The best Resident Evil games and movies to enjoy at home
The Resident Evil TV series, the latest live-action iteration in the long-running survival-horror franchise, premieres July 14 on Netflix. Set alternatively in 2022 and 2036, the series follows Jade (Ella Balinska/Tamara Smart) and Billie Wesker (Siena Agudong) as they attempt to survive a nascent zombie infestation in New Raccoon City alongside their father, recurring series antagonist Albert Wesker (Lance Reddick).
To someone new to the franchise, Resident Evil can feel as amorphous and imposing as any of the mutated T-Virus monstrosities that populate its many installments. And with Netflix’s new series boldly attempting to acknowledge and exist explicitly within the multifaceted and often retconned canon of the games, the franchise can feel even more impenetrable.
“What are the Resident Evil games and movies I should care about?” you’re probably asking aloud. We’ve pooled together Polygon’s collective Resident Evil brain trust to give you a breakdown of our top recommendations to play and watch after finishing the Netflix series. Here are the best Resident Evil games and movies to enjoy at home.
Where to play: The HD remaster is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch
When thinking of my favorite Resident Evil game, nostalgia wants me to say Resident Evil (1996), because it — along with Metal Gear Solid — just absolutely changed the way I saw video games. Going back and playing it, it obviously has a lot of rough edges (lol the polygons) that even the 2002 remake doesn’t really fix. —Chris Grant
From our review of the 2015 HD remaster:
The original control scheme still exists in the 2015 HD re-release, but there’s also a slightly modernized replacement available.
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