Resident Evil Re: Verse Review – What Were They Thinking?

Since the release of Resident Evil 7 in 2017, Capcom has been on a roll when it comes to its iconic horror franchise. With incredibly positively reviewed entries like Resident Evil 8: Village and the Resident Evil 3 remake, to undisputed hits like the Resident Evil 2 Remake, not to mention the extremely hyped upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake, Capcom is on a hot streak. So this is our Resident Evil Re: Verse Review.

Despite having such a solid line-up under its belt, Capcom has bet its cards yet again on a PVP multiplayer game with Resident Evil Re: Verse. So, did the studio finally figure out a way to incorporate multiplayer elements into a traditional single-player series, or is this yet another flop? You can get the answer to that question in my Resident Evil Re: Verse Review.

Story And Setting

Resident Evil Re: Verse is a PvP multiplayer shooter game that pits 6 players against each other in deathmatch-style matches. The game currently features three fan-favorite locations: the Racoon City Police Department, Baker Mansion, and Uptown. 

This title is a free addition to Resident Evil 8: Village and was originally supposed to launch with it. And a year’s delay should’ve meant that Capcom was taking the time to polish the game’s mechanics and content further, but Instead, you only have 2 multiplayer maps at launch which is utterly inexcusable.

Although it is pertinent to mention here that the developer does plan to launch more maps in the future, launching a half-baked game with a promise to support it with future updates has hardly ever turned out to be in anyone’s favor.

While this might seem mildly interesting on paper, the truth is that what initially seems like a novel concept quickly becomes painfully stale.

Players can pick from among some of the most well-known characters from the franchise, such as Chris Redfield or Ada Wong, and use their skills and weapons to battle each other. But the twist here is that the moment you die, you transform into one of the monsters from previous Resident Evil games. You start by transforming into a zombie, but as you progress, you can take control of more powerful monsters such as the Nemesis. 

If you die in a monster’s form, you start as a survivor again, and this process continues until the time runs out. While this might seem mildly interesting on paper, the truth is that what initially seems like a novel concept quickly becomes painfully stale. Capcom has utterly failed to capitalize on this concept and has completely butchered its potential, which speaks volumes about its dedication to this game. 

Gameplay

Each playable character has their own primary and secondary weapons, as well as their own stats, which include survivability, weapon power, etc. These stats can be altered by using RE Coins, which are used to improve your health or increase your weapon power. There are 4 coin slots for humans and 3 for monsters, so pick these wisely to match your playstyle.

The shooting feels alright, but the rolling to dodge can feel a little bit off sometimes. The feature that distinguishes each character is their abilities, and human characters have access to two special abilities and one passive.

The two special abilities require the use of user input to be activated, while the passive abilities are activated automatically when a certain condition is met. An example of a special ability is dual-wielding guns, and one of the passive abilities is health regeneration when it reaches critical levels.

The shooting feels alright, but the rolling to dodge can feel a little bit off sometimes.

Monsters also have access to two special abilities, but they lack any passive ability. They can also perform special finisher moves on human players when these players are low on health. As a monster, your health also depletes over time, so your best choice is run-and-gun in this situation and play aggressively. 

There are 4 types of pick-up items scattered throughout the map. These include herbs to regenerate health, ammo to refill your bullets, special weapons such as RPGs to deal extra damage and Virus capsules. Now, we mentioned in the previous section of our Resident Evil Re: Verse Review that when you die, you transform into a monster.

There are certain levels associated with these monsters, which can be increased by obtaining a Virus Capsule. By picking one of these up for the first time, you can become a low-level enemy like Jack Baker. Pick it up a second time, and you can transform it into something big, like Nemesis.

It’s evident that Capcom doesn’t see a future for this game, maybe because previous PvP attempts have all ended in failure.

My major gripe with the game is that it is suffering from a severe drought regarding the available game modes, or should I just say game mode? At launch, this package included only a SINGLE free-for-all game type, and the developers didn’t even bother to launch the game with a Team Deathmatch.

It’s evident that Capcom doesn’t see a future for this game, maybe because previous PvP attempts have all ended in failure. In its current state, the game won’t even last a month. 

Visuals And Performance

The visuals are the only positive aspect of this title since the RE engine developed by Capcom is at its peak here with outstanding visuals and excellent environments. The iconic maps have also been carefully designed to keep them faithful to their original source.

The lighting is beautiful, the character models look intricate, and each area has been meticulously designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia among its fans. Frankly, that’s the only selling point of the game. 

The visuals are the only positive aspect of this title since the RE engine developed by Capcom is at its peak here with outstanding visuals and excellent environments.

The player and monster designs are top-notch. I loved playing as some of the old characters of the series with improved character designs while keeping their classical appearance we all fell in love with. The monster designs received the same special treatment, and they were a treat to look at. But visuals can only carry the game so much.

The performance was pretty decent during my playthrough as I did not run into any crashes or connection problems, although I did face input lag at some points in the game.

Verdict

This game is the latest venture by Capcom in the Resident Evil PvP universe, but the best way I can summarize it is that it is one step forward and 10 steps back. It is barebones even compared to Resident Evil Resistance, which was released in 2020 and was also panned by critics and fans alike.

Sure, the gameplay can be fun at times, but it gets repetitive fairly quickly due to the presence of only a single game mode and only two maps. Perhaps Capcom will take the failure of this game as a sign that they should finally give up on making PVP titles out of single-player experiences. Ultimately, in its current state, this game marks another failure for Capcom in its category and will soon take its place in the forgotten heap alongside Umbrella Corps.

This has been my Resident Evil Re: Verse Review. While you’re here, consider checking out some of our other articles.

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