Hands-on: Umbrella Corps

Ask diehard Resident Evil fans what the series needs to succeed going forward, and none of them are likely to say “a close-quarters competitive multiplayer shooter.” Despite this, that’s exactly what Capcom is bringing to the table with Umbrella Corps. Much has been made of the fact that the game is something of an outlier in the Resident Evil franchise, and though it strays far from the roots of the series, it still manages to deliver on a straightforward, competent shooter experience.

Umbrella Corps is pretty standard fare as far as shooters go. The game purely focuses on multiplayer, and our demo dropped us into a best-of-five, 3-on-3 team deathmatch. Default loadouts contain the familiar litany of machine guns, shotguns, and melee weapons, and combat takes place on tight, claustrophobic maps that take advantage of current-gen hardware to recreate the dank, gritty environments Resident Evil is known for. The biggest twist, though, comes with the presence – and threat – of zombies on the map. Under normal circumstances, they aimlessly roam around, and you can shoot them in the head for points. However, if your opponents damage the jamming device on your back, they will detect and start attacking you, which makes survival that much more difficult over time.

Aside from that, it’s a fairly by-the-numbers competitive shooter. Gunplay works well, and as with many other shooters, there’s a certain thrill to be had in pitting yourself against others, especially if your jammer gets damaged or you’re trying to mount a come-from-behind victory. The graphics and sound do enough to immerse you into the gritty world of the series, but it doesn’t go far beyond that generic Resident Evil look. Ultimately, while its core gameplay is competent and precise, nothing about the experience proves particularly innovative or groundbreaking. Moving in and out of cover felt stiff and clumsy compared to other cover-based shooters, and moment in general lacks the fluidity of other modern titles. I had more fun with it than many other titles on the show floor, but that’s probably just my shooter bias talking. It’s not perfect, and it may not have the depth or innovation to stand up against the AAA shooter of this year and next, but it’s shaping up to be a fun little budget shooter that might be worth a look if you’re into this sort of thing.

Umbrella Corps launches early 2016 for $29.99 on PlayStation 4 and PC.