Resident Evilfans have had a great few weeks.Resident Evil Requiemwas finally unveiled during Summer Game Fest, and it was confirmed that fans will be heading back to Raccoon City. Fans were treated to another look at the game a few days ago, with Capcom’s Showcase giving them a deeper dive into new protagonist Grace Ashcroft, and the first look atResident Evil Requiem’s gameplay.
But it’s not all positive news for theResident Evilfranchise. On June 30, Capcom officially shut down the online servers of oneResident Evilgame, and while it’s far from the most beloved entry, it’s still sad to see it go offline for good. That said, this shutdown could be a blessing in disguise.
Resident Evil Re:Verse Has Just Been Shut Down
Originallybundled withResident Evil Village, but delayed to over a year after its release,Resident Evil Re:Versewas a third-person multiplayer shooter that saw players take control of the franchise’s most iconic heroes and villains, and go head-to-head in online deathmatches. The game’s most unique hook was that when a human player is downed, they’re resurrected as one ofResident Evil’s terrifying bioweapons.
Resident Evil Re:Versewas an incredibly simple multiplayer game, and that simplicity did it no favors among critics.Re:Verse’s floaty shooting mechanics, wildly unbalanced roster of bioweapons and humans, and extreme lack of modes led to the multiplayer experiment being heavily criticized by both fans and reviewers.
Despite essentially being dead on arrival,Resident Evil Re:Versehas continued to cling to life for almost three years. Though, that came to an end today.Resident Evil Re:Verse’s online serverswere officially shut down on June 30 at 1:59am CT/2:59am ET. It’s all over forRe:Verse, but Capcom closing the door here could open another somewhere else.
Resident Evil Re:Verse’s Death Could Mark a New Beginning
Resident Evil Re:Verse Was Made With A Clear Goal in Mind
The coreidea behindResident Evil Re:Versewas that it was a celebration of the franchise’s history, intended to coincide with the series' 25th anniversary. In its announcement thatRe:Versewas being shut down, Capcom said, “Now that we’ve reached a new turning point for the series, we feel that Resident Evil Re:Verse has served its original, celebratory purpose admirably.”
This “new turning point for the series” is fast approaching, withResident Evil Requiemseemingly making some bold steps in a new direction. But whileResident Evil Re:Versemight not fit this new era, a different type of multiplayer experience could.
Resident Evil Requiem Could Deliver Its Own Re:Verse-Like Mode
It might be fun to seeResident Evil Requiemcome with a standalone multiplayer mode of its own, albeit one that’s far more polished thanRe:Verseand one that leans into the series' new psychological horror elements. For instance, afour-player co-op survival horror game likeTheOutlast Trialscould fit the series' new tone well, and offer fans a new type ofResident Evilmultiplayer experience.
Alternatively,Resident Evil Requiemcould come packaged with a remaster of theResident Evil Outbreakgames. These two PS2 exclusives saw up to four players joining forces to escape from Raccoon City during the height of the outbreak.Resident Evil Outbreakwould be the perfect multiplayer mode forRequiem, with Grace Ashcroft’s mother, Alyssa, appearing as one of the duology’s eight playable characters.
Another fun, but very different option would be a multiplayerResident EvilMercenariesmode. ThoughResident Evil VillageandResident Evil 4 Remakehad their own Mercenaries modes, the series hasn’t let players team up to take down waves of bioweapons since 2012’sResident Evil 6.
