with the body being dragged inside. There is a radio to the right, which will do nothing.
There is handgun ammo here, followed by a noise upstairs. As you make your way up, you can barricade the front door using the wardrobe. After you go upstairs, you have to survive the encounter against the surrounding werewolves.
Both will appear downstairs, in the window next to where you found the ammo, and the other through the roof. Use your handgun ammo carefully here to take them down; you can shoot through the windows, but we ran out of bullets and had to resort to a knife for the one upstairs. (Remember you can craft if you have been picking up resources along the way!) If you're in a similar position, be sure to block as much as you can, and take your time with attacks.
You should have enough healing items to survive any direct encounters, though, and after two werewolves are down, the attack will end and the radio will come to life - asking you to head to Luiza's House. Before that - it's time to survive the werewolves attack.
The next section is tricky - so be sure to heal up, reload, and get outside.