Capcom has released the first piece of DLC for the Resident Evil 4 remake, bringing back the iconic Mercenaries mode seen in many of the series' previous entries.
It’s been just two weeks since the Resident Evil 4 remake launched, in that time it’s received critical acclaim – including our glowing Resident Evil 4 review – and has been at the forefront of gaming discussions as players discover all of its secrets (like a brilliant early-game skip ). Even a game-breaking bug wasn't enough to dissuade players as Capcom announced that it had sold 3 million copies in the first weekend.
Now, after most players have probably finished the main campaign, Capcom has given us a reason to jump back in by releasing the game’s first piece of DLC (after announcing it back in February), which heralds the return of the series’ iconic The Mercenaries mode. The mode is a score-based time attack minigame in which you must defeat hordes of enemies to get the highest score.
The Mercenaries first made its appearance in 1999’s Resident Evil 3, it went on to appear in other Resident Evil titles like Resident Evil 4, 5 and 6 (being the best part of the latter). It proved so popular that there was a whole Nintendo 3DS game dedicated to it: Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, before making a triumphant return in Resident Evil Village.
How to unlock Resident Evil 4 Mercenaries mode
Unlocking The Mercenaries in Resident Evil 4 is quite simple, you just need to download the DLC from the PlayStation, Xbox, or Steam store (depending on what platform you have the game on).
Unlike the original Resident Evil 4, you don’t need to have beaten the game's main campaign mode to play The Mercenaries. Although, if you try to play it without having beaten the game you’ll get a pop-up saying that they strongly recommend playing through the campaign first (which you can easily ignore).
Resident Evil 4 Mercenaries mode unlockables
When you boot up Mercenaries mode you’ll have the option to play as Leon and play the Village stage, but there are three more characters and two more stages to unlock, as well as a special bonus weapon that can be brought over to the main game.
The full list of unlockables is as follows:
The Castle (Stage) – Beat The Village stage once
The Island (Stage) – Beat The Castle stage once
Luis Serra (Character) – Get an A rank or higher on any stage with Leon
Jack Krauser (Character) – Get an A rank or higher on any stage with Luis
Hunk (Character) – Get an A rank or higher on any stage with Krauser
Hand Cannon (Weapon) – Get an S rank or higher in all three stages or with all four playable characters
Shockingly missing from this mode as playable characters are Ada Wong and Albert Wesker, who showed up in some data mined content. Perhaps they’re being saved for the rumoured Ada Wong-focused DLC set to come to the game later down the line. Hopefully, we’ll know for sure sooner rather than later.
