It’s not quite the single-player demo you were perhaps waiting for, but Capcom does intend to give fans an early look at some upcoming Resident Evil content in the near future.
Similar to last year’s remake of a classic series entry, Resident Evil Village will come accompanied by a complimentary multiplayer component with little relation to the campaign. Indeed, RE: Verse, as it’s called, is a PvP affair that allows participants to play as their favorite characters past and present in a strictly non-canon showdown. Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Jack Baker and even the Nemesis will be entering the ring in what the developer is pitching as an all-star arena shooter meant to celebrate the survival horror franchise’s 25th anniversary.
As for whether the mode will turn out to be any good, initial reactions to early footage have been muted, to say the least, but it’s worth mentioning that Resident Evil Resistance had low levels of fanfare, too, and ended up being a solid online experience.
Fortunately, you won’t have to wait until full release to get a better idea of how everything works in motion, as Capcom has confirmed that an open beta is on the way. Starting April 8th and running for three days until April 11th, owners of all platforms for which Village will be available will be eligible to participate, with the only prerequisite being to have a Capcom ID linked to your chosen device. Do note, too, that downtime is to be expected, as the primary purposes of this test are to gauge server stress and document balance issues. Pre-load begins April 5th.
Resident Evil Village arrives May 7th for current and last-gen consoles as well as PC. See here for all the latest details.