Ranking the Mainline Resident Evil Games - Article
by Mark Nielsen , posted 5 hours ago / 614 Views
There are some series out there where every game is a legendary hit; some where only one stands apart, far above the rest; and then there are series like Resident Evil, which are placed somewhere in-between. It has a rich history, with many ups and downs, and has practically become synonymous with REmakes, for good reason. While we might be a bit early for October, today we’ll be talking a look at every mainline entry in the series – and, in the case of Resident Evil 1-3, specifically the Remake versions - ranking them as overall titles, as well as accessing them on the parameters of Horror, Gameplay, and Story. Let’s dive right in, stranger.
Resident Evil 5
When you’re ranking a well-known, iconic series, best to “worst” doesn’t always necessarily have to mean the lowest placed game is a bad one, but in the case of Resident Evil 5 it certainly has many elements dragging it in that direction. Admittedly I only had the “pleasure” of playing it once, and it actually started out quite decent in the first half, with good pacing and fairly satisfying combat, but then things started to fall apart and issues starting shining through. The inventory size is straight up deplorable, the story is uninteresting, the gameplay gets fairly repetitive, and there are at least two awful boss fights along the way, including one that quite literally cannot be beaten on the Steam version unless you cap your framerate. Now that’s quality for you. So, when the curtain ultimately drops on Chris’s attempt at following Leon’s success, the only redeeming quality that’s really left is that it started out decently fun and left me with a feeling of “I guess it could have been worse”.
Horror: ★★
Gameplay: ★★★
Story: ★★
Resident Evil 6
It might be a hot take to state that, after Resident Evil 5, we're already out of the “bad game” territory for this series and moving on to the decently good entries. In fact, the biggest flaw for Resident Evil 6 was cutting its subtitle “Resident Evil 6: Only Play Leon and Ada’s Chapters”. Admittedly the story is a bit spaghetti this time around, but it does give you the ability to play only the good(-ish) parts. Meanwhile, the gameplay and general design is leagues above Resident Evil 5. And then there’s the fact that the online, in contrast with Resident Evil 5, is still playable without major issues on Steam and it’s actually quite fun to team up with random players joining your run as your partner throughout the game. Combined with the general quality of the action, I was quite honestly tempted to place it higher than the next game on the list, but since I ultimately decided against it you can keep your torches and pitchforks for another time.
Horror: ★★
Gameplay: ★★★★
Story: ★★★
Resident Evil
You can’t say Resident Evil without Resident Evil (trust me I’ve tested it). The game that started it all, plus its equally iconic remake, are undeniably classics among the classics. Even if it’s far from the top spot on this list, it is arguably the biggest “must-play” for modern horror fans, so that they can experience one of the games that started it all. It’s the only remake to retain the original tank controls and as much as that contributes to its low placement on the list, they also have a certain charm. Its age is both its strength and its weakness; there’s no denying the gameplay has come a long way since the original title, and it can be a bit obtuse at times, but that along with the campy voice acting & lines are also part of what makes it fun to experience, and all of that shouldn’t be disregarded by any means. It’s also one of the finer games in the series when it comes to puzzles, which also counts for something.
Horror: ★★★★
Gameplay: ★★★
Story: ★★★
Resident Evil 3
Controversial as it might sound to some ears, the next three games were some of the closest choices on the list for me.
The yin to Resident Evil 2’s yang, or perhaps the other way around, Resident Evil 3 is one of those entries that screams tightly packed action the most, and at least in my eyes that’s a strength rather than a weakness. It does what it sets out to do with excellent success: the combat and general gameplay flows, the cinematics are gorgeous, and the story - while less memorable than the games that came both before and after - is still fine.
It also has the advantage of being many, many times more enjoyable to play on Hardcore than its sequel, because you actually have the ammo to fight with, rather than having to run a large percent of the time. You still can’t be careless, but it strikes that great balance between tough and fair that adds to your enjoyment, making it perhaps the best short action horror game out there and one of the best games that can be beaten in less than 10 hours in general.
Horror: ★★★½
Gameplay: ★★★★½
Story: ★★★½
Resident Evil Village
Village is a tricky game to place in the overall pantheon of the series. It took the reinvention of Resident Evil 7 and tried somewhat to mix it with elements from Resident Evil 4, with an increased focus on action and how it's structured, but then it also threw werewolves into the mix because Capcom said “fuck it, werewolves are cool”. The results were quite positive: it retains at least some of the genuinely scary elements of Resident Evil 7 and cranks the gameplay way up to where you could get hooked on that alone, but where it perhaps falls a bit short compared to the games even higher on this list is how much of a lasting impression it makes. It’s extremely engaging while you play it, and worth playing more than once, but it’s not quite a game that'll have you strongly attached to its characters or thinking back on it with goosebumps.
Horror: ★★★★
Gameplay: ★★★★
Story: ★★★½
Resident Evil 2
Now, this is where those torches and pitchforks might have to come out after all, depending on who you ask, because it’s not rare to hear Resident Evil 2 praised as the greatest game in the series. However, in my view, while we’ve certainly entered the category of amazing titles now, there’s still a noticeable distance from here to the top. Despite being the second title, Resident Evil 2 is perhaps even more central to the series as a whole: its story, the introduction of the series' best character(s) (let’s not kid ourselves) and, perhaps in the case of both the remake and the original, how strongly it laid the foundation for incredible games to come. It introduced the idea of an iconic recurring enemy, improved the gameplay and puzzles, has two characters that you actually want to play as, and of course Racoon City and its little incident.
But again, if we have to point out weaknesses, in my humble opinion: Hardcore mode just isn’t particularly fun in this one, which is a damn shame since that classic experience of saving with Ink Ribbons actually is. It’s still worth experiencing once for its sheer brutality, and I can certainly respect that dread of having to run rather than fight at times, but with extremely limited resources and so many enemies to run past, it can end up feeling more like trying to game the game than actually play it.
Horror: ★★★★
Gameplay: ★★★★
Story: ★★★★½
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Step back to the year 2017, when Resident Evil had sort of left the public eye, going without a truly great entry for over a decade, and what does Capcom do? Go back to its roots? No, that would come later. First, Capcom reinvented the wheel completely. Resident Evil 7 is bold, baffling, and extremely horrifying. It went from third to first person, became darker than ever before, and started over with completely new characters. Somehow it not only worked but became one of the series' absolute best titles. It might not have quite the same adrenaline filled action of the three games that came before on this list, but when it scares you - honest to God scares you - enough to get that same adrenaline going then it doesn’t need so much action. It even brought back the “mansion unlocked little by little” approach of the earlier games, and had a much stronger focus on story with how the family is interwoven into your progress.
Frankly, Resident Evil 7 was an incredible game, and it would take some truly exceptional titles to top this one. And yet we still have two…
Horror: ★★★★★
Gameplay: ★★★½
Story: ★★★★½
Resident Evil 4 & Resident Evil 4
I believe I’ve used the word classic a couple of times already in this ranking of the de facto classic horror series, but I don’t think we can quite cover this entry without throwing it out there again. Classic. There.
Resident Evil 4 is legendary for a reason, and both versions (more if we count the Wii version separately) make for an exceptional game in their own way. One is campy, iconic, and still a joy to play today; the other is deeper, more gorgeous looking, and turns that gameplay dial up to 11. And luckily, they both feature Leon Kennedy and his beautiful hair, so really, how could you go wrong? It would be wrong to claim that either version is perfect; they each have their strengths and weaknesses, but they also both have enough going for them that it’s hard not to forgive the flaws and just enjoy this eternal piece of video game history.
It’s always bingo time somewhere.
Horror: ★★★★
Gameplay: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★½
Resident Evil Requiem
I know, I know. It’s crazy to say that Resident Evil 4 has been dethroned by a game that only just came out this year, but what can I say other than "Capcom did it". The developers went all-in, took damn near everything players could possibly have asked for, threw it in the pot, stirred thoroughly, and served up something I don’t think anybody could have expected just a few years back. It somehow brings back everything people missed from earlier entries and preserved everything Capcom has done right since.
It’s the helpless horror of Resident Evil 7, combined with combat that is somehow greater than anything the remakes managed to offer.
It’s a realistic evolution of the slick, confident Leon of Resident Evil 4, grown more serious with years, combined with the same narrative weight as Resident Evil 2.
While it would always have been impossible to satisfy everyone, the juxtaposition of two separate protagonists representing two different kinds of game was quite simply ingenious, and even with all these separate elements it manages to nail nearly every one of them and bring us an epic conclusion to an era that Resident Evil 6 could only have dreamed off. The only thing you could possibly blame it for is the unnecessary hinting at a sequel, because we don’t need to look ahead right now, this game right here is everything the series' 30-year history has been leading towards, and it’s frankly hard to see how Capcom will be able to top it again - though it's very welcome to try.
Horror: ★★★★★
Gameplay: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★½
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Are Zero and Code Veronica not considered mainline entries?
Code Veronica noticably doesn't occupy a numbered spot, 0 you could of course argue does. But yeah 1-9 is arguably not completely equivelant to all mainline games.
having RE:remake that low is blasphemy
It just doesn't play as well as the games that came after tbh but sure I'm aware it would be controversial.
My sister played all Resident Evil main games and just finished Requiem, she said it is a great game (on par with Village) but not better at all than RE4.
