Survive The Zombie Apocalypse: A Guide To Playing The Resident Evil Games In Order!

Resident Evil Games In Order: The Resident Evil brand has amassed a lengthy and intricate chronology after decades of fresh releases. Fortunately, it isn’t necessary to play any one entry, which is good for the series as a whole.

The majority of Resident Evil games are designed to be unique adventures with a few nods to earlier installments to emphasize their common world and cast of characters.

Resident Evil 5 is best appreciated if you are familiar with Chris Redfield and Albert Wesker’s past, but you may still enjoy it as corny, cooperative action-horror fun.

Because of this, there is currently a rare circumstance in which new Resident Evil games advance the plot of the series while remaking older games with little regard for plot inconsistencies.

However, some fans have taken pleasure in keeping track of all the groups, infections, and ancillary storylines that have emerged throughout time. This is no easy undertaking given that over twenty Resident Evil games have been released since the series debut, but many people still attempt it.

It’s fascinating to watch the turmoil spiral out of control, and you never know when anything from one game will apply to another. Each succeeding numbered entry can be skipped by those who only want to play the series’ most significant games, but there always seems to be a bit more backstory connecting the bigger games.

The Classic Era

Resident Evil Zero is still the first game in the timeline of the series, even though most people wouldn’t choose it as a starting point for the franchise. It includes Billy Coen, a prisoner who only appears in Resident Evil 0, and Rebecca Chambers, Chris Redfield’s partner in his Resident Evil 1 campaign.

There is lore to be learned from this entry, but because it directly precedes Resident Evil 1 and makes references to later games, newbies may want to return to it after establishing their bearings. The franchise’s official start is now the 2002 remake of Resident Evil 1, and it is still relevant today.

After a few months, players can access the Raccoon City incident from Resident Evil 2 and 3: Nemesis. As Resident Evil 3 begins days before 2 but concludes shortly after 2, their chronology is convoluted.

The Resident Evil Outbreak games, which emphasize multiplayer, are also set during this catastrophe, and The Umbrella Chronicles’ remake of Resident Evil 0, 1, and 3 as light gun games furthers the confusion.

It’s advisable to keep playing the remakes in numbered sequences and to ignore the spin-offs because Resident Evil 3 effectively signals the conclusion of this zombie pandemic. After Raccoon City is destroyed, another spin-off named Resident Evil Survivor occurs, but it is also unimportant.

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Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, which resurrects Chris Redfield and Claire Redfield from RE1 and RE2, is crucial to the plot. Code: Veronica establishes key plot hooks for the next titles and represents the end of the classic era.

The Action Era

Chris’ journey will have to wait, though, since Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil 2 returns in Resident Evil 4 as a federal agent. Except for introducing the Las Plagas parasite and reintroducing Leon to the action, this game, which takes place six years after the Raccoon City catastrophe, essentially stands on its own.

Although Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles was released four years after Resident Evil 4, it serves as both a retelling and an interquel that explains what Leon was up to between RE2 and RE4. Its main goal, it seems, is to better introduce the antagonist Jack Krauser.

The timeline is cluttered by all of these tangential spin-offs that just slightly advance the plot, but beyond this point, everything becomes clearer. Resident Evil: Revelations investigates what Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, the main characters from the first game, are up to some time after RE4.

Five years after Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 5 continues this plot and wraps up the Albert Wesker arc that started in Resident Evil 1. In Resident Evil: Revelations 2, a few survivors, including Claire Redfield and fan favorite Barry Burton, go on their adventure with a new Wesker family member.

Resident Evil 6 puts Leon, Chris, and a host of other new and old characters together for a global zombie-shooting adventure to wrap up this particular Resident Evil era.

Completing every Resident Evil game in chronological order before #ResidentEvil4Remake

Resident Evil 0 done

For some reason, I never saw the end screen, maybe I clicked too fast. Probably a good job because this was my first time beating 0, so the time was probably trash pic.twitter.com/1w8voJ9FbQ

— David Coulson | The Click (@ItzDoodles) January 3, 2023

The Modern Era

Over the years, more spin-offs have been released, but they typically don’t fit into the narrative. Examples include Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Umbrella Corps, Resident Evil: Resistance, and Resident Evil Re: Verse.

It may even be stated that some games, like Resident Evil Gaiden and Resident Evil Survivor 2 – Code: Veronica, neglect the main plot. The two most recent mainstream Resident Evil games and their DLC are all that are left. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a soft reboot for the series that introduces Ethan Winters.

Despite this, the game still shows Chris Redfield’s growth and makes a few subtle allusions to the evolution of anti-bioweapon measures. The Its Not a Hero and End of Zoe DLC episodes tie up certain loose ends from the original game and prepare the player for the present conclusion of the franchise.

The game is very careful to inform the player that Resident Evil Village is the culmination of Ethan Winters’ narrative. Three years after RE7, it continues to advance the plot of the setting while also bringing about fresh insights that reverberate throughout the whole series.

Players can claim to have arrived at the current furthest point in the Resident Evil timeline once they finish the Shadows of Rose DLC campaign, which takes place after the main game.

Although there is a lot of variation in the plot and gameplay between games, the excellence of the originals and the additions made by the remakes have kept fans interested in the horror genre despite its constant evolution.