Resident Evil 4 remake adds free Mercenaries mode and curious microtransactions

Capcom have added the Mercenaries mode to Resident Evil 4's remake as a free bit of DLC, alongside some curious microtransactions to the base game. Just like the original Resi4, Mercenaries puts you up against a timer as you race to roundhouse kick foes and chase high scores.

As a series staple mode, Mercenaries is a free download for all owners of Resident Evil 4’s remake. Simply head to the Steam store and grab it. There are a few differences between this iteration of the survival arcade mode and the one that was included in 2004’s original, though. You’ll no longer need to complete the entire campaign to unlock the mode, but this version also comes with fewer playable characters.

You’ll start your wave-based scramble playing as Leon as you score headshots, parry the bloodthirsty villagers, and run toward time boosts in the village level. From there, you can unlock new stages based on campaign environments, three more playable characters, and a nifty handcannon. That’s the good news. The bad news: Ada Wong and Albert Wesker have been omitted this time, even though both were available in the original, and both had been datamined as playable characters in the remake.

Online fans have speculated that Capcom could add new characters - like Wong and Wesker - to the mode as DLC. The publisher did quietly add microtransactions to the game - in a Ubisoft-style sneak attack - so more DLC isn’t out of the question. The microtransactions are currently relegated to weapon upgrade tickets that you can use at the base game’s Merchant shop. Their inclusion in the game two weeks after release is a little shady, but buying them is neither necessary nor incentivised. In fact, their sell price in the Merchant’s shop is 80k, so buying them can make the early game a breeze. Too breezey, if such a thing exists.

Vid bud Liam loved the remake, no upgrade tickets needed. In his review, he called the game “a brilliant action shooter that is big and daft and brilliant,” as well as a “retelling of a classic crafted on its own terms.”