Resident Evil Village Confirms Mercenaries Mode

Generally speaking, the Resident Evil games have short story modes, which they make up for by having high replay value. This oftentimes include bonus modes, with one of the most common being The Mercenaries, first introduced in the original Resident Evil 3. The Mercenaries mode reappeared in Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 5, and Resident Evil, plus it had its own standalone spinoff game on 3DS called Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. The Mercenaries hasn't been featured in the most recent RE games, but it's making a comeback in Resident Evil Village.

Capcom confirmed the return of the Mercenaries mode for Resident Evil Village during the latest Resident Evil showcase event. This version of The Mercenaries mode looks to be a major step forward when compared to previous iterations, while still being familiar to longtime fans. In Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries mode, players will once again have to kill hordes of enemies within a time limit, but they will have some new tools at their disposal while they do so.

The main new addition to The Mercenaries in Resident Evil Village is the Shop. Similarly to how players can purchase items from The Duke in Resident Evil Village's story mode, they will be able to visit his shop in-between rounds of The Mercenaries as well. While interacting with The Duke, Resident Evil Village players can buy new weapons and upgrade their existing ones. They can then customize their loadouts before heading back into the fray for another round.

While actually battling enemies in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries mode, players will notice colorful orbs spread around the map. These orbs can be broken to unlock special Abilities that boost players' stats, in turn giving them a better chance at completing the round and earning a high score. Upgrading Ethan's stats in the story mode will be handled through Resident Evil Village's new hunting and cooking system, but it seems things will be a bit more straightforward in The Mercenaries mode.

The reveal of The Mercenaries mode was a nice surprise and shows that Resident Evil Village is giving players some significant bang for their buck. Besides Mercenaries, Resident Evil Village fans can also look forward to the multiplayer game Resident Evil Re:Verse, which comes as a free bonus with every copy of Village. There are also rumors that Resident Evil Village has an ultra-difficult unlockable mode as well, though Capcom has not confirmed or denied that at the time of this writing.

Those excited to play Resident Evil Village should know that the wait is nearly over. Resident Evil Village will release next month, and a new demo will be available to try before then. The second Resident Evil Village demo has a lot of restrictions associated with it, but those on PlayStation will be able to play this month, while those on other platforms will get the chance to try it for 60 minutes beginning May 1 at 5pm PT.

Capcom's Resident Evil franchise is the epitome of the survival horror genre and has significantly evolved throughout generations.  With so many successful entries in the series, Resident Evil has become of the best-selling video game franchises in the world, and it's no surprise that Capcom wants to continue making more Resident Evil games.