Resident Evil Resistance: the best multiplayer in the franchise

A few months of improvement in the development and polishing of a game can really make all the difference. And Resident Evil: Resistance fits this picture perfectly. When it was announced as Project Resistance, the asymmetric multiplayer did not have much appeal, as it did not offer a great differential for the genre, except, the weight of carrying the name of the Resident Evil series.

The most fun moment of the whole experience, certainly, was taking control of Mastermind; the great villain behind the “Mortal Games” that were happening on the stage. After all, Resistance has this plot briefly: 4 players would assume the role of Survivors, being necessary to work together and use their unique skills to solve puzzles. The ultimate goal was to reach the last stage of the labyrinth and escape, ensuring survival.

All of this while defending against the traps, monsters and snares of Mastermind. Whoever takes this role in the game has the power to control the entire environment through surveillance cameras and, of course, needs to make the life of the Survivors a hell, using their villainous deck for this.

The aim of the mode was to reach the last stage of the maze and escape, ensuring survival. (Image: Capcom)

The imbalance in gameplay and difficulty, however, gave the impression that the game could be improved, not only in these aspects, but also with more intuitive mechanics. The new demo offered new features, such as the addition of new characters on both the Survivors and Masterminds sides; of course, different maps to play cat and mouse. In addition, the difficulty seems to have been balanced.

And what does it mean? Simple: that Mastermind can now fail. The feeling in the first version of Resistance tests passed was that it would be impossible for the Survivors to win. In the new build this feeling no longer exists: everything is a little more balanced for both sides. In practice, the difference was manifested when the Mastermind deck started to take a little longer to supply monster cards, for example – at least two first perimeters of each map.

If the Survivors reach the third and last stage of the map, Mastermind is conceived of an advantage so that it can reverse the situation. An example is the special card, which activates each villain's unique monster.

The counter has also been improved. Survivors save time when performing stage tasks, helping each other or when killing monsters. Mastermind manages to shorten the good guys' lifespan by damaging them or eliminating them. The more obstacles the villain can distribute on the map, the greater the chances of winning. The amount of time allocated or eliminated was more honest this time.

It is also worth noting that in a closed and controlled environment, with easy contact with other Survivors players, the experience was much more fun. And by playing Resistance again in that context, it was possible to understand three things.

Mastermind manages to shorten the good guys' lifespan by damaging them or eliminating them. (Image: Capcom)

The first is that communication is paramount to survival. If the Survivors do not communicate, it will be practically impossible to get through the three stages of the phases, or even achieve the objectives in each of the rooms. It is necessary to help, help, open fire and search, all in due time. And these steps are decided with a good conversation between the team, precisely.

The second thing is that Capcom is still working on the game. The graphic improvements are visible, the gameplay seems even lighter and the new content (be it characters, scenarios, skills or customizable attributes) helps to expand the possibilities of fun and, mainly, time within the game.

The third lesson is that the new characters make all the difference and knowing how to use the special skills (Personal Skills and Fever Skills) of all six Survivors is essential. So stop, read and understand what each one does and how they perform these techniques. The same goes for Masterminds, as they also have unique strategies.

The asymmetric multiplayer experience has everything to work out and entertain fans after the Resident Evil 3 single player campaign. In particular, I look forward to forming groups and starting playing Resident Evil: Resistance.