The Resident Evil series is one I look at with both fond memory and trepidation. The first two games were a big part of my formative years, everything else is a bit of a blur.
Aside from finishing Resident Evil 5 co-op in one sitting with a friend one night, and getting terrified playing Biohazard (RE VII). I haven’t ventured enough into the series to really get a grasp on it.
Being so Resident Evil curious, hot on the heels of the release of Resident Evil Requiem. It seemed like a good time to get caught-up on the narrative thread leading up to the latest release.
The Resident Evil timeline is a beautiful mess of biological nightmares, secret conspiracies, and high-camp action.
Here’s the breakdown of the mainline entries from the Arklay Mountains to the snowy peaks of Eastern Europe.
This is pretty spoiler-heavy. Glossing over big twists and plot points. So only read if you already know or are unlikely to play any time soon.
The Survival Horror Foundations
Resident Evil (1996/2002 Remake)
The game that started it all.
Members of the elite S.T.A.R.S. team (including Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine) investigate gruesome murders in the Arklay Mountains.
They get trapped in the Spencer Mansion, discovering it’s a front for Umbrella Corporation’s illegal bio-weapon research.
They encounter the T-Virus, the Tyrant, and the ultimate betrayal by their captain, Albert Wesker.
Resident Evil 2 (1998/2019 Remake)
Two months later, the T-Virus hits Raccoon City.
Rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield (searching for Chris) meet in a city overrun by the undead.
They navigate the R.P.D. station, encounter the mutating scientist William Birkin, and meet the mysterious Ada Wong. Eventually escaping before the city is nuked.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999/2020 Remake)
Occurring shortly before and after RE2, Jill Valentine tries to escape Raccoon City while being hunted by the Nemesis, a relentless biological assassin designed to wipe out S.T.A.R.S. members. I
It ends with Jill fleeing just as a missile levels the city.
The Global Conspiracy Era
Resident Evil – Code: Veronica (2000)
Claire Redfield is captured by Umbrella and taken to Rockfort Island.
She eventually reunites with Chris, and together they face the eccentric Ashford family and a resurrected Albert Wesker, who now possesses superhuman abilities thanks to a prototype virus.
Resident Evil 4 (2005/2023 Remake)
Six years after Raccoon City, Leon is a government agent sent to rural Spain to rescue the President’s daughter.
He finds a cult using Las Plagas, a mind-controlling parasite, rather than a virus.
It’s a shift toward action, ending with the total collapse of the Los Illuminados cult.
Resident Evil 5 (2009)
Chris Redfield, now with the BSAA, heads to Africa to stop a black-market bio-weapon sale.
He teams up with Sheva Alomar and discovers Wesker is planning to infect the world with the Uroboros virus.
The game ends with a definitive showdown in a volcano, marking the end of Wesker.
Resident Evil 6 (2012)
Often derided as the “worst” in the series, Capcom tried something different. The “Avengers” of Resident Evil.
This massive, four-campaign epic spans the globe as Leon, Chris, Sherry Birkin, and Jake Muller (Wesker’s son) fight a global C-Virus outbreak orchestrated by the Neo-Umbrella group.
It’s high-octane chaos that pushes the world to the brink of collapse.
The Winters Saga
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017)
A soft reboot that returns to claustrophobic horror.
Everyman Ethan Winters travels to a derelict plantation in Louisiana to find his missing wife, Mia.
He’s hunted by the infected Baker family, eventually discovering they are being controlled by Eveline, a bio-weapon known as the “E-Series.”
Chris Redfield makes a surprise cameo at the end to “rescue” them.
Resident Evil Village (2021)
Ethan’s peaceful life is shattered when Chris Redfield appears, kills Mia (seemingly), and kidnaps his infant daughter, Rose.
Ethan finds himself in a remote European village ruled by Mother Miranda and her four Lords (including the internet-famous Lady Dimitrescu).
Ethan discovers that Miranda’s “Megamycete” fungus was the precursor to Umbrella’s viruses.
In a massive twist, Ethan learns he actually died in RE7 and has been a “mold man” ever since.
He sacrifices himself to save Rose, leaving his daughter to be raised under the watchful eye of the BSAA.
Resident Evil
Is now finally the time to try and get through all of these classics? It feels to me like the remasters of 1-4 are calling at the very least.
Resident Evil 4 feels like the most intriguing. The most popular, and with the most recent remake. But it should be earned.
The first game is downloaded to the Steam Deck and I’ll see if I can manage to hack it long enough to finish it and move through the series.
