Resident Evil is a pillar in survival horror. However, with a two-decade historical past, 9 mainline video games, and numerous spinoffs, it’s laborious to know the place to start out. In this information, we’ll run down the perfect Resident Evil video games, ranked from greatest to worst.
We’re solely mainline Resident Evil titles, so video games like The Umbrella Chronicles and Operation Raccoon City gained’t be on the checklist (although they wouldn’t have rated extremely anyway). Additionally, we’re counting Resident Evil 2 and its remake as separate video games, as there’s sufficient of a distinction between them mechanically for every to really feel distinctive.
We aren’t giving the unique Resident Evil and its respective remake the identical remedy, nevertheless. Although the GameCube and eventual PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch releases include a major visible improve, the fastened digital camera and mechanics are related sufficient that it seems like a remaster quite than a brand new sport.
1. Resident Evil 4
Original launch date: January 11, 2005
Platforms: GameCube, PS2, Windows, Wii, iOS, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Android, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
It’s powerful to articulate how a lot of an influence Resident Evil 4 has had on gaming. Originally launched on the GameCube in 2005, Resident Evil 4 has since been ported to numerous different platforms, even cellular units. No matter if in case you have the telephone in your pocket or a tricked-out gaming PC, there’s a solution to play Resident Evil 4.
And for good cause. Although Resident Evil 3 confirmed an enormous leap ahead when it comes to graphics, it pushed the bounds of the unique PlayStation in 1999. With extra highly effective {hardware} in tow, Resident Evil 4 switched the fastened digital camera angle of the primary three video games to an over-the-shoulder perspective.
The tighter deal with motion labored wonders again in 2005, although Capcom took it just a little too far, as demonstrated by Resident Evil 5 and 6. Resident Evil 4 is a sport teetering on the sting, perfecting the formulation Capcom had been crafting for almost a decade when the unique sport was launched.
2. Resident Evil 2 Remake
Original launch date: January 25, 2019
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
The Resident Evil 2 remake follows the identical narrative because the 1998 launch, however that’s about the one similarity between the 2. Built from the bottom up as a re-imagining of the unique sport, the Resident Evil 2 remake completely combines the cramped environment of the 1998 launch with trendy sensibilities.
It’s an over-the-shoulder sport within the vein of Resident Evil 4, although with much less of a deal with motion as that sport and the titles that comply with. The change in perspective brings with it a wholly new really feel, proscribing the participant’s imaginative and prescient in methods the unique title doesn’t.
That’s to not point out the graphical enhancements. Of course, 20 years of graphics iteration will result in a better-looking sport. However, Resident Evil 2’s use of the RE engine brings with it developments in smoke simulation and lighting, even furthering the creepiness of the unique launch. Tyrant’s character mannequin is pure nightmare gas, too.
Read our Resident Evil 2 overview.
3. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Original launch date: January 24, 2017
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo Switch (cloud)
Resident Evil 7 isn’t actually a Resident Evil sport, switching the attitude to first-person and specializing in a a lot smaller story. Regardless, it’s a hell of a horror sport. Returning to the horror roots of the unique sequence after the sixth entry, Resident Evil 7 is dripping with terrifying ambiance.
Instead of controlling a STARS agent like in different titles, you play as Ethan Winters, who receives a letter from his spouse who went lacking three previous to the occasions of the sport. She asks him to go to an deserted plantation in Louisiana, the place he uncovers a number of horrifying revelations regarding his spouse and himself.
Resident Evil 7 is a departure for the sequence when it comes to narrative and design. Its deal with a narrative inside the bigger Resident Evil story is a welcome change, and the distinction in gameplay suits that change completely.
4. Resident Evil 2
Original launch date: January 21, 1998
Platforms: PlayStation, Windows, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, GameCube
For many, ourselves included, Resident Evil 2 is the perfect of the primary three video games. Caught between the massive scale motion of Nemesis and the claustrophobic corridors of the unique sport, Resident Evil 2 balances a bigger story with the identical isolation because the 1996 launch.
It’s Resident Evil, just a bit higher. Rather than altering up the formulation fully, Capcom constructed upon the precedents Resident Evil established with a singular narrative and fleshed out environment. Furthermore, Resident Evil 2 introduces Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, with Kennedy following the sequence till the sixth entry.
5. Resident Evil
Original launch date: March 22, 1996
Platforms: PlayStation, Windows, Sega Saturn, Nintendo DS
The sport that began all of it, 1996’s Resident Evil confirmed what it means to be a survival horror sport. Now, nevertheless, greater than 20 years later, it’s not as spectacular because it was in days previous. The environment and story are stable, however the gameplay mechanics don’t really feel as developed as they do within the video games that comply with.
For followers of the sequence, Resident Evil is a superb time, match with the fastened digital camera, scarce assets, and remoted environment seen in different titles. That mentioned, it’s not the perfect Resident Evil sport to start out with. The second entry improves upon the primary in virtually each method, and the fourth comes with an entire overhaul to the gameplay.
6. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Original launch date: September 22, 1999
Platforms: PlayStation, Windows, Dreamcast, GameCube
Resident Evil 3 takes place similtaneously the second entry within the sequence, following Jill Valentine as she tries to flee Raccoon City. The story begins a day earlier than the occasions of Resident Evil 2. On her solution to the police division, which has its personal horrors happening inside, Jill encounters a genetically modified beast created to hunt surviving STARS members: Nemesis.
As on-the-nose because the identify is, even by 1999 requirements, Nemesis is a terrifying power within the sport, ultimately pursuing the participant till the tip credit roll, very like Resident Evil 2’s Tyrant. Like Resident Evil 7, which we’ll get to in a minute, Nemesis encompasses a distinctive spin on a well-known story, constructing out the already terrifying story surrounding Raccoon City.
7. Resident Evil – Code: Veronica
Original launch date: February 3, 2000
Platforms: Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, GameCube, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Resident Evil – Code: Veronica is the primary “must play” within the sequence. Originally launched on the Dreamcast in 2000, the sport follows Claire Redfield after the occasions of Resident Evil 2 and Nemesis. It’s the primary title within the sequence to characteristic real-time 3D environments, permitting the digital camera to maneuver in methods it wasn’t in a position to earlier than.
The Dreamcast’s poor gross sales fell again on Code: Veronica when it launched, nevertheless. Although the sport was ultimately ported to PS2 and GameCube, the dated Dreamcast graphics felt outdated by the point it arrived. Today, nevertheless, Code: Veronica remains to be a wonderful Resident Evil sport and an absolute must-own for Dreamcast followers.
8. Resident Evil 5
Original launch date: March 5, 2009
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Android, Nvidia Shield TV
Like Resident Evil 6, Resident Evil 5 is simply too closely centered on motion. Upon launch, nevertheless, it didn’t really feel as dated as its eventual sequel. Instead of returning to sluggish survival horror, Capcom laid into the formulation that made Resident Evil 4 so profitable, ditching the scares in favor of fast-paced motion.
Although ammunition and merchandise administration are nonetheless a side of Resident Evil 5, fight is the clear focus. For that, Resident Evil 5 is a good sport. It has a number of points on the subject of the quilt system and teammate A.I., however general, the taking pictures is enjoyable, the graphics are beautiful, and the story is compelling.
9. Resident Evil Zero
Original launch date: November 12, 2002
Platforms: GameCube, Wii, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Resident Evil Zero isn’t a foul sport, simply not a very good one. Although launched because the fifth mainline title, Resident Evil Zero is a prequel to the unique sport. The sport’s narrative, visuals, and sound design are compelling, particularly for Resident Evil followers. However, it makes a number of adjustments to the Resident Evil formulation.
Zero has you enjoying as two characters concurrently as an alternative of 1. Although a number of views has at all times been a spotlight for Resident Evil, Zero’s interpretation of that design feels clunky and pointless. Additionally, Zero lacks the signature merchandise containers seen in different Resident Evil titles, forcing gamers to drop pointless objects and backtrack to them if wanted.
10. Resident Evil 6
Original launch date: October 2, 2012
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, Windows
A crucial flop however industrial success, Resident Evil 6 pushed too laborious on the motion, leaving the shortage, loneliness, and horror the sequence is understood for within the mud. Instead of specializing in a single narrative, Resident Evil 6 has 4 separate campaigns, every following a distinct character from the sequence.
Although meant as a method so as to add range to the sport, the cut up campaigns ended up falling flat. None of them really feel fleshed out, leading to a tonally dissonant and mechanically sparse expertise. That mentioned, Resident Evil 6 remains to be a good motion sport, with a stable story and lovely graphics, as well.
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