Resident Evil 4’s Mercenary Mode launches today as part of Capcom’s classic Meta Quest 2 release with a free update and brand new content made exclusively for the VR release. The announcement came via the just-concluded Meta Gaming Showcase event – you can play the mode for yourself now, or watch our Ian try it out for himself below.
Mercenaries is a wave-based PVE mode that has appeared in several Resident Evil games, and it’s a fan favorite – especially in Resident Evil 4, where you’re racing against the clock while trying to get a high score The ground faces the flocks of ganados. But this new version of Mercenaries for Meta Quest 2 includes a slew of new options and unlockable extras – including online leaderboards and 20 challenges that mix Mercenary gameplay in new ways.
Challenges include options to limit the game to only knives or rocket launchers, or shroud the map in fog. Do this and you’ll get other brand new extras like Big Head Mode, Fast Forward Mode, and a black and white classic horror mode for the main Resi 4 campaign.
Ahead of today’s announcement, I chatted with developer Armature – specifically executive producer Tom Ivey – to chat about the additions, and how the studio is handling the original VR version of the game. Overall, its release was well-received – including Eurogamer’s VR enthusiast Ian, who called it a “great way to relive a classic” – but when the game was spotted in some scenes, it seemed to be removed entirely another.
“It’s 2022 and some of this stuff doesn’t age well,” Ivey told Eurogamer in a conference call last week, “and it doesn’t fit the Resident Evil franchise these days. So the idea is to keep the room and Aspects of the creatures you fight, and the story and how it progresses and the plot points of the story. But, you know, just saying it’s 2022 – is that in line with the way Resident Evil should be presented in this era? That’s what’s there concept.
“I absolutely agree with the changes we’ve made to the game – we definitely agree with that and we think it’s the right thing to do.”
For those who want the original experience in Mercenaries, fear not – the original version of the game has been reserved for fans who just want to play.
“All of the gameplay in the original RE4, we limited it to one option, called Classic Mode,” explained Ivey. “So you can play with all the maps and characters, how the timers work and where the timers are in the level, all of which are exactly the same.
“But there are also things that are fundamental changes to the rules of mercenaries,” Ivey continued. Here, instead of the usual two-minute start clock, things get even crazier.
“There’s a mode called Time Rush where you start with a very, very limited amount of time. We put two timers at random locations around the map, so you have to look around very quickly… look at that timing device and thinking how “Am I going to be there while also killing people while running to keep my camo going? Then I pick it up and I might have 20 seconds left. ”
Like the stuff in GoldenEye, it’s big head mode.
Kill Rush is another product, do you start with a limited time, you can get more by killing enemies – more time for headshots. Deadshot is another new option that will damage you if you miss any shots.
With the addition of mercenaries, fan requests may now focus on another popular Resi 4 mode – a split starring Ada Wong. But today, Armature doesn’t hint at that — for now, Ivey says Armature remains focused on the mercenaries themselves.
Try not to fog up.
An Armature Studio veteran, Ivey previously worked with the Armature founders at Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios. What’s next for Armature after Resident Evil 4 VR? Ivey won’t say — but he’s still keeping a close eye on what Retro is doing.
“I’m excited to see what happens – I still have a lot of friends working on the Metroid series at Retro Studios – and you know, at other companies… for example, Metroid Dread is a great addition to the genre really did some interesting things and had some beautiful scenery.
“But I don’t want to forget Donkey Kong Country Returns. I hope there will be more games like this one day in the future. I’m a platformer, so I’ve been looking forward to it. Those years have been really good for me. and really interesting years.”
