Asymmetrical multiplayer games have established themselves as popular online multiplayer titles, but Dead by Daylight’s and its horror-slasher theme has proven to be one of the biggest successes in this niche genre. With the online Resident Evil Resistance title right around the corner, fully included with the Resident Evil 3 Remake base game, the online multiplayer title has an opportunity to foster a lot of positive attention from today’s consumer market and online gaming communities which have demonstrated a thirst for asymmetrical horror multiplayer games.
Though the mechanics and structure of Resident Evil Resistance are much different than Dead by Daylight, the two games share the common theme of allowing one player to control an overpowered villain, with all the sick and twisted joy it entails, while the rest of the players attempt to survive and take advantage of a number of obstacles and hoops to to go through in order to undermine the villain and escape alive.
What are These Asymmetrical Multiplayer Games?
First, to be clear, it’s worth understanding the fundamental concept of what Resident Evil Resistance and Dead by Daylight are, in their own right. In Dead by Daylight, four players take control of survivals, in third person perspective, while the player controlling the killer traverses the world in first-person view. The survivors do not have the means to fight against the killer and overpower it, relying on evasion, running, stealth and other tricks, such as items they find in chests or boarding up vulnerable entryways with wooden pallets.
In order for survivors to win in Dead by Daylight, they must repair 5 generators strewn around the map in order to activate the exit gates, and actually make it to the exit alive in Dead by Daylight, while the killer attempts to stalk and kill them first. Resident Evil Resistance, similarly to Dead by Daylight, also includes 4v1 gameplay in which 4 players attempt to survive the wrath of the villain player, known as the mastermind, within a confined map. And, likewise, these survivors must also attempt to escape.
The overall mechanics between Resident Evil Resistance and Dead by Daylight are much different overall, despite similar themes and objectives. Resident Evil Resistance’s Mastermind player is actually sitting at a computer terminal watching the survivors on CCTV cameras, setting traps, controlling remotely controlled gun turrets, deploying multiple zombies and hordes of other enemies, and other exploits. To make the gameplay more enjoyable, the Mastermind player can also take control of the deployed enemies and play directly as them in third person camera view.
Furthermore, the Mastermind in Resident Evil Resistance can execute his or her exploits using cards which are generated much similarly as if from a deck of cards. Each Mastermind also has an overly powerful monster which can be deployed at a key point in time, including the infamous Mr. X. If a player chooses to control Annette Birkin as their Mastermind, they can deploy and take control of Dr. William Birkin from Resident Evil 2, who is infected with the G-Virus.
Dead by Daylight Survived the Test of Time
Dead by Daylight was released on PC back in June 2016, and while it was not immediately a hit from the start, its small community stayed committed to this unique game, despite it receiving mixed reviews in the beginning. Overall, it was not a game with a particularly high budget, but despite a rough launch and a few rough edges, Dead by Daylight’s fan-base remained in place and it eventually simmered to a boiling point over time. Dead by Daylight has amassed a fairly large, active and hardcore player-base, and, overall, it defied initial expectations made by many who likely assumed the game would never catch on or become much of anything. Dead by Daylight is a game that has grown stronger with age and likely survived take-off from its launch point because of its unique mechanical theme in essentially creating an asymmetrical multiplayer simulation of a 1980’s slasher horror film.
If one wants to see what it is like to try and survive in a slasher horror setting, or take control of one of these psychopathic murderers themselves, Dead by Daylight can replicate that experience as both a game and simulation to a degree. Furthermore, the game has also matured largely because its developers and publishers have listened closely to fan feedback, and have also stayed very active in regularly creating new content for Dead by Daylight, usually in the form of new villains for survivors to evade or take control of.
Much of the new content includes familiar themes and villains from some of gaming and film’s most celebrated monstrosities, such as Dead by Daylight’s Stranger Things’ Demorgorgon monster, Scream’s butcher-knife wielding Ghostface, and of course, horrors icons’ Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger.
Resident Evil Resistance Should Borrow from Dead by Daylight’s Best Aspects
Though it is questionable if Resident Evil Resistance can strike the same appeal, given it is mostly limited to the confines of the Resident Evil universe, Capcom can still take note of Dead by Daylight’s active and new content creation which keeps the game fresh and sustainable in the long term. Though Resident Evil Resistance has nowhere near the number of playable killers as in Dead by Daylight, Capcom has already shown some initiative to expand by confirming the availability of two new Masterminds in Resident Evil Resistance, which players can control: Alex Wesker and Ozwell E. Spencer.
While we will still need to wait and see just how deep the progression system is for survivors in Resident Evil Resistance, this may be one challenge which may take some exerted or long term effort in order to be comparable to Dead by Daylight’s extravagantly deep progression system. A progression system in Resident Evil Resistance has been confirmed for both the Mastermind and Survivor players, but its details and depth can not yet be gauged fully.
Surprisingly, Dead by Daylight has a fairly robust ranking system which matches certain killers of high caliber with more skilled survivors. This has allowed Dead by Daylight to attract a decent number of hardcore players who look for a more competitive experience. Capcom would be wise to ensure that Resident Evil Resistance can capture these high notes and offer a similar experience in this regard.
Currently, players’ levels rise in Resident Evil Resistance when they use a particular character more often, such as Resident Evil’s Alex Wesker. But items such as additional firearms can not be kept to be used in separate matches thereafter. Furthermore, Resident Evil Resistance should hopefully see future updates and even DLC or expansions to keep players busy for the long-term, as Dead by Daylight has already shown there is a thirst within the game community for these types of game experiences, and that it is more than just a temporary trend.
Resident Evil Resistance’s Greatest Advantage
Perhaps one of Resident Evil Resistance’s greatest strengths is the likelihood that Resident Evil 3 Remake, of which Resistance is bundled with, will likely presumably sell millions of copies anyway. If Capcom can create a quality multiplayer experience in Resident Evil Resistance, there should be plenty of fans ready to play this multiplayer game who may have never exposed themselves to this type of experience otherwise and may not even know about other games such as Dead by Daylight.
If Capcom can impress these fans and entice them to play for more than a few sessions or for a short period of time, Resident Evil Resistance has potential to establish a closely knit and long-term community which could breath fresh life into the niche genre of asymmetrical multiplayer games, especially those of a horror nature.
Furthermore, Capcom has stated that Resident Evil Resistance is not canon. In many ways, this is a positive sign that could potentially offer a lot of creativity in the types of content and themes entailed by the future of Resident Evil Resistance. At the very least, hopefully we can see new maps, enemies, masterminds and monstrous villains that have been iconic to the Resident Evil series throughout its fictional chronology and history.
And, if need be, Capcom could even release themes and content reflective of its other franchises or other iconic horror themes utilizing the framework of the Resident Evil Resistance engine and gameplay framework. There really is no limit given that Resident Evil Resistance is not meant to be canon anyway.
Resident Evil Resistance will need to replicate some of Dead by Daylight’s strong points, while providing an experience that resonates a high-production value and package, while keeping new content fresh and ongoing so players have reason to come back. There is true potential here for Resident Evil Resistance to be the next Dead by Daylight as far as online asymmetrical horror games are concerned, but Capcom needs to strike all the chords correctly and provide an experience that will surely rival its past attempts at online Resident Evil multiplayer games.
Resident Evil Resistance is a stand-alone game bundled with Resident Evil 3, both of which will be released together on on April 3, 2020 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
