Resident Evil 4 remake: The Mercenaries DLC is out now - All playable characters, stages, and more

Resident Evil 4 remake's highly anticipated DLC, The Mercenaries, is finally available for players to download and play for free.

The Mercenaries is essentially an arcade mode that allows players to play as characters from the main story, go through stages clearing hordes of enemies, and sometimes even face some of the most challenging bosses from the base game.

The Mercenaries game mode has been a staple of the Resident Evil franchise, starting with the original Resident Evil 4, which was the very first title to let go of the series' tank controls in favor of a more action-focused gameplay loop.

While the mode was absent in some of the later entries of the series, Capcom has brought the beloved game mode back with their latest RE title.

Resident Evil 4 remake: The Mercenaries allows players to choose from a rather sizable roster of characters, including the game's protagonist Leon and fan favorite bosses such as Krauser.

Here's everything players need to know about the Resident Evil 4 remake: The Mercenaries, from playable characters to all available stages and more

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Resident Evil 4 remake: The Mercenaries is a brand new game mode available to all players at no additional cost

Resident Evil 4 remake: The Mercenaries lets players play as key characters from the base game as they go up against hordes of Ganados and other monsters to grab the coveted S++ rank.

The mode consists of a huge selection of stages, which are gradually unlocked upon scoring "A" or above on previous stages.

Alongside the new stages, players also get to unlock new weapons as well as other playable characters, exclusively for The Mercenaries. There are a total of four playable characters, including:

• Leon: Protagonist of Resident Evil 4 remake and the default character that players will start The Mercenaries with.
• Luis: One of the key main story characters and an ally to Leon and Ashley. Unlocked after getting an "A" ranking with Leon on any stage.
• Krauser: One of the main story bosses from the base game. Unlocked after getting an "A" ranking with Luis on any stage.
• Hunk: Returning guest character from Resident Evil 2 remake. Unlocked after getting an "A" ranking with Krauser on any stage

The general gameplay loop of The Mercenaries is fairly straight forward. At each stage, players start off with their preferred playable character and are tasked with killing as many enemies as possible within a fixed time limit.

It should be noted that every playable character has their own unique loadout, which players need to be mindful of.

Players can increase the time limit by killing enemies via headshots. However, not all headshots will result in enemies instantly dying.

Some Ganados can randomly have the plaga-parasite in their heads (similar to the Gandos in the base game), which can burst out if players try to kill them via headshots.

The stages in The Mercenaries comprise areas from the base game, including:

• The Village: The default stage, comprising of the oening village section of the base game.
• The Castle: Unlocked by completing The Village.
• The Island: Unlocked by completing The Castle.

The Mercenaries is available as a separate download on all platforms, including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, and Windows PC (via Steam).

The game mode should be downloaded automatically if players own the Resident Evil 4 remake and have the game installed on their console or PC.

However, in instances where the DLC is not showing up in their game, players can manually add and download The Mercenaries from their console's storefront (PS Store, Xbox Store), or from Steam (on PC).