How to Play the Resident Evil Games in Chronological Order

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Through its (near-)consistent excellence, innovation, and longevity, Resident Evil games has earned its crown as the king of survival of horror. Capcom debuted its world of mutants and mercenaries in 1996 and has since grown Resident Evil into a multimedia franchise that spans over two dozen console games, six films, two recent Netflix series, novels, comics, and even stage plays.

It can be an exciting franchise to explore given the amount of content it houses, though for the same reason, it can be an equally daunting series to approach. This article focuses exclusively on video games and cuts out the convolution by presenting two ways to play only the most narratively significant and accessible Resident Evil games in order.

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There are 10 core Resident Evil games: RE 0-7, Village, and Code: Veronica. However, the total number of Resident Evil console games — including spinoffs and remakes — sits around 30. That number rises near 60 when accounting for mobile and pachinko games.

For this list, we’re focusing on 12 Resident Evil games: all 10 core entries and the two Revelations spinoffs. While many others are considered canon, this is not an exhaustive chronology, but rather an approachable guide to entering and enjoying the world of Resident Evil video games.

Missing from this list are mobile and pachinko games, light gun and Wii shooters (Resident Evil Survivor, Survivor 2, Dead Aim, Umbrella Chronicles, Darkside Chronicles), and non-canonical/non-consequential/difficult to access spinoffs (Resident Evil Gaiden, Outbreak, Outbreak: File #2, Mercenaries 3D, Operation Raccoon City, Resistance, Umbrella Corps, Re:Verse)

With series newcomers in mind, the brief plot synopses below contain only mild spoilers such as broad