Despite there only being eight numbered entries in the series, there is no shortage of Resident Evil games for fans to sink their teeth into. Although the recent quality of games has been high, even diehard fans of the franchise would agree that it's had its ups and downs over the years, particularly when the series has tried to do multiplayer co-op. While not every example of RE co-op is bad, when the main numbered entries in the series have had co-op mechanics be central to their experiences, the titles weren't received particularly well.
The chief offenders of this in the mainline Resident Evil series are Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, both of which were poorly received but not exclusively because of their co-op features. Both titles had plenty of other significant issues, and the mishandled co-op elements were just another problem on top of that. Now that it's been nearly ten years since the last attempt at including co-op in a major RE game, it might be time for Capcom to give it another try. If the company applies the lessons it has learned from all of its past multiplayer missteps, a much stronger experience could be delivered.
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Although it often receives plenty of scrutiny for it, the Resident Evil series is not the only horror franchise that's had poorly reviewed co-op titles. Games like Dead Space 3 and Fear 3 also included co-op elements that critics and fans didn't really like. Adding another person to a horror experience usually results in much of the fear factor disappearing, as feelings of of isolation and dread quickly disappear when two people are facing a game's challenges together. Luckily, Resident Evil Village went for a more campy narrative tone than previous entries in the series while still being able to provide scares in the form of the overwhelming odds that Ethan Winters had to face.
If this is the tone that the RE series is looking to go with moving forward, then it might be a better match for future co-op games than the outright horror that the series has previously been known for. It's tricky for a game to balance nail-biting tension if two people are working together armed to the teeth, but if the stress of managing resources between players and dealing with the campy cast of RE8 in boss fights can take center stage, then horror might not drop to the wayside completely. As such, co-op might be able to work in the Resident Evil series once again.
Multiplayer modes in RE games weren't abandoned by Capcom following RE5 and RE6. In fact, spinoff games with multiplayer focuses like Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City and Umbrella Corps have been releasing pretty consistently, with the upcoming Resident Evil RE:Verse set to release in 2022 as well. PvP and PvPvE titles seem to be the direction that Capcom wants to take the Resident Evil universe in terms of multiplayer games, though it would be a shame for the company to drop any semblance of co-op in their mainline entries.
One of the major complaints surrounding the co-op in RE5 and 6 was that the titles didn't seem to be designed with co-op in mind, making its inclusion feel tacked on and unnecessary. If a future Resident Evil game can make co-op the focus of its design, then it might be able to be something truly excellent. RE7 and 8 have proven that Capcom still has plenty of ideas about how to change up the series in satisfying ways, so there's hope that the studio can make a co-op-centric title work just as it made first-person Resident Evil titles work.
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