Resident Evil Village is the upcoming survival-horror developed and published by Capcom. As the latest title in the long-running Resident Evil series, the new game will maintain the classic gameplay formula. This means players will have to work with limited supplies as they fight to survive in a cursed European village.
However, Resident Evil Village will also see the return of a game-mode from previous titles that overturns this formula. The Mercenaries mode will allow players to take on the role of an Umbrella Corporation mercenary, fighting through timed stages with a full arsenal of weaponry.
What is Mercenaries Mode?
The Mercenaries game mode first appeared in the Resident Evil series as The Mercenaries - Operation: Mad Jackal, a mini-game within Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. The mode distinguished itself from regular gameplay by forcing players to navigate the level against a time limit. To compensate for this, players were given access to a much greater amount of firepower, supplies, and ammunition.
The result was a fast-paced, horror-shooter game mode, very different from the methodical survival of the base game. Since its first appearance, the Mercenaries mode has returned several times in one form or another. The game mode appeared almost unchanged in Resident Evil 4, before experiencing a huge expansion in Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6. In addition, a spinoff title was released in 2011 that focused entirely on the Mercenaries mode gameplay, entitled Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D.
Mercenaries in Resident Evil Village
The Mercenaries mode will make its return in Resident Evil Village, 9 years after its last appearance in Resident Evil 6. As before, the focus of the Mercenaries mode will be achieving a high score by making kills against a time-limit. However, some fairly major structural changes have been made to how it all works.
In Resident Evil Village's new game mode, players will go through a series of different stages. In order to complete a stage players must kill all enemies, earning pickups and loot along the way. These pickups range from orbs that add time to the countdown to bonuses that can upgrade the character. These bonuses seem fairly substantial, and give the Mercenaries mode more of a rogue-lite feel. Certainly, these changes should do a lot to make the Mercenaries mode more replayable, as should the addition of Duke, an important NPC from Resident Evil Village.
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Buying from Duke
In between stages of Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries mode, players will be able to spend their hard-earned cash in Duke's emporium. Duke offers three different services: Players can buy supplies for healing and buffs, purchase new weaponry for the next stage, or upgrade their existing guns.
All guns have four primary stats, Power, Rate of Fire, Reload Speed, and Ammo Capacity, which can be upgrade separately for increasing buffs. This system allows players to tweak the weaponry to suit their own playstyle, and the kinds of Resident Evil monsters that they're expecting to face.
Unlocking the Mercenaries Mode
The Mercenaries mode won't be unlocked by default when players start up the upcoming Resident Evil title for the first time. Instead, players must complete Resident Evil Village's story campaign before diving into the fast-paced action mode. Once this is done, the Mercenaries mode will be available from the main menu.
There was speculation that the Mercenaries mode wouldn't be returning in Resident Evil Village, as it was absent in Resident Evil 7. However, many fans will be glad that it has not only returned, but also been expanded. The increased replayability and chance to experience the classic Resident Evil level and monster design in a different context has really stoked interest for the upcoming title.
Resident Evil Village will be released for Google Stadia, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on May 7.