Everyone and their mum knows by now that there's going to be a standalone Resident Evil 8 Multiplayer game bundled with the baseline single-player release. Since Capcom's been experimenting with a whole bunch of different multiplayer systems over the years, we thought it might be fun to check them all out in context and compare and contrast what the popular game dev company has learned over the years.

More specifically, we're going to be taking a look at a few of their more recent-ish titles. From the upcoming RE: Verse all the way to Operation Racoon City, in fact. Have Resident Evil multiplayer games been getting better or worse? Are we getting an experience worth playing in the first place? Will Capcom continue building strange - albeit unique - Resi games even after they come up with a slam dunk? Well, let's see what answers we can get!

Resident Evil RE: Verse - 2021

We'll start with the up-and-coming RE: Verse and go from there. Featuring up to six-player versus multiplayer, Resident Evil RE: Verse is one of those "what if" scenarios that are too insane even for the craziest of Resident Evil's mainline releases. We're talking about a franchise that, at one point, featured BOW T-Rex monstrosities. What makes this multiplayer Resi game crazy, though, is that it puts all the different RE protagonists against one another. Hell, after they die, they can even mutate into other BOWs. Yeah, no, that's plenty wacky for us, thank you very much.

It's an interesting premise, though. For a very, very long while, Resident Evil games have had weird offshoot game-modes that made absolutely no sense, if taken at face value. Mercenaries? Versus? Lately, though, instead of packing these modes in with mainline releases, Capcom has taken to bundling them as standalone titles that players can - optionally - partake in. It's not about continuity here, though: multiplayer Resident Evil modes have always been about silly fun. RE: Verse aims to build on that, too.

To that end, it's going to deliver 5-minute Deathmatch rounds where, after you die, you get to hunt down other survivors as one of the many fan-favorite BOWs. It's a novel take on the classic asymmetrical horror multiplayer formula that's rather popular lately, and we're here for it. Better still, since it's a standalone game, developers don't need to contend with RE8's potential quirks and limitations. The cel-shaded look is an interesting choice, too.

Of course, there's no way of knowing if it's going to stick around for a long while, but we're looking forward to giving it a fair shake regardless.

Play RE: Verse as soon as Resident Evil 8 launches - grab the pre-release discount while you're at it!

Resident Evil Resistance - 2020

Much like RE: Verse, Resistance came pre-packed with Resi 3 Remake, and it offered an asymmetrical multiplayer mode as well. One player gets to be a Mastermind, while four others play as Survivors. Survivors got to enjoy classic RE3 third-person gameplay, while the Mastermind needed to take them all down by spawning in various BOWs, setting traps, and - indeed - even taking control over Mr. X himself.

What's interesting about Resistance is that it got a fair bit of post-launch support, too. There were a number of events going live since RE3R came out, featuring new weapons, skins, and assorted goodies, which was a lovely surprise all of its own. The gameplay was fine, though it didn't feel quite as polished as that of RE3R. We're not sure what was up with that, but we're thinking it might've been due to netcode or some such.

The end result, for the most part, was that Masterminds had the most fun in most matches. You can take control over a variety of BOWs (a feature that's since been confirmed for RE: Verse, thankfully), but also monitor the situation from a bird's eye view and toy around with Survivors as well. Sure, controlling the mutants feels a tad clumsy, but boy is it a rush. And one that's hopefully going to be replicated in the RE8 follow-up, too.

Play Resistance as part of your Resident Evil 3 Remake purchase!

Umbrella Corps - 2016

Before things got a bit more streamlined over the past few Resi multiplayer titles, Capcom seemed to have been way more experimental, for better or for worse. Umbrella Corps had a strangely alluring premise: players take control over a fully customizable - and badass - Umbrella CQB specialist as they take down BOWs, zombies, and other contractors in various operations across the globe. If you ask us, that's an incredible concept that deserves a solid, well-executed game sometime down the line. Sadly, Umbrella Corps simply wasn't it at the time.

The game got utterly slammed for its shoddy balancing and overall lack of polish, as well as gameplay mechanics that just didn't go well together. Umbrella Corps was, for example, a cover shooter. It was marred with extremely low FOV, extremely spongy enemies, and a horde of zombies that would easily chomp at you if you actually took cover, however. Instead, the game's - again, badass - Brainer melee weapon rewarded senseless rushing with its movement speed buff and one-shot kills. It felt like the gameplay loop actively worked against itself most of the time. Regardless, Umbrella Corps offered heaps of cool unlockables and reminded us heavily of Ubisoft's Rainbow Six: Vegas series. Specifically, its surprisingly solid Terrorist Hunt modes. If only it had been better!

We still stand by our claim that the whole thing is utterly badass on paper. The execution was lacking, simple as that. Perhaps Capcom will take another stab at something similar down the line. More recent Resident Evil multiplayer offshoots are great, but they're way different from what was on show here. Time will tell!

Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City - 2012

The ultimate "what if" scenario for Resident Evil, Operation Racoon City puts players in the shoes of improbably capable Umbrella operatives as they go for a romp on the streets of Racoon City. This cooperative multiplayer offering had two different endings. One of them, though, wrapped up with the execution of Leon and Claire, which went down about as well as you can probably imagine.

In most respects, though, Operation Racoon City wasn't bad at all. It was merely average and lacked the kind of appeal people wanted out of a Resi game back in 2012. Remember: this was before the franchise reinvented and re-established itself as a horror powerhouse. Nobody was too excited to play yet another action-heavy third-person shooter at the time.

What made us include ORC on this list was its short-lived competitive multiplayer mode. This was one of Capcom's first major forays into proper online multiplayer for the franchise, and it definitely set the stage for things to come. Whether we have ORC to think for Resident Evil 8 Multiplayer or not, we don't know, but we're sure both the devs and publisher learned a thing or two from the project. Now, ORC won't be to everyone's taste. We do believe that it's got the kind of niche appeal that many AA games have to this day. If you're interested, and if you'd like to see what all the hubbub was about... really, you could do a hell of a lot worse than Operation Racoon City.

See the alternative downfall of Racoon City today and play through ORC solo or with a pal.

What comes next?

Is Resident Evil 8 Multiplayer going to have the longevity it takes to truly make a dent in the horror multiplayer game genre? Or will it fizzle out like Umbrella Corps, leaving Capcom to continue working on their formula? One thing's for sure - RE: Verse has the potential to be one of those cult classics we all wish we could've been a part of. Whether it capitalizes on this potential, however, remains to be seen. Let's hope devs have the know-how to really nail it down this time around.

If nothing else, the single-player build - Village - is definitely going to be taking names and kicking butt. We can't wait to see it in action and play the demo! Stay tuned for more over the coming days and weeks - right here at 2Game.