With Capcom recently announcing the inclusion of Resident Evil Resistance in the Resident Evil 3 base game, asymmetrical online multiplayer games may finally be stepping out from their tightly nit communities in the fringes and heading into mainstream gaming. Asymmetrical multiplayer games have grown more prominent in recent years, but their development still comprises mostly small studio developers with limited budgets and are rarely the cost of a full featured $60 multiplayer title such as Battlefield or Overwatch.

For those unfamiliar with asymmetrical multiplayer games, they usually consist of two teams of players with entirely different types of abilities and gameplay mechanics taking on each other, pitting two different spectrums of strategic gameplay mechanics against each other. It requires developers to be particularly creative in how they balance the means for victory, to ensure that the game is fair. Although, in the realm of asymmetry, this can often be more subjective. 

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Asymmetrical multiplayer games are popular among players looking for a unique experience which depends entirely on its fun factor, as they are not particularly focused on producing a competitive community. It could be described as a sub-genre of multiplayer games geared for the hardcore gamer that is looking for casual fun. Perhaps the asymmetrical multiplayer genre finds its sweet spot somewhere uniquely in between the casual and hardcore multiplayer gaming paradigm.

Asymmetrical games have evolved in recent years, carving out particular niches which have proved to be popular trends among its communities, moving away from older trends. Due to the loosely held characteristics that define what an asymmetrical game is, it can be difficult to identify a linear projection of its origins all the way to its current conceptions and trends.

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In general, asymmetric multiplayer games commonly began with gameplay mechanics composed of two teams that were more even in number, but had very different gameplay elements and mechanics. Natural Selection 2, released in 2012, was one of the older asymmetric online games to make a name for itself early on in this niche sub-genre. 

Natural Selection 2 pit two opposing teams of players, aliens and marines, against each other. Marines utilized ranged combat with mostly guns, while alien players moved at a quicker pace, could move along walls, and were dependent on melee attacks. Natural Selection 2's predecessor was actually a mod for the original Half Life, dating back to 2002, which could potentially signal the origins of the asymmetrical online genre of multiplayer gaming.

Skip ahead to 2015 and Evolve was released by 2K Games and a group of developers who previously helped create Left 4 Dead before departing Valve. Given the prestige of the minds behind Evolve's development, there was high hopes for the game, which attempted to change the formula of asymmetric multiplayer games and offer some interesting innovations and twists, while moving the genre into the mainstream.

Evolve's most recognizable achievement was changing the formula from symmetrically sized teams to asymmetric sized teams, in addition to the different styles of gameplay mechanics between the two sides. This trend has carried over into the current plethora of asymmetric games. Rather than having an even number of players on both teams, Evolve popularized the concept in which a few players take on a singular player with overly powerful abilities and the ability to endure large quantities of damage. This formula is often abbreviated as a "4v1" system, or however many players the numeric value represents for each team in a particular game.

Unfortunately, as unique as it was among the mainstream gaming world, Evolve was plagued by criticism among many fans for being too limited in content and small in scope to justify its $60 price tag. Although Evolve sold over 2.5 million copies by May, 2015, it never established a sustainable foothold nor a lasting community, and the overall genre of asymmetric multiplayer games regressed back into the shadows of the gaming fringes.

While Evolve established the 4v1 formula among contemporary asymmetric games, the overall trend evolved from the four-person teams playing the role of hunters to being the hunted. In Evolve, the team of hunters had to scout the trail of clues in hunting down a giant monster, controlled by a player whose objective was to try and stay off the radar and run as far away from the hunters as possible in its bid for survival.

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Dead by Daylight, perhaps the most popular asymmetrical multiplayer game currently, reverses the roles by having the overly powerful player stalk the other players and ruthlessly annihilate them before they can fulfill the team's objectives. It is the job of the four-person team to avoid detection and run away from the overpowered player, rather than vice-versa. It is the perfect gameplay formula for integrating the simplistic storytelling of a slasher horror film, thereby turning it into an online multiplayer paradigm. Dead by Daylight allows for a maniacal player-controlled annihilator - in similar vein to one's favorite villain among slasher horror films - to chase down and annihilate groups of vulnerable player-controlled individuals with limited abilities.

As the asymmetrical multiplayer game has evolved and blended well with horror themes as of late, it certainly appears to be a natural fit for Resident Evil's undertaking in developing its own asymmetrical online multiplayer game. In Resident Evil Resistance, one player controls the Mastermind, whose job consists of deploying traps, dispatching enemies, and manipulating the environment to try and exterminate the 4-player team known as Survivors, as they attempt to traverse the map to fulfill their own objectives.

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Capcom made a wise decision including Resident Evil Resistance within the Resident Evil 3 base package. In doing so, they may succeed in fulfilling Evolve's original aim by establishing a strong online community among mainstream gamers invested in an asymmetrical multiplayer game, which has not been fully realized in the gaming industry at this point in time. It is questionable whether gamers, even Resident Evil fans, would pay money for a stand-alone Resident Evil multiplayer game, especially given that Resident Evil's past attempts at doing so have not been met with much success among online players.

Given that it is expected that Resident Evil 3's remake will sell a high number of copies, this decisions ensures that the numbers will be in place to establish a strong and large community of online players to ready to test drive Resident Evil Resistance once it launches. This should be more easily viable, as long as this multiplayer portion of the Resident Evil 3 package delivers a refreshingly satisfying experience for players to jump into after they have soaked up enough of the Resident Evil 3 single-player campaign and are ready to get their feet wet in Resistance.

Resident Evil Project Resistance characters

If Resident Evil Resistance proves to be a success, this could set a strong precedence for the future of asymmetrical online multiplayer games, with more big-name companies ready to invest some serious budgetary into the development of new games. In addition to new franchises, we could also enjoy the possibility of already-established multiplayer franchises, such as Battlefield, joining the fray and offering their own creative innovations for asymmetrical multiplayer games.

Resident Evil Resistance will certainly test the waters where Evolve left off, and perhaps the mainstream gaming industry is finally ready for the full conceptualization of asymmetric multiplayer games. Fans of the genre should pay close attention to the release of Resident Evil Resistance on April 3, 2020, as there will be much to gauge from the impact it could have in online gaming upon its release, and it could be a source of future inspiration. 

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