Here's how to unlock The Mercenaries in Resident Evil Village

Enjoy some good ol' fashioned arcade fun!

Originally introduced as a bonus game mode in Resident Evil 4, The Mercenaries quickly became a staple in the mainline Resident Evil series. After taking a brief break from this arcade-inspired addition with Resident Evil 7, the fan-favorite mode is back in a big way. Here's how to unlock The Mercenaries in Resident Evil Village.

Completing the Story of Resident Evil Village

In order to access the extra game mode The Mercenaries, you must first make your way through the entire main story of Resident Evil Village. We'll avoid any major spoilers in this post, but expect your first playthrough to take roughly 8-12 hours depending on how much you explore the different areas of the game. It's worth noting that difficulty doesn't matter for this particular unlock either, so play on whatever mode you feel comfortable with. Once you've rolled credits, you'll unlock Challenges and the Extra Content Shop. This is where you'll be able to access The Mercenaries.

How to unlock The Mercenaries

Once you've completed the story and opened up the Extra Content Shop, you'll be able to unlock The Mercenaries from there with Challenge Points. This post-game currency is rewarded by completing various challenges in both the Story mode and The Mercenaries. This fast-paced bonus game mode can be yours for a mere 100 Challenge Points, which you will have plenty of after completing your first playthrough of Resident Evil Village. To dive in, simply access The Mercenaries from the Bonuses page on the main menu.

What to expect from The Mercenaries

The Mercenaries takes the incredible gunplay and over-the-top action of Resident Evil Village and cranks it up to 11. In a selection of smaller maps from the Story Mode, it's your mission to eliminate all targets as fast as possible while racking up kill combos and score multipliers. With some mild rogue-like character upgrades, each run will be slightly different, but it's in your best interest to memorize enemy placement and stage goals to finish with the best time. The Mercenaries isn't very scary, but it's a whole lot of fun.

Any questions? Sound off in the comments below. Resident Evil Village is now available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Stadia, and PC. And for even more scares, be sure to check out our list of the best Xbox horror games.