We all know that Resident Evil 7 is on the way, what we do not know though, is when. Resident Evil 7 will be the seventh numbered installment in a series with dozens of other random games such as spinoffs, unnumbered sequels, non canon stories, and more.
Well, maybe you missed some games, maybe you forgot some events, or maybe you are just new to the series! Well, this list will list all the significant entries in the series, in chronological order, in which you should play them. Nearly all of them are easy to obtain and are playable on some modern console, be it emulated on a phone/PC, or played on a console. So, here we go! Warning, there are a lot of photos! 🙂
ARC 1: RACCOON CITY ARC
CHAPTER 1: RESIDENT EVIL ZERO – Gamecube, Wii, PS3, PS4, X360, Xone, PC
Chronological order puts Zero as the very first entry, taking place before the events of the first Resident Evil in July 1998. In this game, S.T.A.R.S Bravo team is sent into the forest outside of Raccoon City to investigate the canible murders that have been going on for months. What they find is an abandoned passenger train, an overturned prison transport jeep… and feral dogs. They are all chased away, and Rebecca enters the abandoned train. She eventually meets the Fugitive and they must work together to uncover the secrets of the train, the forest, and regroup with other S.T.A.R.S members.
CHAPTER 2: RESIDENT EVIL REBIRTH – Gamecube, Wii, PS3, PS4, X360, Xone, PC
A mere day or so after S.T.A.R.S bravo team goes missing in the forest, Alpha Team is sent after them. They find the teams destroyed Helicopter out in the forest along with the body of the pilot. The feral dogs return and chase them into an old mansion after killing another team member, and now heres where you come in: You pick to guide either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine through the massive mansion that is very oddly abandoned in the forest. You need to work with your partner (Barry for Jill, Rebecca for Chris), to survive the night in the crazy haunted mansion, and uncover the true secret of the murders, the mansion, and the other crazy happening in the area.
Disclaimer: I listed REbirth/Remake rather than the original ’96 Resident Evil due to it being a newer, more accessible way to play the original story. Pick your flavor, as both games are still fantastic. RE 96 is available on PS1, PC, Saturn and on PSN.
CHAPTER 3: RESIDENT EVIL 2 – PS1, N64, DC, Gamecube, PS3/PSP/Vita (Via PSN)
The next chapter in the franchise takes place in September 1998. A couple months after the S.T.A.R.S were in the forest, it is revealed that they were futile in their attempt to stop the virus from spreading. Now, Raccoon City, the city they tried to save, is completely overrun by zombies. The S.T.A.R.S team are missing, the police chief is in hiding, and the RPD have been mostly wiped out along with nearly all civilians in the city having been turned into flesh eating zombies. Enter: Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy.
Claire has entered the city in search of her brother, Chris, as she has not heard from him in months, while bad luck put Leon Kennedy on his first day as an RPD officer on that day and he enters the city not knowing what was going on. They both meet by chance at a diner in town, and Leon saves Claire by killing a zombie that was trying to kill her. They both escape to the police station and are separated after their car is destroyed. They must work with other survivors to escape the horrors of Raccoon City and uncover the secrets of what caused the virus to leak.
Sidenote: Resident Evil 2 is finally being remade, with a likely release sometime in 2017. It is being handled by the very same team who developed REmake and Zero.
CHAPTER 4: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis – PS1, DC, Gamecube, PS3/PSP/Vita (Via PSN)
The next chapter is Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. After the events in the forest at the mansion, Jill Valentine started to lay low at her apartment in the city. Eventually, while Chris and the other S.T.A.R.S members left town, Jill stayed behind to try and keep an eye on Umbrella Corporation. Unfortunately, Raccoon City becomes overrun by zombies, and Jill is forced to try and flee on her “last escape” as she dubs it. Jill must work with unlikely companion Umbrella Merc Carlos Oliveria and his team in order to escape the city alive before the government ends it once and for all.
CHAPTER 5: Resident Evil Outbreak: File #1 – PS2
The next chapter takes us into experimental territory with the series: Multiplayer. Resident Evil Outbreak was the first entry in the series with multiplayer functions. While it is no longer officially supported, a group of hackers and fans managed to create custom servers “REanimating” the online component. 😉
Resident Evil Outbreak takes place during the very same moments of RE2 and RE3, and follows a group of 8 civilians trying to work together to escape Raccoon City. As these civies, you will revisit several locations in the series, such as the underground facility from Zero and 2, and the hospital from 3. Since you are simply civilians with mostly no prior combat experience, it is much harder and scarier for the protagonist you choose to survive. Once your friends die, you are on your own, and its VERY dangerous in Raccoon City!
CHAPTER 6: Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2 – PS2
The final entry in the Raccoon City arc is a followup to the cult hit Resident Evil Outbreak. Taking place again exactly the same time as before in September, the same 8 protagonists from the original Outbreak are now needing to escape through more locations to survive, which some of them have been experienced in the series before, such as the Raccoon City Police Department. This title also reveals more information as to unanswered questions to the classic games, like… how did Marvin get hurt? And how did the RPD doors get boarded up? That sort of stuff. Like before, this game is multiplayer as well. Although you can play offline like the other.
ARC 2: UMBRELLA’S END
CHAPTER 7: Resident Evil: Code Veronica – DC, X360, PS2, PS3, PS4/Vita (Via PSnow)
Following Claire’s escape from Raccoon City in September, advance a few months later to December 1998. Claire has been captured by Umbrella after she is caught breaking into a highly classified facility of theirs while becoming persistent in her search for her sibling, and she is transported to an island prison for unknown reasons. She eventually manages to escape her cell thanks to the island becoming overrun by Zombies. Claire now needs to escape the island and again, search for her brother Chris, while working together with a fellow prisoner on the island, Steve.
CHAPTER 8: Resident Evil: Dead Aim – PS2
Taking place a few years after Raccoon City was destroyed, Dead Aim stars two entirely new characters, Bruce and Fong. Somewhere in the ocean, a cruise liner goes dark after it is infested with Zombies, and a former Umbrella Scientist who has gone rogue threatens the US and China with total spread of the TVirus in the form of missiles if they do not both pay $1 million each to him. Bruce is sent in from the US by a team dedicated to uncovering the secrets of umbrella and taking them down, in order to stop the scientist and end the virus threat. Meanwhile, Fong is deployed from China with the same purpose as Bruce. The two must work together to take down the scientist and stop the threat of the virus being spread worldwide.
CHAPTER 9: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles – Wii, Wii U, PS3, PS4/Vita (PSnow)
While some would dispute this title due to much of it being non canon, it is only “Partially Non Canon” similar to how Fallout Tactics is partially canon and partially non canon. Well, in Umbrella Chronicles, Albert Wesker narrates the game, retelling how he believes things happened as to why Umbrella failed. He details retellings of Resident Evil, Resident Evil Zero and Resident Evil 3. Where this title really stands out though, is the Russia storyline at the end. Chris and Jill finally are ready to take down Umbrella and head into Russia, where one of their last locations are. They uncover a brand new BOW in the process and uncover several untold secrets that can be used to finally indict Umbrella on charges for Raccoon City and several other incidents, and end them once and for all.
ARC 3: Global Terror (current)
CHAPTER 10: Resident Evil 4 – Multiple platforms (too many to list)
The next chapter takes us to Spain. Leon is now working for the government, and after the Presidents Daughter is kidnapped by a group of mysterious cult members located in Spain. The moment Leon Arrives, he is attacked by several of the infected Cult members and its a race against time to save the presidents daughter while having to take down several of the leading cult leaders. He also meets an old friend who he helped back in Raccoon City, and works with a mysterious man in the process.
Sidenote: Resident Evil 4 was the start of a new era for the franchise. Capcom, from the unsuccessful sales of Resident Evil Rebirth and Zero, Capcom moved away from Survival Horror and went more action oriented for the new title in comparison to the previous games. In fairness, Resident Evil 3 DID introduce ALOT of action orientated moments, but this was sporadic and was reverted from mostly action back to survival horror in the next installment, Code Veronica.
CHAPTER 11: Revelations – 3DS, Wii U, PC, PS3, PS4, X360, Xone, Vita (Via PSnow)
The next chapter takes place after Resident Evil 4 on a cruise ship. After the destruction of a city on a similar level to Raccoon City by terrorists, Jill Valentine is now part of the BSAA, an anti-bioterror group she helped start. Jill and her partner, Parker, are sent to an abandoned floating cruise ship in the ocean after Chris and his partner, Jessica, go missing on board. What they discover is that a group of terrorists long thought destroyed have returned, and that they were set up and are attacked. The game will flip flop between playable characters, such as Chris and Jill, as they have two separate stories that eventually intercept each other.
CHAPTER 12: Resident Evil 5 – PS3, PS4, X360, Xone, PC, Shield
In 2009, Chris Redfield is sent to Africa to join up with Sheva Alomor to investigate a terrorist threat where they believe the group is using a possible modified version of the Las Plagas virus detailed in the “Kennedy Report” (RE4). They are to stop a man named Irving from selling the virus on the black market but are dragged into something much deeper: A plot involving Wesker, a rouge scientist, terrorists, infected civilians, and a former friend turned evil. Chris also has a personal stake in it as well. A few years prior to the events, Chris and Jill Valentine were investigating the house of the umbrella founder when Jill saves Chris by knocking wesker out of a window. Their bodies are never found, and are presumed dead. However, Chris and Sheva uncovers that Wesker has some involvement and he believes Jill could be alive.
CHAPTER 13: Revelations 2 – PC, X360, Xone, PS3, PS4, Vita
As if it wasn’t enough that it happened to her before, Claire Redfield is once again abducted and sent to a prison on an island. This time though, with friends. Claire and her co workers are all sent to a mysterious unknown island and locked away inside a prison. They discover they have bracelets on that monitor their “Fears” and if they get too scared, it will inject them with a new virus. Claire must work with Barry Burton’s daughter, Moira, in order to meet up with her co workers and escape the island alive.
Oh Claire… when will you stop getting sent to Prison Islands?
CHAPTER 14: Resident Evil 6 – PC, X360, Xone, PS3, PS4, Vita (Via PSnow)
Taking place in both 2012 and 2013, the game follows series favorite characters Leon Kennedy, Ada Wong, Chris Redfield and Sherry Birkin during worldwide terror. Several cities across the world are being infected with the new experimental C-Virus, the president is killed, and Leon and Helena are framed. Everyone must face the zombie outbreak across several cities that is in such a force that makes Raccoon City look like Child’s Play. Easily the longest and biggest game in the series, RE6 has 4 separate campaigns that try to tailor to everyone. Some for horror, some for action. They all provide their own fun little content as well, so its worth playing through all four.
Sidenote: Xbox One and PS4 HD versions recently dropped in March, providing 60FPS and full 1080P graphics.
The Future and Wrap Up:
Currently, three known RE projects are in development, and two are rumored.
Confirmed:
Resident Evil: Umbrella Corps is set in official canon and takes place after RE6. This game is a multiplayer tactical spinoff in which you are working on the black market to secure umbrella left behind assets. This game drops for PS4 and PC in June 2016.
Resident Evil 2: Remake is a full remake of the 1998 game, Resident Evil 2, and rumored to be released in 2017 for the PS4 and Xbox One. It was announced in 2015, but no details have been revealed apart from it being a full remake, and the original team who are still at capcom who made the first remake are working on this project.
RESIDENT EVIL: Bio Terror is a VR arcade game coming soon that is basically a revival of the Code Veronica arcade concept that failed back around 2001ish. The system is exclusive to Dubai, but is said to contain an official short canon story set in the RE universe.
Rumored:
Resident Evil 7 (possible title), is heavily rumored to be announced and released in 2016. RE7 has been hinted at several times this year by capcom, especially since they stated they are going “Full RE” this year and they apparantly have two unknown projects in development that have not been revealed. Leaks have been popping up everywhere from trusted sources online that point that the game will, in fact, be possibly dropping the behind the back camera made standard from RE4 to present, and returning to the classic fixed angles. Additionally, they will make it a survival horror game and its also being said to be a “Clean Slate 100% reboot” with new locations, characters and an entirely new universe. The title has not been announced, but it is likely coming soon.
Resident Evil Revelations 3 was quietly announced in May 2016. Capcom confirmed they are going to be working on a third entry in the popular sub series of Resident Evil with more “lightly used” characters (So possibly Rebecca or perhaps Carlos) and will be likely set between Resident Evil 6 and the future numbered entry. Nothing else was revealed aside from that.
Thank you for taking the time to read our canon order list. We hope this will get you prepared to play the games in order leading up to E3 when RE7 is likely revealed. Be sure to comment, share and more. Thank You! 🙂
Survival Horror Feeder 