We review multiplayer games based on the Resident Evil universe, a trajectory where Capcom has rarely been able to find the key.
The spectacular staging of Resident Evil Village, which has been accompanied by a barrage of news from the most anticipated horror game of this 2021, has also done so with an unexpected surprise, and is a new multiplayer proposal within the universe of the franchise . Thus, along with the main adventure, Resident Evil Re: Verse will also arrive, a very simple online mode with short games in which six players will face off in shootouts where the one with the highest score will win, having already confirmed the presence of illustrious characters such as Leon Kennedy, Jack Baker, Jill Valentine or Nemesis. However, it is by no means the saga’s first foray into multiplayer modes, and there are already a good number of titles of this style that, traditionally, have rarely lived up to the main installments. Let’s see them:
Resident Evil Outbreak and Outbreak File 2
The franchise’s first foray into multiplayer is Resident Evil Outbreak, originally released in 2003 on PlayStation 2, although it wouldn’t arrive in Europe until the following year. Setting the scenes from Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, the player could choose between 8 different characters, each with different objects and abilities, with the aim of escaping from the infected zone through 5 environments before a bomb nuclear will wipe out everything. In addition, these protagonists did not share the innate ability of the main characters of the saga not to become infected, so it was necessary to look for pills to stop the infection in case of being bitten. Its peculiarity is that it could be played alone accompanied by three other characters controlled by the AI, although it was possible to give simple orders, but obviously we are here to talk about the game in company. This was carried out through an online game that today would seem extremely rudimentary thanks to the network adapter that was sold separately for the second generation Sony console.
Although it did not have much impact outside of Japan, it was a success in the country of the Rising Sun, which would lead to its 2004 sequel, also on PS2. It also had a great reception thanks to a good handful of additions, such as a wider range of scenarios, other unlockables, many more final than its predecessor -which already had several-, and why not say it, because it included a demo of the third installment from Devil May Cry, highly anticipated after the disappointment of Devil May Cry 2.
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Wii’s motion control spawned quite a handful of spin-offs from the most popular franchises of the time, and Resident Evil couldn’t be an exception. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (2007) was a shooter on rails in which, as is evident in these cases, the story goes into the background, but curiously, it is seen from the perspective of the corporation that caused all the disaster we have experienced. in the franchise since its inception. Playable there was not much mystery, and there was not much else to do besides accounting for the numerous enemies that appeared throughout various levels based on deliveries such as RE Zero, the original or Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, in addition to the two finals, which took us neither more nor less than Russia. It was perfectly playable alone, but how could it be otherwise, it could be played cooperatively with a second Wiimote.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
The original trilogy would also provide the setting for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (2012), a new action-focused spin-off that the franchise was already showing at the time with deliveries such as Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, published this on same year that concerns us. In fact, although illustrious names of the saga such as Hunk, Birkin, and above all, Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield appeared, Capcom does not consider this canonical game within the general plot thread, putting us on this occasion in the shoes of the USS, the service Umbrella’s armed security guard. Two curiosities that it had, from the playable point of view, were, for the first time, the possibility of using covers, as well as using the dead as if they were “human” shields. When it came to playing online, Capcom did not innovate much, and had the classic Free-for-All modes by teams or Capture the flag, here renamed as Team Attack and Biohazard, although it did include a curious Survival mode in which only 4 of the 8 players in the game could flee the rescue helicopter.
Resident Evil: Umbrella Corps
Before Capcom recovered the pulse of the franchise thanks to Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 2 Remake, this was not going through its best moment, as evidenced by the reception that Resident Evil: Umbrella Corps had, considered by many the worst game in history of the saga, as attested by its very low note in Metacritic. Although that one was more usable, it is nothing but an evolution of Operation Raccoon City, focused this time almost exclusively on competitive multiplayer -since the single player was testimonial- with uninspired modes and extremely simple and small maps with the presence of undead . A very poor graphic section was the culmination of a title in which Capcom showed how little faith it had by launching it at a very low price.
Resident Evil Resistance
Resident Evil’s latest multiplayer adventure can also be considered its strongest, even though it has never managed to create a particularly large community. It was included in the remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (2020), and it is asymmetric, that is, 4 against 1: on the one hand, four players take the role of survivors – two boys and two girls, well differentiated from each other. playable-, and on the other, a fifth player is the Brain, or in charge of placing traps and letting the hordes of enemies loose to kill them. Although Capcom did not take long to stop updating it frequently, it was adding interesting content such as new characters – Jill Valentine, Nicholai, Nemesis – and updates to improve various aspects such as matchmaking. It did not have a particularly long journey, demonstrating the difficulty of fitting in with the public today with a multiplayer of this type.
