TheResident Evilseries has treating us to bad science and great survival horror since 1996, when we first set foot in the infamous Spencer Mansion and uncovered the dark secrets of the now-infamous Umbrella Corporation. If you’re just getting started with the series, then you’re in for a treat, but may also be a bit confused aboutwhereto start.
With over a dozen mainline games (of variable quality), you may want to be selective. Conveniently, the series can be divided into a few distinct, and largely self-contained, story arcs which span several games each, and are also defined to an extent by their own gameplay styles - which range from brooding survival horror to campy action-horror. As such, we’ll be dividing this list into headings based on several story arcs, under which we’ll list the games within those stories in the order you should play them (as well as the games which are optional to a given arc).
While we recommend playing the games within an arc in the order below, you don’t necessarily have to play the arcs in order, as their stories function pretty well independently.
Arklay/Raccoon City Arc
This is where it all started. Ground Zero of Resident Evil, which covers the original T-Virus and G-Virus outbreaks in and around Raccoon City. It’s where we first meet the key characters we’ll be seeing throughout the rest of the series. The original PS1 versions of the first three games are great, but have been superceded very elegantly by three very good remakes, which are the best way to enjoy their respective stories.
Unlike later titles, there’s a greater focus on horror, resource management, and puzzle-solving here, making for a slower, more deliberate pace. While you don’tneedto play this arc first, we strongly recommend it due to its overall quality and introduction of key concepts and characters.
Resident Evil 0 (Optional) - 2002
The prequel to the very first Resident Evil is worth revisiting for lore enthusiasts, and follows S.T.A.R.S. members Rebecca and Billy as they first uncover the t-Virus ‘out in the wild.’ The game still looks great, with the same gorgeous graphical style as Resident Evil REmake, and it was the first game in the series to use a ‘partner’ system that we’d see expanded upon in later entries. It’s an interesting story too, but by no means critical to the arc.
Resident Evil REmake - 2002
Resident Evil REmake was originally released on the Gamecube, and received a beautiful HD upgrade for modern platforms years later. It’s one of the last ‘fixed-camera’ games in the series, and while the controls may take some getting used to it’s still a great game and perfect series introduction, following the S.T.A.R.S. team as they infiltrate the Spencer Mansion and uncover the t-Virus for the first time.
Resident Evil 2 REmake - 2019
The parallel story of rookie cop Leon Kennedy and Chris’ sister Claire Redfield as they try to survive a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City is probably the most beloved in the series. The remake, which must count as one of the best videogame remakes of all time, has some excellent level design, intense resource scarcity, and a very well-done Tyrant who chases you for a good portion of the game. A very complete package.
Resident Evil 3 REmake - 2020
Much like the originalResident Evil 3felt like a shorter, pacier version ofResident Evil 2, so too does the remake. It’s not quite as clever or compelling a story as its predecessor, and feels a lot more linear, but it’s still a great romp, as Jill Valentine and mercenary Carlos Oliveira look for a vaccine amidst the carnage of Raccoon City, with a very determined Tyrant known as Nemesis relentlessly pursuing them.
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The PS1 Trilogy: Resident Evil: Director’s Cut, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 (Optional) - 1996-1999
While the original PS1 games are all stone-cold classics, there’s no denying that they’re showing their age. These games pioneered survival horror, overcoming the technical limitations of the PS1 by adopting fixed camera angles and pre-rendered (yet still pretty) backgrounds that the 3D characters walked around on. The tank controls are a bit rough, but there’s still plenty here for horror and game history enthusiasts to explore. It’s a credit to the quality of the remakes that these are optional.
Post-Raccoon City Arc
This is the most tenuous arc, with two very different games with very different stories. What binds them is that they cover events that occur between the Raccoon City Incident and the bio-terror that occurs in the subsequent arc.
Resident Evil - Code Veronica (Optional) - 2000
An interesting transitional game both in terms of story and graphics, Code Veronica is the first series game to do away with pre-rendered backgrounds in favour of fully 3D environments. It follows Claire and Chris Redfield shortly after the Raccoon City incident, as they attempt to escape an Umbrella-owned prison on Rockfort Island. The story is self-contained and isn’t necessary to any arc, but it’s filled with intrigue, a smidgen of silly romance, and some familiar faces.
Resident Evil 4 - 2005
An undisputable ‘Must Play’ in the series.Resident Evil 4’s gloriously eccentric story about now-special agent Leon Kennedy being sent to a remote Spanish village to rescue the US president’s hapless daughter signalled the series’ shift towards action and silliness. The shift to an over-the-shoulder camera was revolutionary, pulling players into the horror as they fended off alarming numbers of pitchfork-wielding bumpkins whose heads could burst into tentacles at any moment due to the Las Plagas parasite.The upcoming remakemay well make the original iteration an ‘Optional,’ but in the meantime it’s a necessity.
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Revelations
Released after the Bio-Terror arc but set between the events of those games, in terms of playstyle theRevelationsgames are nestled somewhere between the all-action Bio-Terror games and the more classical and puzzle-oriented games of the Raccoon City arc. They’re competent games, though are very much spin-offs and don’t feel particularly critical to any of the main arcs.
Resident Evil: Revelations - 2012
First released on Nintendo 3DS before making its way to other platforms, Revelations follows series favourites Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield as they attempt to quell a plot to infect the world’s oceans with a new t-Virus strain called T-Abyss. The cruise ship setting where you spend much of the game is an excellent source of tension and claustrophobia.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - 2015
Set between the events ofResident Evil 5and 6, this episodic entry follows Barry Burton and Claire Redfield in two overlapping stories, as they both try to escape an island in the Baltic Sea that’s been taken over by mutated people known as the ‘Afflicted’.
Both Claire and Barry have respective plus-ones in the form of Moira Burton and Natalie Korda, a girl with seemingly supernatural abilities. Best played in co-op, this game reintroduces more of the puzzle-based play that typified earlier games in the series.First released on Nintendo 3DS before making its way to other platforms, Revelations follows series favourites Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield as they try to quell a plot to infect the world’s oceans with a new t-Virus strain called T-Abyss. The cruise ship setting where you spend much of the game is an excellent source of tension and claustrophobia.
The Action/Bio-Terror Arc
Resident Evil 4 started a trend for the series to gravitate towards action-horror rather than the slower-burning survival horror that defined its earlier years. Some fans regard these games as weaker than the rest, but if you just accept them for what they are - over-the-top action-horror games - there’s plenty of fun to be had here.
They’re designed to be played in co-op too, and gain a whole new layer of fun when played with a friend, but for atmosphere and storytelling check out the Raccoon or Winters arcs instead.
Resident Evil 5 - 2009
Set in amidst the shanty towns, tribal villages, and of course secret bioweapon labs of Kijuju, a fictional African country (oh don’t worry, we’re raising our eyebrows too), Resident Evil 5 sees special agents Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar head into the country to quell an outbreak of the Las Plagas parasite.
It’s a largely linear, action-packed romp that features - among other things - Albert Wesker darting around like Neo from Matrix: Reloaded, a jeep chase across the savannah, and of course Chris punching a boulder in a volcano.
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Resident Evil 6 - 2012
Splitting a Resident Evil game into four separate short stories was a ballsy move by Capcom, and while none of them are individually brilliant, together they make for an entertaining and shlocky B-horror package.Resident Evil 6is the series at its most ridiculous, as you take on a global bioterror attack that at various points sees you go up against regular zombies, J’avo, which can use guns and mutate depending on where you shoot them, and some wild bosses like a giant sewer shark. Again, co-op is key to a good time here.
The Winters Arc
The switch to first-person was a controversial move, but for horror fans it was a novel refresh of the Resident Evil formula. Despite the new perspective, this arc actually brought back some of the slower pace, puzzle-solving and old-school horror that went missing during the series’ action-oriented years. Narratively, it’s an almost all-new saga in terms of the threat and the characters involved, making it welcoming to new players and allowing the stories to branch out in interesting directions.
Resident Evil 7 - 2017
You, as faceless series newcomer Ethan Winters, head to an abandoned rickety compound in the deep swamps of rural Louisiana in search of your girlfriend, Mia. Things go terribly wrong however, when you get imprisoned by the family living there, who are infected by some mystery fungal matter that gives them all kinds of gruesome mutations. Horror-wise the game is a massive return to form, and its play on ‘hillbilly horror’ movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre really made it feel like something new.
Resident Evil 8: Village - 2021
From hillbilly horror to fairytale horror,Resident Evil Villagefeatures werewolves, witches, fishmen, and giant babies (but not of the goofy ‘Honey, I Blew Up The Baby’ variety). It continues to follow Ethan Winters, as he tries to retrieve his kidnapped newborn daughter from a mysterious Romanian mountain village. The story takes players through several distinct areas, each overseen by an eccentric ‘Lord’ with their own gimmick. It’s full of big personalities, mixes action and horror deftly, and proves to be something of an origin story for the t-Virus.
The recently released ‘Winters Expansion’ DLC for Village concludes this arc.
There are other peripheral games in the Resident Evil series - Operation Raccoon City, Umbrella Corps, as well as light gun shooters Darkside Chronicles, Umbrella Chronicles, and Survivor - but they’re neither of great quality nor crucial to any of the core arcs.
Again, if you’re looking to jump in, best start with the original arc, then from there jump into whichever arc tickles your fancy. It’s a weird world of horror out there in Resident Evil, but at least now you’re ready to enter the nightmare…
