Why The “Resident Evil” Series Keeps Trying To Add Multiplayer

Well, for this article in the second season of my “Horror Videogames Series“, I thought that I’d talk about why the “Resident Evil” series keeps trying to add multiplayer elements every now and then.

This article may contain mild-moderate SPOILERS for “Silent Hill 2” (2001).

This was something I thought about whilst having another go at playing “Resident Evil: Outbreak” (2003) and realising that it’s a better game than I previously thought. Although the European edition of the game that I’m playing is very much a “single-player only” game, it was originally designed for online multiplayer and actually seems to have had this feature in the US and Japan.

This is a screenshot from “Resident Evil: Outbreak” (2003), showing the game’s inventory screen – which not only doesn’t pause the game, but also allows you to see what other nearby characters are carrying.

And, whilst the A.I.-controlled team-mates aren’t exactly the most intelligent in the world, the designers have obviously put a lot of thought into optimising the game for multi-player. The game no longer pauses on the inventory screen, there seems to be less emphasis on puzzles, the game is split into five shorter levels, zombies will keep respawning in certain areas, there are eight selectable characters, you can talk to the other characters (albeit with pre-set phrases) etc…

Yet, this is far from the only time that the “Resident Evil” series has tried to include multiplayer elements. In addition to Outbreak’s sequel – “Resident Evil: Outbreak – File #2” (2004) – there have apparently been co-op modes in some more recent games in the series like “Resident Evil 5” (2009) and “Resident Evil 6” (2012). Not to mention that the series ventured into the realms of online multi-player again with “Resident Evil: Resistance” in 2020 too.

Although this might not seem that strange at first glance, horror is a genre that is heavily focused around single-player gameplay 🙂 Almost all of the scariest horror games – both old and new – are very much “single-player only” games. This is mostly because horror games are scarier when you are as alone as the main character is. They are also more suspenseful when you don’t have another player there to help you out whenever your character is in danger.

Not only that, horror games – especially psychological horror games – are often heavily character and/or narrative-based too. A game like “Silent Hill 2” (2001) or “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” (2010) – just wouldn’t “work” with a multiplayer option. These are games that are at their very scariest when you are actually paying attention to the game’s story and they are games where the emphasis is on just one character’s journey through a hell of emotional torment. As such, single-player gameplay makes a lot more sense because it reduces distractions and allows for more focused storytelling.

This is a screenshot from “Silent Hill 2” (2001), showing the main character reading some creepy in-game text. This game’s atmosphere and story wouldn’t “work” with multiplayer, given how heavily this game’s legendarily creepy story focuses on just one character.

So, why does the “Resident Evil” series keep experimenting with multiplayer?

Well, at a guess, it is to do with the themes and style of the series. In virtually every single-player “Resident Evil” game, you aren’t alone. There are friendly supporting characters who you meet occasionally and, in the case of “Resident Evil Zero” (2002), stay with you for most of the game.

This is a screenshot from “Resident Evil Zero” (2002), showing both of the game’s two main characters – Billy and Rebecca. Although this is still a “single-player only” game, you can switch between the characters with a single button press most of the time. Sometimes the two characters are separated but, most of the time, they stick together.

This theme of teamwork runs through the entire “Resident Evil” series and is one of the major things that adds a very slightly more “realistic” atmosphere to it. After all, in an actual zombie apocalypse, most survivors would probably band together to increase their odds of staying alive.

In addition to this, the “Resident Evil” series is much more heavily gameplay-focused than many other horror games. Yes, the games in this series have stories – but they have traditionally been a bit corny and there usually isn’t that much characterisation either. The older games in this series are scary because of their suspenseful gameplay, rather than for any narrative reasons.

As such, the series is perhaps a bit more “multiplayer friendly” than other horror series. Multiplayer is an inherently gameplay-based thing, so the “Resident Evil” series’ heavier emphasis on gameplay than story means that these games don’t lose as much if there is more than one person playing.

Finally, and most cynically, the series has become a major franchise – and multiplayer is ridiculously popular these days. The series has courted the mainstream before – with, for example, “Resident Evil 4”  (2005) being more of a fun action game that only really pays lip service to the horror genre – so it makes sense that the designers would also want to cash in on the multiplayer trend.

So, yes, whilst horror games have traditionally been a “single-player only” genre, the “Resident Evil” series – with its theme of teamwork, heavier emphasis on gameplay and mainstream appeal – is perhaps less badly-suited to multiplayer than most other horror game series are.

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Anyway, I hope that this was interesting 🙂