Resident Evil Village: How to Unlock (& Play) Mercenaries Mode
Resident Evil Village is a fright-filled first-person adventure following Ethan Winters as he, once again, goes through hell and back for his family. Resident Evil, as a franchise, has always done an amazing job when it comes to storytelling on top of its high-octane action sequences. As the game has evolved from killing zombies in Raccoon Cities to rescuing family members from the clinically insane, players have enjoyed the ride every step of the way.
However, outside of the main story, there’s one element to Resident Evil that keeps players busy after the closing credits roll. Mercenaries Mode debuted in Resident Evil 4 and pit players against timed waves of incoming enemies. Players had a handful of maps to navigate as they searched for time extensions and tried to achieve the coveted S rank. Mercenaries Mode returns to Resident Evil Village, only this time with a twist. Here’s how to unlock and play Mercenaries Mode in Resident Evil Village.
To unlock Mercenaries Mode in Resident Evil Village, players must complete the main story. From there, they’ll be able to unlock Mercenaries Mode from the Extra Content Menu. Once unlocked, players can access Mercenaries Mode from the Bonuses Menu at the titles screen. Of course, beating Resident Evil Village is no easy task, and players are advised to enjoy the main story rather than grinding through it just to play Mercenaries.
As mentioned, Resident Evil Village puts a spin on Mercenaries Mode, separating it from Resident Evil 4, 5, and 6. Instead of extending the clock with 15, 30, and 60-second pick-ups, players will have to clear areas within the allotted amount of time to advance to the next stage. The more stages players clear, the higher their score. Players will only have access to The Village stage in Mercenaries Mode and will have to get an A rank to unlock the next stage. Keep getting A ranks to unlock more stages.
Before players kill anything, they’ll have to buy and build a loadout from the Merchant. Players must decide which gear and weapons they want to take into the field. First, the Sniper Rifle will be the player's best friend as it’ll keep them a good distance away from enemies while dealing 1-hit kills. Players will still be picking up time extenders, but instead of seeing how many kills they can get before the clock runs out, they're seeing how much time they can leave on the clock after killing every enemy.
For example, stage 1 Village will spawn 30 enemies; however, players can head to the goal after killing 15. To achieve a better rank, earn more money, and find more resources, players will want to explore the map and kill all 30 enemies. One strategy they can use if they choose the Sniper Rifle is to line up enemies to get two or three kills with one bullet. Ammo is not plentiful, so make every shot count.
There are orbs around the map that players can pick up to extend their time and gain power-ups. Power-ups stack on top of each other, so combining like power-ups will double their effects. These power-ups will increase Ethan’s overall speed, damage output, and health recovery. If keeping a good distance from enemies, players may opt for the agility upgrade off the bat. Ethan’s not the fattest person in the world, and players will want to travel fast between orbs and enemies.
The best way to increase your score is by racking up combos. Players can build their combo meter by killing enemies in rapid succession and not taking damage. However, there is a grace period players can take advantage of between each kill without losing their combo. Don’t take too much time, but don’t stress trying to kill enemies one after the other.
In total, there are 8 stages to unlock in four playable areas. Think of them as normal and hard mode stages. Each stage will spawn multiple normal enemies like Lycans but will feature mini-boss enemies intermittently throughout the round. Leftover cash will roll into the next round, and it’s advised that players upgrade their Sniper Rifle before anything else.
The first four stages will be manageable with the Sniper Rifle and perks gained along the way. However, the latter four rounds will ramp up the difficulty and force players to think more tactically. Flashbangs will come in handy to stun boss enemies like Daniela, Cassandra, and Bela.
One perk called Masamune will end up being Ethan’s best friend if he’s lucky enough to find it in a blue perk orb. Masamune will increase Ethan’s knife damage 10x effectively, making it a one-hit kill on normal enemies and an easy way to dispatch tougher enemies. However, players won’t always get Masamune as a perk and will have to roll the dice if playing the knife strategy. It works because the knife doesn’t consume ammo, and players can focus more on buying flash grenades to stun groups of enemies.
Like past Resident Evil Games, achieving S ranks in Mercenaries Mode comes with its in-game perks. Achieving an S Rank on all eight stages will award players with the Legendary Cowboy trophy/achievement. While SSS is the highest rank achievable in Mercenaries, players only need SS on each stage to unlock the LZ-Answerer melee weapon. Once unlocked, players can purchase it from the bonus content menu.
Mercenaries Mode has been a staple of the Resident Evil franchise since Resident Evil 4. Players love wave-based combat in general. Just look at how popular Call of Duty’s Nazi Zombie Mode has become. We’ll see if future DLC for Resident Evil Village adds more to the current state of Mercenaries Mode. However, players should be getting plenty of entertainment out of it as is.
Resident Evil Village is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Last-Gen