The Resident Evil franchise and its fanbase has been growing since the first game came out in 1996. With many storylines overlapping across each other and characters introduced in various games crossing paths with each new game, many fans of the series find joy in the many aspects of the Resident Evil game franchise. Whether they enjoy the colorful cast of characters, gruesome action gameplay, political intrigue and conspiracy, or just the zombies, the series has something for just about any fan of the horror genre. But for some of us, we need a change of pace that still feels familiar.
For any good game that wants to hold a candle to the Resident Evil franchise, there are some important things to keep note of that we enjoy about the series in the first place:
- Memorable characters
- Gruesome action gameplay
- Strong storytelling, especially with a conspiracy to keep players hooked on the mystery of what’s going on
- Immersive worldbuilding that feels like it could be real
- And most importantly… ZOMBIES!
With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at the top 15 games that are like the Resident Evil franchise. Who knows — maybe you’ll find your new favorite game!
15. Dead Space (Remake) (PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S)
After the wild success of the original Dead Space in 2008, fans of the series were ecstatic when its remake was released in 2023. Like the original game, players control Kellion crew member Isaac as they explore the crash of their spaceship, the Ishimura, on the outskirts of the planet Aegis VII. After getting separated from some of the crew, Isaac and two of his fellow crewmates find that the lost members’ corpses have been horrifically mutated by an extraterrestrial disease, making them into creatures known as Necromorphs. As Isaac and his remaining team try to fix the Ishimura to return home, they find that they are not alone on Aegis VII, and whoever else is there is not friendly.
Macabre and gory in all the best ways, the Dead Space remake is what happens when someone asks, “What if there were zombies in space?” For fans of the Resident Evil series, not only does this game have strong storytelling, immersive worldbuilding, and truly gruesome gameplay elements such as the “peeling” feature (yeah, you read that right!), you also get space zombies and political intrigue with the Church of Unitology in Aegis VII. The Dead Space remake allows for fans of the Resident Evil series to have a unique experience with their zombie-killing, as the zero gravity sections as well as weapons that are specialized for all of your limb-chopping and corpse-destroying needs.
The scariest part about zero gravity is that you can’t exactly run from the giant monster trying to kill you…
14. World War Z (Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Stadia, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)
Across the world, a war has been waged against the hordes of zombies in some of the planet’s largest cities. Loosely based on the 2006 novel of the same name, World War Z has players control one of four survivors as they fight against the zombie apocalypse across the world in cities like Moscow, Tokyo, and New York.
A co-op third-person shooter set in the zombie apocalypse across the world is something familiar to most fans of the Resident Evil series. However, unlike that franchise, World War Z allows players to choose their class, each unlocking unique perks as they progress through the game’s episodes. These episodes are separated by location, each having between three to five levels and having the capability to load up to 1,000 zombies at once for players and their teammates to attack. Gruesome and fun, fans of the Resident Evil series are sure to find joy in killing zombies across the world in World War Z.
You better be confident that the explosion isn’t going to come back to you, dude!
13. State of Decay 2 (Windows, Xbox One)
For some players, part of the fun of zombie survival horror games is to try and do the proper survival part, gathering resources and finding shelter while fighting off hordes of living corpses trying to kill them. For those players, State of Decay 2 may be just what you’re looking for. The game takes place in an open world during the zombie apocalypse, allowing players to choose one of various locations to build their base, where they can build upon and improve it with various facilities. Players must also balance their resources, such as food and ammo, as they play through the game and various quests with NPCs.
To many fans of Resident Evil, State of Decay 2 may seem like a far cry from the government conspiracy intrigue of the series. However, the familiar limited resource balancing and ways to fight the in-game zombies in addition to State of Decay 2’s open world, cooperative gameplay, and various survival gameplay elements make for a unique experience for fans of Resident Evil. NPCs in State of Decay 2 even have a morale meter that can change depending on events happening around them, requiring player intervention and adding to the immersion of the in-game zombie apocalypse.
“Keep shooting, maybe it’ll slow him down!”
12. Telltale’s The Walking Dead (Windows, macOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS)
Avid zombie survival horror fans may recognize the title of The Walking Dead from the popular television series or the original comics. Based on and happening concurrently to the comics series, Telltale created an episodic graphic adventure game that focuses on player decisions to drive the story. The game primarily follows Clementine, a young girl orphaned during the onset of the outbreak, and her protector, a former convict named Lee Everett. Players progress through the game’s sections, called episodes, as they play through the story with every choice being vital to their survival in the zombie apocalypse.
One of the many things fans of Resident Evil enjoy about the series is the immersive worldbuilding and storytelling throughout the various games series. Telltale’s The Walking Dead is highly praised for its storytelling and worldbuilding, making it a wonderful game series for fans of the Resident Evil franchise to partake in. As an added bonus, the game remembers choices you make and characters you cross, making for a completely unique gameplay experience for each person who plays through the game. Friend or foe? You decide, and they’ll remember!
Don’t worry, Clementine, if you walk like them, maybe they won’t notice you!
11. The Evil Within 2 (PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One)
The sequel of the 2014 game The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2 has players control former officer Sebastian Castellanos three years after the events of its predecessor. Traumatized from the events of the first game and his personal demons, Sebastian is thrown right back into the action after finding out the truth about his daughter, Lily. While Sebastian thought she had died, the truth was that she was being used as the central processor for STEM, a project started by the antagonistic organization MOBIUS in order to create a hivemind for world domination. However, after losing contact with Lily and some MOBIUS agents inside of the STEM-simulated idyllic American town Union, players now control Sebastian as they venture throughout Union for Lily and to find out what happened in the first place.
The most fun fact about this game being on this list is its producer. Shinji Mikami, who was also the director of the first game, is the creator of the Resident Evil series and director of that series’ first game. His influence is definitely felt in The Evil Within 2, despite him only being a producer of the game, and has a familiar Resident Evil-esque gameplay style, world, story, and monsters. Shinji Mikami’s style is unmistakable, and for any Resident Evil fan, that’s something to love.
You know what’s worse than zombies? Zombies on FIRE!
10. The Quarry (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Some people who watch classic slashers or creature features commonly find themselves wishing that they could convince the characters in these films to do something different. Answering the call, The Quarry has players control a group of summer camp counselors as they find that the camp is more than it may seem. Throughout a series of choices, players can help or hurt everyone in the camp — and everyone outside of it, too.
The Quarry is a great game for people who enjoy having the utmost control of how their game is going to end. The fate of everything is in the players’ hands, including characters’ chances at survival, their relationships with each other, the story’s progression, and the ending. While the major antagonist creature of the game isn’t exactly zombies, there is still the familiar enjoyment of gruesome gameplay features, the memorable characters, and immersive worldbuilding that will peak the interest of any Resident Evil fan.
“Did you guys see that?!”
9. Outlast (Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, OS X, Nintendo Switch)
With rumors of unethical and inhumane experiments happening at Mount Massive Asylum, Miles Upshur, a freelance investigative journalist, is summoned by an anonymous email to find out what’s going on. Players control Miles, armed with only a video camera recording their exploration of the asylum, as they traverse throughout the building and sneak around the free-roaming patients to solve the mystery that brought them to Mount Massive.
Outlast is another fun addition to this list, as while it doesn’t particularly have zombies, it does have many other aspects of horror that Resident Evil fans are sure to find enjoyment in. With no weapons, players must rely on various stealth gameplay mechanics, such as sneaking past enemies and hiding in lockers, as well as their camcorder’s limited night-vision to move through the dilapidated asylum. In addition to the great world and terrifying atmosphere, Resident Evil fans are sure to find some great scares with Outlast.
“Make sure you get my GOOD SIDE!”
8. Until Dawn (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows)
One year ago, twin sisters Beth and Hannah Washington went missing in a blizzard at their parents’ mountain peak lodge after a prank gone wrong. Now, their friends and brother join together on the anniversary of the sisters going missing to celebrate their lives together. But something is terribly wrong, and trapped on the icy mountain top with very little protection from the elements, players must help the group solve the various mysteries surrounding the mountain and whatever is on it with them.
Until Dawn is the spiritual predecessor to The Quarry, created by the same developers with a similar gameplay mechanic of the butterfly effect, where everything done is not without its consequences. Players can pick and choose who survives and who dies, as well as fix and damage the relationships between characters of the cast, the progression of the story, and the way it all ends. There’s also a feature implemented in between the game’s chapters where players are able to choose what personally scares them, making for a truly unique gameplay experience for each run through depending on the player. With memorable characters, great monsters, and some gruesome visuals throughout the game’s story, Resident Evil fans are sure to find something to love about Until Dawn.
Sometimes a screenshot just makes you feel nervous without having to do anything…
7. Alan Wake 2 (PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S)
Alan Wake 2 has two concurrent storylines happening at once. In one, author Alan Wake is trapped in a nightmare realm, with his only hope to escape being to write a dark story to change his surroundings. In another, FBI agent Saga Anderson is investigating a string of unsolved murders in the small town of Bright Falls, where she finds pages of a horror story changing the environment around her. Alan and Saga must work together — whether they know it or not — to break out of the hells they have been placed in and become the heroes they need to be.
Alan Wake 2 is a gruesome and unique story, with moving parts that make players’ heads spin. For fans of Resident Evil who enjoy the interwoven storylines throughout the different installments of the series just as much as they enjoy the characters, storytelling, worldbuilding, and monsters, Alan Wake 2 is a great game to add to your collection.
What’s up with the woods and there being freaky little stick effigies hanging from the branches?!
6. 7 Days To Die (Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Set in the apocalyptic nuclear aftermath of the Third World War, players control a survivor in Arizona as they fight to survive amongst the fallout. While hunting for food, water, and shelter, as well as being susceptible to disease and injury, players must also scavenge for supplies to aid them in fighting off the zombies that now roam the earth. With everything against you, the player’s only goal in 7 Days To Die is to survive for as long as possible in the fictional county of Navezgane.
While 7 Days To Die is another far cry from the Resident Evil franchise, the game is a survival horror game that allows players to experience the zombie apocalypse for themselves. There is also an opportunity for multiplayer gameplay through player-hosted servers, allowing multiple players to interact and communicate with each other within a single world created in that server. When games like those within the Resident Evil franchise look at what the government does in the face of the apocalypse, games like 7 Days To Die are a fun change of pace for Resident Evil fans, asking them what they would do as the average citizen in the apocalypse.
“Come at me, BRO!”
5. Days Gone (PlayStation 4, Windows)
Two years following a pandemic that turned part of the world’s population into zombie-adjacent creatures, Deacon St. John, a biker now turned post-apocalyptic bounty hunter, finds news that his wife Sarah, previously assumed dead, may be alive. Players control Deacon as they traverse the game’s interpretation of an open world, post-apocalyptic Oregon, following as the story progresses to search for his wife.
An open world game with various opportunities for players to explore the game’s interpretation of what a post-apocalyptic United States functions and looks like is already very exciting to any Resident Evil fan. With Days Gone, though, there’s so much more to love as well, such as memorable characters, fun quests, cool gear and even cooler weapons, and a storyline that keeps you hooked until the very end. As an extra bonus, Deacon rides a motorcycle that players can upgrade and repair if it becomes too damaged during their adventures, making the game have an extra level of customization for those who love really making their gameplay their own.
For the love of everything good in this world, DON’T TURN AROUND!
4. The Forest (Windows, PlayStation 4)
After surviving a horrific plane crash, former survival show host Eric LeBlanc is stranded on a forested peninsula searching for his son, Timmy. But he isn’t alone — players control Eric as they fight to survive amongst cannibalistic mutants that populate the area. With a missing son, cannibal mutants around every corner, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the crash, players must survive and explore the peninsula to solve any and all questions they have.
An interesting and truly unique aspect of The Forest is its take on the monsters that populate the game. While in the Resident Evil franchise, where zombies as well as zombie-adjacent creatures are most certainly going to kill you when you get too close, the cannibalistic mutants on the peninsula are not outright hostile towards the player-character. Whether it be in the game’s single- or multiplayer, the mutants do not always attack first, rather watching players from a distance or even attempting to communicate through effigies. This, alongside the optional conclusion of the game, offers players a lot of choices that may vary between gameplay sessions.
Oh, uh, don’t mind me, just… exploring the woods… alone… with only fire to protect me…
3. Metro Exodus (PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, Stadia, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)
It’s 2035, and Earth has been decimated by nuclear war, forcing humanity out of many uninhabitable, radiated areas and causing the creation of peaceful and hostile factions across the world. Players control Artyom, who, following the events of the game’s predecessor Metro: Last Light, has decided that he must escape the corrupt Moscow Metro to prove other humans outside of his small community have survived the war, traveling across continents on a locomotive called the Aurora to do so. The game’s story takes place over the course of one year, as players gain allies and find the truth of what is happening outside of the Moscow Metro, all while finding the true corruption of those within it — and outside of it.
If you’re a Resident Evil fan who enjoys deep lore spanning multiple games and books, Metro Exodus is a great way to insert yourself into another series with a wide-spanning storyline. Metro Exodus is the third installment of the Metro game series, which is a series based on novels by author Dmitry Glukhovsky. Characters like Artyom and his wife, Anna, are characters who appear in various games and books within the series. Alongside its vast history, Metro Exodus has multiple endings, depending on the choices of the characters. Unlike games in the Resident Evil series like Resident Evil VII: Biohazard, where there is a bad ending and the canonical ending, Metro Exodus’ choice of ending is not exactly the same. While there are both good and bad endings that depend on the choices of the player, it’s unclear if there is only one canonical ending. What’s life without a little mystery, right?
For anyone’s inner pyromaniac, this game’s got you covered!
2. Dying Light (Linux, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, macOS, Nintendo Switch)
Following the onset of a mysterious viral outbreak that has created hostile zombies in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Harran, the city has been forced to create quarantine zones for its surviving citizens. While other Global Relief Effort (GRE) agents are sent to help Harranian citizens in these quarantine zones, players control undercover GRE agent Kyle Crane as he hunts down rogue political figure Kadir "Rais" Suleiman who holds information that could lead to a cure for the outbreak.
Dying Light has players in an open world environment, allowing them to explore the urban area of Harran as they unlock parts of the city throughout the story’s progression. Aside from the main story, players are also able to complete multiple sidequests for NPCs found in various safe zones. The game heavily relies on melee weapons in combat, having over 1500 possibilities for the 100 in-game weapons through the game’s customization and crafting systems. If you’re a Resident Evil fan who loves to customize your weapon stockpile, Dying Light is certainly something to look into.
“Sir, slow down! Sir?! SIR!!!!”
1. The Last of Us Part I (Remake) (PlayStation 5, Windows)
A long awaited remake of the popular 2013 game, The Last of Us Part I remake offers the same storyline with various quality-of-life updates, such as enhanced combat, a customizable control scheme, and new gameplay additions such as permadeath mode. The game’s story follows Ellie Williams, a fourteen-year-old girl immune to the Cordyceps brain infection ravaging the world, as she is escorted across the post-apocalyptic United States by Joel Miller, a hardened survivor who lost his daughter at the beginning of the outbreak. Their travels have an end goal of getting Ellie to a hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah in order for the revolutionary militia group, known as the Fireflies, to reverse-engineer a cure from Ellie’s immunity.
The most interesting aspect of The Last of Us Part I remake is arguably the zombie-adjacent creatures that populate the game. They’re a unique, fungal take on the average zombie, and have various forms that players encounter over the course of the game. Much like the Resident Evil franchise’s various portrayals of zombies, the Infected in The Last of Us Part I remake are one of the major aspects of the game that players keep coming back to experience all over again, alongside its story, characters, and enhanced gameplay features.
I feel like a bow and arrow in the apocalypse may be the least useful weapon, but maybe that’s just me…
