RE:Verse EARLY ACCESS Review

It came, it finally came! At times, I genuinely thought this day would never come – we voiced our concerns of that very real possibility on a recent episode of First Aid Spray Wishlist, but no, RE:Verse, Capcom’s ‘Resident Evil 25th celebration’ online multiplayer shooter, is officially releasing, about a year and a half later than originally planned, just ahead of the 27th year of Resident Evil…

I’m fresh off a few hours with the early access preview (the official launch is the 28th October), and I wanted to jump on with some initial reactions that consisted of too many characters for a tweet.

Those who know me will be aware I’ve been cheerleading this game since the BETA. What I played back then was a shockingly fun and fresh shooter, which harkened back to gameplay pacing that felt closer to something like classic Halo, and a match scoring experience that felt weirdly similar to Mario Kart. I’m pleased to say this feeling remains with what I’ve played so far, but oh boy does that come with some huge caveats. The good stuff out the way first…

The Gameplay IS good.

To be clear - Apex, Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Fortnite this is not. RE:Verse presents a much slower paced match style, stripped back of complex loadouts, perks or base building, leaving you with the main gimmick, which with Verse, at least, in the single mode we’ve got, is the B.O.W and ‘revenge’ system. You start the match as your chosen human survivor, and once you’re taken down by another player, you transform into a B.O.W (which one is determined by how many vials you collect, which are dotted around the map), and if you want to maximise points, you can then chase down your killer! They will stay your revenge target until somebody else kills you, and then they can become your focus. There’s a number of ways to earn batches of points (streaks, wiping out players in the top 3, ending streaks, or using your B.O.W’s “finishing” move for example), but devoting some time to the revenge system seems to be the key to success.

It sounds complex on paper, but it’s a bit of a masterstroke that sets it apart from most shooters you will play today. Implementing this system encourages players to not only move around the map and not camp, but even ignore other players while you have a particular target in your sights. It presents situations where it may even be in the benefit of every other player if they let you take down your revenge target (though this target is hidden from others). Think of it like using a blue shell in Mario Kart. It will bypass other players to take out the person in the lead. Everyone but the player in the lead will be happy about it. Just like in Mario Kart, one moment you can be in first place, then all of a sudden, you’re back to 6th, and it works kind of like this in Verse. The points system also means you can find yourself ticking several boxes for your kill other than just ‘kill’, and it’ll reward you handsomely when you do.

The human characters each have their own weapon load-outs and skills, which at present, cannot be changed, however, they can be modified using something called RE Coins. This is where things get a little more complex. You unlock these coins using the Results Points you earn from playing. For the most part, the ‘perk coins’ are straightforward, with extra HP, or faster cooldowns for skills etc. From what I can tell, they seem to be the same for ALL the characters, which makes the system a bit easier to grasp. There are unique ones relating to character weapons, but generally the effect is the same. The economy of unlocking these looks pretty steep, though I need to do some more analysis on it. In a few hours I’ve earnt almost 40k coins, and one skill costs 1500 / 2500 to unlock. It’s not fully clear to me how they level up either. These perk coins do add depth and variety to gameplay, but if you’re like me, you’d much rather have a variety of modes than load-outs like this. It’s thankfully not as overwhelming as something like something like DBD, or Back For Blood, which seem to have an infinite number perks and skill cards that make becoming proficient at the game an impossibility for anything other than hardcore devotees.

Even with perk coins enabled, this breaks gameplay down to timing more than anything. Utilising the dodges and knowing when to unleash one of the base skills. It’s so effectively simple, and closer to online multiplayer games of yester-year. Though battles against players aren’t quite as extended as something like Gears of War, RE:Verse doesn’t have the spawn-die-spawn-die syndrome of Call of Duty. You WILL die, but that’s half the point. The B.O.W transformation gives you a second chance, and it feels like almost anyone can finish in 1st place if the timing is right, which is a huge win for a broader audience. It’s very much a pick-up and play game. There will of course still be ninja players out there, which brings me to some of my concerns with the game.

Lack of modes and content.

At present, there is no separation of Social and Competitive play. There’s one mode, a death-match free for all, and you either play it with everyone, or you play it privately. This is going to cause issues in time as players get better. Late arrivals to Verse may end up being faced with more experienced ones who are grinding out their ranks, and you’re unable to opt for a ‘casual’ playlist. This alone may be the game’s death knell. It has matchmaking based on skill, but these systems never seem to work correctly (in any game), so already this is going to be a big barrier for new players in a week or two.

Lack of team modes is also something that is absolutely going to harm the lifespan of the game. For now, it’s just the free-for-all, and though the gameplay is incredibly fun, I can see this wearing thin, even for somebody like me who’s enjoying it so far. Many people will have no interest in this mode and would much rather join a squad with friends. There’s no team deathmatch, no king of the hill, and no other original modes which allow for team-based play, or even PvE. It’s the PVP deathmatch, or nothing. You can of course set up a private match with friends, and the game is crossplay, but HOW this game had a year and a half delay and seems to still be launching without at least one team-based mode is truly baffling. Updates are on the way, but there’s no real clarity if any of these will be a new team mode. Hopefully Neobards will listen to feedback.

One big note on the points system, although it is varied, and racking up score is easy enough, it currently seems to lack ANY points awarded for assists, which is utterly criminal. Kill stealing, intentional or otherwise, is common. Unless I’m overlooking it, there’s currently nothing given for getting somebody down to their last legs, only for another player to pop them with one finishing shot. This feels like an oversight and while I can wait for more modes and maps, please Capcom / Neobards, get this patched asap. One other thing, the BETA had big issues with hit boxes, which for the most part have been really tightened up here, though I do still find a few things going amiss, like Jack’s scissors, and Nemesis’ tentacles. It’s easy to become stun-locked at times, but this is avoided with a well-timed dodge! I also seem to be stunned mostly with the Fat Molded, which I think is the point. They’re a bit pathetic and the lowest form of the B.O.Ws, so seek out them vials for a better monster! A little more tuning could help though. There’s more to dive into relating to the progression system, and the battle pass, but much of it is locked until the official launch day. For now it’s just the Results Points (RP) which can be used to unlock those coins, results screen poses, and weapon cosmetics, but after launch some more stuff seems to be on the way, with the option of a premium battle pass too. I do worry that the premium option will allow faster unlocking of perks, which will be horrible. Hopefully it remains the quicker unlocking of cosmetics only.

In short, first reactions after early access are good to WORRIED. In a vacuum, the game is such a blast to play, one of the most fun and accessible new shooters I’ve played in years actually, but this is stunted by the concerning lack of content which may mean RE:Verse fades away quicker than Resistance did. The journey this game has been on is a weird one, and I’m fully on board for what’s still to come, but even a staunch supporter of the game like me is going to find it hard to keep playing the same mode forever… The potential for RE:Verse is still huge, though it sadly looks like my hopes for the game may not be in-line with Capcom’s. Fingers crossed!

Pros

· Match Gameplay loop / Revenge System is refreshing, accessible, and very fun

· Maps are well designed and easy to navigate

· Simple loadouts with easy to grasp perk system

Cons

· Lack of extra modes, especially no team play

· Lack of Maps – more are on the way, but just two at launch is very poor

· Characters are lifeless (more dialogue would’ve been nice)

· Points systems lacks assists – so kill stealing is common