For some gamers, they just want to mow down hordes of zombies with the biggest machine guns they can find in their game’s environment. For others, the real interest lies in the government conspiracies surrounding what caused the outbreak in the first place. Was it a cover-up? Experimentation gone wrong? A freak accident? They want to know! And for some others, their only question when playing zombie survival horror games is, “Do I have to do a completionist run to get the biggest, meanest machine gun I can handle?”
Whether you’re a fan of bashing in zombie brains, uncovering deep-rooted government conspiracies, or simply want to get the coolest machine gun in the game, the Resident Evil franchise has all that you could ask for and more. In the last decade, the franchise has released some of the most gruesome zombie-fighting gameplay alongside impressive storytelling chops for a gaming experience unlike any other.
Want to learn more? Follow us through the top ten most recent Resident Evil games to see which games strike your fancy!
10. Resident Evil 5 (2009)
Agent Chris Redfield, alongside his partner Sheva Alomar, have been assigned to find and apprehend Ricardo Irving, a man in possession of a dangerous bio-weapon, before he can sell it on the black market in West Africa. However, upon their arrival, Chris and Sheva find their Alpha team has been murdered and the local civilians of Kijuju have already been infected by the parasite Las Plagas. With no sign of Irving and mysterious circumstances surrounding other missing agents, Chris and Sheva are now on the hunt for Irving before he can cause any more damage.
“It was a joke, I SWEAR!”
Resident Evil 5 functions both as a single- and two-player game, allowing players to play alone as Chris or with a friend as their Sheva. Throughout the story, players can upgrade their various weapons, such as handguns, sniper rifles, and grenade launchers, and get better upgrades in a system similar to the game’s predecessor, Resident Evil 4. As players progress, they will learn more about their target Irving, the agents they formerly believed to be missing, and what it all means for Umbrella, the government corporation that has not done much good within the Resident Evil universe.
Don’t freak out, but I think there’s someone behind you two…
Throughout the entirety of the Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil 5 is unique in that it is the first game of the entire series designed for two-player gameplay. While it can be played single-player, as Sheva’s character will be controlled by the game’s AI, a major selling point of the game is the multiplayer aspect. Maybe the real friends are the zombies we mow down together on the way to victory.
Nice shot!
9. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (2009)
Taking place two years before the events of Resident Evil 4, The Darkside Chronicles follows the stories of government agency newbie Leon Kennedy and his mentor Jack Krauser. Throughout different missions, players follow these two protagonists as they attempt to uncover the mysteries surrounding the T-virus developed by the Umbrella Corporation.
I think he had a really bad smoothie, that’s all…
The Darkside Chronicles is broken up into four separate scenarios for players to go through. These scenarios all follow the personal lives of titular Resident Evil characters like Leon Kennedy, Jack Krauser, and Claire Redfield in between their major appearances in mainline games. The game also includes a short retelling of the events of Resident Evil 2 with Leon and Claire through the gameplay style of The Darkside Chronicles.
“If I stand here and look cool, the zombies can’t get me.”
Unlike many other games in the Resident Evil series, The Darkside Chronicles functions as an on-rail shooter light gun game, much like its predecessor The Umbrella Chronicles. This makes the gameplay mainly first person, which is a unique aspect of gameplay that doesn’t show up in most other Resident Evil games, which usually use third person camera angles.
8. Resident Evil: Revelations (2012)
Following the events of Resident Evil 4, BSAA agents Jill Valentine and Parker Luciani are tasked with investigating a sudden resurgence of bio-organic weapons, likely done by the bioterrorist organization II Veltro, in the Mediterranean city of Terragrigia. In addition to the BOWs, Valentine and Parker’s colleagues Chris Redfield and Jessica Sherawat have reportedly gone missing in the city as well.
I got your back!
Resident Evil: Revelations has players play through multiple scenarios, called episodes, as they try to solve the mysteries implemented through the game’s plot. Most of these scenarios have players controlling Jill Valentine as they explore a ghost ship. All episodes have players solving various puzzles, defeating bosses, and other objectives to proceed through the story.
“Take that!”
After games like Resident Evil 5, which were more focused on fast-paced combat and action, Revelations stands as Capcom’s attempt at re-emphasizing the survival horror gameplay aspects that many old-school Resident Evil fans initially loved about the series from the beginning. The game was also primarily made to be played on the Nintendo 3DS, and was the first game outside of Japan to support the Circle Pad Pro, an accessory that gave the small handheld a grip resembling that of console controllers. For many players, having that kind of grip is important to games like Resident Evil, as it more closely resembled controls from the console games.
7. Resident Evil 6 (2012)
Resident Evil 6 is a very large story compared to other games in the series. The game follows three different storylines, which all interweave with each other over the course of the game, with three separate duos working alongside and against each other. These duos all have separate objectives, all of which are completed by the player as the game progresses.
Every man and woman for themselves!
Sherry Birkin, Raccoon City survivor saved by Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, teams up with Jake Muller, son of bio-terrorist Albert Wesker, in an attempt to flee the country in order to create a new vaccine for the C-virus now plaguing the United States. Chris Refield and Piers Nivans, the only survivors of a C-virus attack supposedly done by Ada Wong, regroup and make a new team of BSAA agents, with Chris bloodthirsty for revenge against Ada for what she did to his previous team. Leon Kennedy and Helena Harper, after surviving a C-virus attack on the United States president, chase the culprit to Lanshiang, China after faking their deaths.
Watch where you’re aiming that thing, man!
Resident Evil 6 is unique in the story itself. While there has been heavy criticism in how many games in the Resident Evil series no longer act as survival horror like previous games in the franchise, the various storylines and intrigue throughout the interwoven conflicts allow for unique and fascinating storytelling formerly unseen within the franchise.
Is it just me, or does this feel like it’s going to turn out to be a commercial?
6. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (2015)
Taking place between Resident Evil 5 and 6, Revelations 2 returns Claire Redfield as the player-character. After being attacked by unknown assailants, Claire and the daughter of one of her co-workers have been stranded on a deserted island in the Baltic Sea. The story goes between the past and present, telling details of the story through various episodes.
“Is holding this light helpful? I don’t feel like it’s very helpful…”
Revelations 2 is a single- and two-player game, as players go through the story and solve puzzles together as different duos throughout the storyline. With Claire’s story, playerscontrol Claire and Moira, daughter of one of Claire’s co-workers, to escape the deserted island in the Baltic Sea. The other storyline of the game follows Barry, father of Moira, and Natalia Korda, a young girl with supernatural abilities, as they seek out what happened to Moira six months prior while being hunted down by Alex Wesker, “sister” of Albert Wesker.
That new skincare routine didn’t work out too well, huh, Alex?
Throughout the game, players of Revelations 2 may come to one of two endings, the canonical ending and the bad ending. This is a rare occurrence in Resident Evil games, as most of them have only one ending that the game pushes players towards throughout the story and gameplay.
5. Resident Evil VII: Biohazard (2017)
In the wise words of Jack Baker, “Welcome to the family!”
After the mysterious disappearance of his wife Mia three years prior to the game’s start, Ethan Winters travels to a dilapidated plantation in Louisiana after finding evidence of her being there. While he finds Mia in the guest house, Ethan finds himself in more dire circumstances, suddenly tasked to escape with his life against the deranged and infected Baker family.
Ethan’s method of research isn’t too far from mine!
Once players enter the plantation at the beginning of the story, the game has them running throughout the layout of the land in order to solve puzzles, defeat the various members of the Baker family, and escape from the plantation. The game’s key mechanic is exploration, enforcing players to run throughout different parts of the plantation various times for various puzzles and boss battles.
For some players, this dinner table may feel like you’re right back at home!
After action-packed mainline games like Resident Evil 5 and 6, Biohazard is Capcom’s first mainline game to return to the series’ survival horror roots. The game is also the first mainline game of the series to be entirely first-person, not allowing for an over-the-shoulder third person perspective like many other Resident Evil games since Resident Evil 4. Like Revelations 2, however, there is also an aspect of getting different endings, depending on who players choose to cure towards the end of the game, though there is still only one canonical ending to the game’s story.
“Say hello to my little friend!”
4. Resident Evil 2 Remake (2019)
It’s 1998, and it’s Leon Kennedy’s first day as a police officer in Raccoon City. Once he arrives in the city with Claire Redfield, a young woman searching for her missing brother, they both find Raccoon City ravaged by zombies infected by the city’s contaminated water supply. Leon and Claire end up at the city’s police station, hoping to find answers as to what happened before their arrival.
BOOM, headshot!
The Resident Evil 2 Remake allows players to play through the stories of Leon and Claire, who are both exploring Raccoon City in tandem with one another in separate areas throughout the game. With Leon, players are tasked with finding an underground escape from the police station. In Claire’s story, aside from escaping the police station, players also become the impromptu protector and escort for a young girl named Sherry Birkin, adding another life to ensure is safe as they venture through these hostile environments.
“If you wanna get to her, you’ll have to get through me first!”
While the Resident Evil series has done remakes of previous games before, the Resident Evil 2 Remake is special in that it isn’t just a simple remake of preexisting controls and story. Rather, along with its photorealistic graphics now possible with modern technology, this remake uses a control scheme similar to Resident Evil VII: Biohazard for more intuitive gameplay. This not only helps new fans of the series brought in through the seventh game, but makes the game feel new to fans of the original Resident Evil 2 as well.
3. Resident Evil 3 Remake (2020)
What self-help mantras do you think Jill tells herself in the mirror while surviving the zombie apocalypse?
Twenty-four hours prior to the events of Resident Evil 2, Raccoon City has fallen victim to the T-virus, secretly developed by the Umbrella Corporation and contaminating the water supply. Jill Valentine, a member of the city’s Special Tactics And Rescue Service, is suddenly attacked by a bio-weapon known as the Nemesis T-Type, programmed by the Umbrella Corporation to kill her and any other surviving members of S.T.A.R.S. After narrowly escaping the monster, she and mercenary Carlos Oliveira are thrust into searching for a vaccine for the infected populace and escaping the city.
Throughout the game, players control both Jill and Carlos as they adventure through Raccoon City, solving puzzles and gaining access to different areas over time. As players proceed through the storyline, the Nemesis T-Type will pursue and fight the player during key moments of the game’s story, becoming stronger and more mutated over the course of its encounters with the player.
Et tu, brute?
Similar to the Resident Evil 2 Remake, the Resident Evil 3 Remake also rearranges parts of the story in order for it to flow better for a more focused experience. The game also excluded some features from the original game, which was a controversial move for fans of the original. However, after the game is completed on the most difficult setting for the first time, players are able to unlock two additional game modes. These game modes include aspects such as disabling the autosave feature, rearranging item locations, making opponents stronger and therefore more difficult for players to defeat, and changing certain encounters that happen throughout the game.
“I just wanted a donut!”
2. Resident Evil Village (2021)
Taking place after the canonical ending of Resident Evil VII: Biohazard, Ethan Winters and his six-month-old daughter Rosemary are being transported to safety by Chris Redfield and his squad before their transport is suddenly attacked. After Ethan finds his daughter missing, he must explore a small, desolate Romanian village to find her and the reason she was taken in the first place.
“We’re so glad you could join us…”
Players once again control Ethan Winters as they explore the village and its outskirts, fighting against various mutated creatures and solving the mystery of why Rosemary was taken. The game mainly enforces players to explore the homes of the four mutated lords that rule over the land under the guide of Mother Miranda, a witchy cult leader type who is responsible for having taken Rosemary.
Don’t let her pretty face fool you, Mother Miranda wants nothing but the worst for you…
Resident Evil Village functions much like Biohazard, using the first-person perspective as players proceed through the game as Ethan. While Village is much more action-based than its predecessor, Village keeps exploration as a key element of the game’s functionality and puzzle solving.
Not the face, NOT THE FACE!
1. Resident Evil 4 Remake (2023)
“Another zombie apocalypse that I have to fight through alone? You’ve gotta be kidding me…”
After the Raccoon City incident in Resident Evil 2, Leon Kennedy has become a trusted government agent now assigned to find President Graham’s missing daughter, Ashley, in a derelict village in rural Spain. Upon his arrival, he finds that Ashley has been captured by the Los Illuminados cult, who control the village and its people through the Plagas parasite, throwing one of many wrenches into his original assignment.
This kind of feels like that one “Dark Kermit” meme, doesn’t it?
As Leon, players are tasked with exploring the village, solving puzzles, finding Ashley, and escorting her out of rural Spain. This simple extraction plan becomes more complicated as players discover more about the village, the cult, and the Plaga, as they become entrenched within the mystery as they await their transport out of the country.
I think this is what happens when you have an allergic reaction to your eye makeup…
The Resident Evil 4 Remake, like the other remakes previously mentioned on this list, expands upon the gaming experience of the original while making minor changes to its control scheme and story. As compared to the original game, Resident Evil 4’s remake changed some of the aspects of Ashley’s AI function, giving her a simpler health system and giving players the ability to order her to stay close or far when traveling together. The remake also introduces a new parrying mechanic, allowing players to block, counter, and kill fallen enemies with Leon’s knife.
Does this look like a fair fight to you? Asking for a friend…
