Resident Evil has become one of the most famous horror game series, with more than 20 releases. And because there are soo many of them, it is often difficult to decide which ones are the best. This guide will Rank all Resident Evil games from best to worst based on our experiences with them.
All Resident Evil Games (Ranked, from Best to Worst)
Since Capcom released the first Resident Evil game back in 1996, the series has sprawled into something massive and has fans worldwide.
In the past 16 years, a total of 25 games have been released across different platforms, including 12 mainstream titles, and the rest are spinoffs.
We’ll be ranking all of them below from Best to Worst and mention the release dates and platforms for each title if you want to check them out yourself.
1. Resident Evil 4
Release Date: January 11, 2005
Platform: PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, GameCube, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Mobile, Oculus Quest 2.
Resident Evil 4 is considered the best game in the series by almost everybody, including us. The game doesn’t lack anything as it delivers an excellent story, a creepy setting, and genre-defining gameplay mechanics. Fans of the series cannot wait for Capcom to announce a remake of RE 4.
You control Special Agent Leon S. Kennedy as he ventures to Spain searching for the President’s daughter and fights mind-controlling parasites. Due to the game’s success, it has been ported over to a dozen different platforms.
2. Resident Evil 2 Remake
Release Date: January 25, 2019
Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S & X
As the second game in the series was very well received, Capcom decided to do a complete remake of the game and ended up making something special. RE 2 Remake offers everything the original game offered, but with today’s standards.
The updated visuals and mechanics breathe new life into the game and make it extremely fun to revisit. We have only placed this title above the original one because playing this version makes more sense and offers you a better experience than the original release.
3. Resident Evil Remake
Release Date: March 22, 2002
Platform: PC, PlayStation 3 / 4 , Nintendo Switch, Game Cube, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One.
Like the 2nd game, the OG Resident Evil got a remake in 2002. It instantly became a fan favorite as they fixed all of the original release’s glitches and bugs, tweaked some of the mechanics, and revamped the visuals.
Capcom added a lot of new weapons, new motion capture animations, and support for different control mappings as well. This turned out to be an excellent game and remake worthy of being placed in the top 3 of our list.
4. Resident Evil 2 (Original)
Release Date: January 21, 1998
Platform: PC, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Sega Dreamcast
RE 2 was released in 1998, and it picked up the story 2 months after the original game’s events. This time around, you could play as 2 different characters (Leon S. Kennedy & Clair Redfield). These characters had to escape from Raccoon City while fighting hordes of infected and trying to find Clair’s brother.
Many fans suggest that this game was better than the first one as it expanded on those ideas, ultimately offering a better experience, and we also share that belief, which is why we’ve placed RE 2 higher on our list.
5. Resident Evil Village
Release Date: May 7, 2021
Platform: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X & S, Google Stadia.
Resident Evil Village is the latest entry in the long-running RE franchise where Ethan Winters has to go looking for his daughter, who has been kidnapped. The game was well-received on all platforms and got very good reviews.
We also had a blast finishing the game as it offered some thrilling moments, decent puzzles and collectibles, and memorable encounters, namely the one that happens in the basement. RE Village concludes Ethan Winter’s story, which started in RE Biohazard.
6. Resident Evil Biohazard
Release Date: January 24, 2017
Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Amazon Luna, Google Stadia.
RE Biohazard introduced Ethan Winters to us and went for a First-Person approach. This game ticked a lot of the right boxes and was a fun experience overall but lacked interesting boss fights, and the setting was not all that interesting, which is why it is slightly lower on our list.
Ethan goes to Louisiana to look for his wife, who was missing and presumed dead for many years. The game pits you against a crazy, man-eating family that parasites had infected.
7. Resident Evil (Original)
Release Date: March 22, 1996
Platform: PlayStation 1/3, PC, PSP, Nintendo DS, Sega Saturn.
This is where it all began. In 1996, Capcom introduced the world to the crazy world of Resident Evil, where special agents and cops had to fight against a spreading parasite. It is one of the most genre-defining games of its time, making it even more memorable.
If you want to try it out now, we suggest opting for the Remake version as it is more ironed out and offers better visuals.
8. Resident Evil 3 Remake
Release Date:
Platform:
This remake of the 3rd Resident Evil was released alongside the RE 2 remake. It was basically the same game with updated visuals. Some cuts to the game to make it feel more connected, and the ability to dodge enemy attacks was also introduced. It was still a short game like the original, so it is down here on our list.
9. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Release Date: September 22, 1999
Platform: PC, PlayStation 1 / 4, PSP, GameCube, Sega Dreamcast
Jill Valentine returns to RE in the 3rd installment, where she must defeat Nemesis and escape Raccoon City. The events of RE 3 tie into RE 2 but the gameplay style here is different, deviating from survival-focused to action-focused.
This game is largely set in outdoor spaces and is shorter than all previous entries in the series, which was something that we didn’t like, making us place this game at #9 on our list.
10. Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Release Date: February 3, 2000
Platform: Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 2 / 3 / 4, GameCube. Xbox 360
Resident Evil Code Veronica was the first game in the franchise to be released on a platform other than the PlayStation and marked the return of Clay Redfield, who is still looking for her brother, Chris.
Her brother is a playable character in the latter half of this game, and the story on offer here is quite interesting. RE Code Veronica offers a creepy environment, balanced action, and survival bits and is a very decent game.
11. Resident Evil 0
Release Date: November 12, 2002
Platform: PC, PlayStation 3 / 4, GameCube, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 / One
Resident Evil 0 was released as a prequel to the original Resident Evil. You play as 2 members of the STARS Bravo Team ( Criminal Billy Coen & Rebecca Chambers) as they venture through an umbrella facility and fight for their lives. This solid game was mostly met with positive feedback from media outlets and fans.
Players, however, did complain about the bad inventory system that was introduced to the game with this title.
12. Resident Evil Revelations
Release Date: January 26, 2012
Platform: PC, PS 3 / 4, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360 / One, Wii U.
Resident Evil Revelations was originally released on the Nintendo 3DS, featuring Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. You had to go up against a group of terrorists who planned to release the deadly virus into the ocean.
This game saw the return of more survival-focused gameplay mechanics such as a limited health bar, running speeds, and ammunition, making each choice a bit more critical. Overall the game was well received.
13. Resident Evil 5
Release Date: March 5, 2009
Platform: PC, PS 3 / 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Mobile
Resident Evil 5 was not that well-received by fans of the series. It prioritizes a lot on action rather than survival, and the gameplay on offer was quite stale and uninteresting. You play as Chris Redfield and venture to Africa to stop the sale of bio-mutant weapons and defeat parasites.
14. Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
Release Date: November 13, 2007
Platform: Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3
RE Umbrella Chronicles was the first game in the series to be released as a rail shooter and was exclusive to the Nintendo Wii. The game shows you the events of previous games from a different perspective and sheds more light on why Umbrella Corp did what it did.
The game was met with decent reviews and was considered a good exclusive for the Wii, having an adequate length and engaging gameplay.
15. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Release Date: November 17, 2009
Platform: Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3
Another on-rails shooter released exclusively for the Wii, RE The Darkside Chronicles, has you playing as Leon S. Kennedy, 4 years after the events of the previous mainstream games.
The audience generally liked the game, but it was nowhere near as good as the original Chronicles. We also think the game had a lot of potential, but it was not as good as its prequel.
16. Resident Evil Revelations 2
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Platform: PlayStation 3 / 4, Xbox One, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch and PC.
You play as Clair Redfield once again as she and some of her friends are taken to an island, and now they must escape.
The game does offer a lot of improvements in terms of the balance between action and survival aspects, better visuals, and adjustments to the pacing of the game. But it still gets very repetitive after a while, so we’ve placed it here on our list.
17. Resident Evil 6
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Platform: PC, PS 3 / 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One.
Resident Evil 6 is the sixth mainstream entry in the franchise, where you play 4 different characters, and they all have interconnected stories. The game feels more like an action game and less like a survival game, so not many people, including us, liked it.
The idea behind the interconnected stories is quite ambitious, but they failed to deliver on it, and it ended up being a mediocre game at best.
18. Resident Evil Gaiden
Release Date: December 14, 2001
Platform: GameBoy Color
Resident Evil Gaiden was released for the GameBoy Color and switches from the traditional first-person view to the Top-Down view. There’s nothing much to say about it. It’s a fun exclusive if you really want to play some RE on your GameBoy Color.
19. Resident Evil Outbreak
Release Date: December 11, 2003
Platform: PlayStation 2
Resident Evil Outbreak is a spinoff consisting of 5 short episodic adventures where you navigate through Raccoon City after the events of the first 3 mainstream games.
The game does support Coop. However, it doesn’t let you talk with your partner, which greatly reduces the amount of fun you can have with a buddy. The game doesn’t offer anything new to the table and is just like many other titles released in the series, making it another average spinoff.
20. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D
Release Date: June 2, 2011
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
RE The Mercenaries 3D was the first Nintendo 3DS exclusive Capcom released. The devs built an entire spinoff based on a mode you can play in the main games. In this mode, players can play as their favorite characters and take on waves upon waves of enemies.
This version had 8 playable characters and was liked greatly for its gameplay and design choices. It is considered one of the better spinoffs in the series.
21. Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
Release Date: February 7, 2006
Platform: Nintendo DS.
This spinoff was released on the 10th anniversary of the RE franchise. It was released as a DS exclusive by modifying the original game and making it more suitable for the dual screens of a Nintendo DS.
The game, however, couldn’t get that much attention as the original game’s mechanics were now considered dated, and most of the scares didn’t pack the same punch because of the hardware and screen limitations of the DS.
22. Resident Evil: Dead Aim
Release Date: February 13, 2003
Platform: PlayStation 2
This is the first spinoff Resident Evil game where Capcom has mixed First & Third Person elements. This entry in the “ Gun Survivor” mini-series improves a lot, especially in the graphical department and gameplay mechanics.
The game does feel quite corny based on the weirdly written dialogue and overall story.
23. Resident Evil: Resistance
Release Date: April 3, 2020
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation
Resident Evil Resistance is a multiplayer spinoff entry where players take control of normal civilians and try to survive against another player who can set up traps, launch other deadly entities onto the players and prevent them from leaving.
The civilians are tasked to escape the area and dodge the mastermind. While the concept is quite interesting, games like Dead by Daylight and Friday the 13th execute it much better. This game got mediocre reception at launch, and we found it extremely boring after just a few games.
24. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Release Date: March 20, 2012
Platform: PC, PlayStation3, Xbox 360
This spinoff was a collaboration between Capcom and Slant Six Games. This game was made as a fun project and had a “non-canon story where different characters, settings, and situations were presented, and it got negative reviews.
The smartness of the AI, enemy designs, and overall gameplay were also criticized for being too wonky, making it one of the least favorite games in the entirety of the series, only being left behind by 1 other game, which would be the final and least liked game in the RE series.
25. Umbrella Corps
Release Date: June 21, 2016
Platform: PC, PlayStation 4
The worst game in the Resident Evil series would be the Umbrella Corps multiplayer-only spinoff, which was a complete train-wreck. The game allows you to pick between 2 mercenary groups and play Coop with other players to fight off hordes of zombies.
Fans of the survival horror game series flamed the game for not feeling like it belonged to the RE series, and it died pretty quickly after release. Umbrella Corps turned out to be a complete flop and, as such, is placed at the very end, marked as the worst game in the entire series.
Conclusion
We hope that the list we’ve put together will help you decide which Resident Evil games you want to try for yourself and which ones might best suit you. Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 2 Remake are our most liked games from the entire franchise.
For more fun Tier Lists, Patch Notes, and game guides, keep visiting BRGeeks.
I was expecting The Quarry to be more graphic and horror like Resident Evil, after doing 2 playthroughs of The Quarry it’s not exactly horror material imo. It has gameplay similar to Until Dawn but it’s not even scary and hardly any jump scares.
I did 2 playthroughs of The Quarry without any bugs or crashes, on my 3rd playthrough it crashes everytime i use Death Rewind. Even if i load my save because it starts out just before the character dies.