15 Best Resident Evil Games Ranked

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Resident Evil is one of the most popular and longest-running survival horror series out there. Each game changes up the formula a little bit in its own way, but they all have a few things in common. When it comes to these ranked Resident Evil games, you always play a badass survivor fighting their way through infected monsters, there are always a few puzzles, and there are never enough bullets.

Now, with Resident Evil: Village hot off the presses, there’s never been a better time to take a look back at the series as a whole. That’s why we decided to make this list of Resident Evil games ranked!

Keep in mind that we won’t be able to include every game, however. A list of all Resident Evil games ranked would have to include a Game Boy Color game, over a dozen mobile games, and even a few Pachinko games (if you want to get technical). That seems like overkill. This list will be composed of what we consider to be the major titles in the series, including all numbered titles and a few of the more popular side stories. 

Resident Evil Games Ranked

Are you ready to expose the Umbrella Corporation? It’s time to list the best Resident Evil games ranked!

15. Resident Evil 6

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: October 2, 2012

Often considered a massive misstep in the series, Resident Evil 6 is frequently considered a breaking point in the franchise. The series had been growing progressively more action-focused for a while, especially with Resident Evil 4 and 5. This came to a head in 6 when Capcom abandoned all survival horror elements entirely in favor of a straight up-and-down action game — and a mediocre one at that.

There were the seeds of a few good ideas floating around in RE6. Playing as multiple protagonists from past games and following separate side stories in whichever order you chose was pretty cool. Ultimately, however, anything good about this game was lost in its complete abuse of cutscenes, forgettable story, and its utter lack of survival or horror-based gameplay.

14. Resident Evil: Revelations 2

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: February 24, 2015

Next up on our list is Capcom’s attempt at making an episodic survival horror spin-off. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is the sequel to Resident Evil: Revelations. The timeline placement for these is a little tricky. The first Revelations is set between Resident Evil 4 and 5, while Revelations 2 is set between 5 and 6.

You play Claire Redfield and Barry Burton as they are kidnapped and taken to an island in the Baltic Sea where they’re attacked by creatures called the “Afflicted.” The story is decent, and co-op mode is a nice touch. Unfortunately, it felt like an old game even when it first came out, and it isn’t getting any better with age.

13. Resident Evil

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo DS
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: March 22, 1996

Credit where credit is due — Resident Evil redefined survival horror. It, along with Silent Hill, shaped the direction that the genre would take as games pivoted to 3D rendered graphics in the mid-to-late 90s. The visuals may look silly now, but they were ahead of their time.

You play either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, both of whom are members of an elite task force known as STARS. They become trapped in a mansion infested with brain-munchin’ zombies and have to fight their way through. It was cool at the time, but the terrible voice acting and locked camera angles make it a trial to play now. There’s also a much better way to experience this story these days…

12. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PlayStation, Dreamcast, GameCube
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: September 22, 1999

The third title in the series follows Jill Valentine as she attempts to escape Racoon City after the events of the first game and roughly at the same time as the events of RE2. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is actually a pretty decent game. Nemesis is one of the best villains in the series, and there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Jill.

Unfortunately, it was sandwiched between two of the best games in the series and is the last title in the franchise to make its debut on the PlayStation, making it easy to forget. It was also fairly short compared to the other games.

11. Resident Evil: Code Veronica

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, GameCube, Dreamcast
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: February 3, 2000

Resident Evil: Code Veronica is the first side-story on our list. Although it was ultimately labeled as a companion piece, Code Veronica’s creators always intended it to serve as a direct sequel to RE2. It makes the cut due to its direct placement in the series’s timeline and its general popularity. It was also the first Resident Evil game to debut on a platform other than PlayStation, making it many fans’ first introduction to the series.

The game is set two months after Resident Evil 2 and 3, following Clair and Chris Redfield as they try to survive an outbreak on a remote prison island near Antarctica. It took a step forward for the series by ditching the pre-rendered backgrounds in favor of real-time 3D environments.

10. Resident Evil: Revelations

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: January 26, 2012

Resident Evil Revelations is our favorite side-story in the series. Although it started on the Nintendo 3DS, the game was well-received enough that Capcom later released an HD version of the game, which has been ported to PC and the last two generations of PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo.

Revelations follows Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine as they attempt to stop a bioterrorist organization called Veltro from infecting the ocean with a virus. The gameplay was a nice callback to survival and evasion-based gameplay after the action movie that was Resident Evil 5.

9. Resident Evil 0

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, GameCube, Wii, Nintendo Switch
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: November 12, 2002

Resident Evil Zero is a prequel to the first game released between Code Veronica and Resident Evil 4. It isn’t exactly a side story, but it’s also easy to forget when counting off the numbered games.

The story follows Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen. Rebecca is a young STARS officer (who is later a member of the same unit as Chris and Jill in the first game), and Billy is a convicted criminal. This unlikely duo has to navigate their way through an abandoned Umbrella training facility by solving puzzles together and watching each other’s backs.

The story is good, and it’s the best place to start if you plan on playing all of the Resident Evil games in order.

8. Resident Evil Remake

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, GameCube, Wii, Nintendo Switch
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: March 22, 2002

Remember when we said there was a better way to play the first game? Most modern audiences think of Resident Evil 2 and 3 when they hear the word “remake,” but the series reboot actually started with a 2002 overhaul of the original Resident Evil. This version of the game has all-new character models, better graphics, and some much-needed improvements to the sound design.

Unfortunately, it still has the locked-in camera angles, but even that adds to the spooky ambiance of the mansion. It’s much more terrifying when you hear an enemy and cannot rotate the camera to see what’s coming. This is easily the best way to experience Chris and Jill’s first steps into the world of Resident Evil.

7. Resident Evil 5

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Shield Android TV
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: March 5, 2009

Chris Redfield is back, along with his new partner Sheva Alomar. The two are investigating a fictional region in Africa where old enemies are experimenting with a new kind of bioweapon. No other game on this list will divide fans quite like Resident Evil 5. Some fans criticized the way characters moved while others expressed their discontent about the series general trend toward action and away from survival-horror. One thing merits its place this high on the list, though — the co-op.

You might think couch co-op games went the way of the dodo a long time ago, but there are still a few good ones out there. Resident Evil 6, Revelations 2, and a few other games in the franchise have co-op, but none of them execute it as well as 5. One of my fondest memories of the series is battling through waves of parasite-infested enemies with my friend.

6. Resident Evil 3 Remake

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: April 3, 2020

Resident Evil 3 was the most recent game to get the full remake treatment, and it was a sight to behold. Jill Valentine is on the hunt for a vaccine for the viral bioweapon that’s turning the people of Racoon City into flesh starved monsters. Meanwhile, an invincible monster called Nemesis is relentlessly pursuing her.

It has a slightly more linear and action-forward storyline than RE2 Remake. It refines a lot of the second game’s best features and makes for a gaming experience that is tense, but never dull. Its biggest pitfall is that it’s short, much like the title it’s based on.

5. Resident Evil 2

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Dreamcast
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: January 21, 1998

Now we’ve reached the top 5 on our list of Resident Evil games ranked! Resident Evil 2 introduces Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, two of the series’s most popular protagonists. The first game might have established the style of gameplay, but 2 is the game that set the tone for the rest of the series. Rather than being trapped in a creepy puzzle mansion, our intrepid heroes have to fight through a city overrun with undead horrors.

It has fixed camera angles, poor voice-over, and controls that don’t always feel the best, but it’s easily one of the most memorable Resident Evil games of all time.

4. Resident Evil: Village

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: May 7, 2021

Here it is, friends — the newest addition to the series! Resident Evil: Village might not officially have the number eight in the title, but it is the eighth numbered installation in the franchise.

Ethan Winters returns after the events of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard along with his wife Mia and their new daughter Rose. The game begins with Rose being kidnapped; Ethan must fight his way through a village infested with werewolves, vampires, and various other monsters to get her back.

Its design is fairly innovative, and its mechanics are sort of a “greatest hits” of all of the newer Resident Evil games. You can read our full written review of Resident Evil 8: Village here and watch our video review here.

3. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Amazon Luna, Stadia
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: January 24, 2017

Biohazard is the seventh game in the series, but it’s also something of a reboot. It’s centered on a new character, switches to a first-person point of view, and its story is only tangentially related to the events of the previous games. This proved to be a wise decision on Capcom’s part, as the apathetic fans they’d lost to RE6 came roaring back with a vengeance.

Ethan Winters gets a message from his wife Mia, who has been missing for years, leading him to a rundown house in a Louisiana swamp. Ethan is quickly captured and tortured by the Baker family and several monstrous creatures called the “Molded.”

This was the first Resident Evil game in a long time to really feel like horror, and you could argue it was the one that reanimated the franchise.

2. Resident Evil 4

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, GameCube, Wii, Nintendo Switch, Zeebo 
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: January 5, 2011

Next up on our list is Resident Evil 4. This one is a lot of people’s favorite, and it’s easy to see why. Leon Kennedy returns and is sent on a special mission to save the president’s daughter, Ashley Graham, who was kidnapped by a cult somewhere in Eastern Europe. Only something’s wrong with the villagers. They’re infected with a parasite that makes them horribly violent, and Leon is forced to defend himself.

This installment finally dropped the fixed camera angles and started using the over-the-shoulder method that would carry on until Biohazard. RE4 frequents many “best video games ever made” lists, but there’s one we like even better.

1. Resident Evil 2 Remake

Image Credit: Capcom

• Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: January 25, 2019

This franchise has gone through so many evolutions over the years that no single game truly encapsulates what it means to be a Resident Evil game — except maybe Resident Evil 2 Remake.

This game comes with two different campaigns with different stories depending on whether you choose Claire or Leon as your character at the beginning. Either way, an outbreak has consumed Racoon City, and it’s up to you to find the cure.

Resident Evil 2 Remake blends modern mechanics with a classic story and that old-school, survival horror feel. The way they utilized the immortal stalker, Mr. X, was so popular that it saw iterations in both games made after it. This game has some of the best shooting and manages to strike a perfect balance between horror and action. That’s why it’s our pick for the best Resident Evil game.

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We hope you enjoyed our list of Resident Evil games ranked. Be sure to follow High Ground Gaming for news, reviews, and more lists like this one.

Happy gaming!