There is no video game series out there quite like the Resident Evil franchise. What started out as a genre-defining survival horror experience with iconic characters and terrifying infected zombies created by the evil Umbrella Corporation slowly transitioned away from its survival roots and became an action based horror series for many years. RE fans still loved the series, but longed for the days of old where the frights were the main focus. To the delight of many, recent entries in the series have brought Resident Evil back home to the place where it all started: pure and unwavering terror.
With the next entry in the series, Resident Evil 8: Village, slowly creeping up to its release date on next-gen consoles, its time to get into the Halloween spirit and count down every game in the Resident Evil main series, by the amount of terror it has instilled in gamers over the many moons of the series’ sinister history.
7 Resident Evil 6
Many players were conflicted by this one upon release, but Resident Evil 6 was definitely the point in the series that strayed the furthest way from its roots, and became a full-out bombastic action game.
The T-Virus had spawned some of Resident Evil’s most gruesome and gigantic creatures in this game, but almost all fear was rendered ineffective based on how much raw firepower and combat efficiency the player had at any given time. RE6 gave the player access to the most playable characters in the series, but they are all so overpowered that the zombies are most likely more fearful of them than they are of the zombies.
6 Resident Evil 5
Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar take center stage in the 5th main entry of the series, being dispatched to the fictional African region Kijuju. RE5 was the first game in the series to become a traditional third person shooter, much to the dismay of many gamers. A lot of the same issues that plagued RE6 are present here: playable characters that are a little too capable against threats to be genuinely scary, and action gameplay that strayed further away from the survival horror that made the series what it is today.
However, RE5 has the slight edge in the scare factor due to the more realistic graphical presentation, and genuinely creative and nightmare-inducing boss design, most notably the twisted and tangled Uroboros. A common thread among gamers is that the further Resident Evil strays from survival horror, the less frightening it becomes.
5 Resident Evil 4
Without a doubt the most heralded game in the series, Resident Evil 4 scratches nearly every sadistic itch that a gamer could want from a zombie shooter, and rivals Skyrim for most re-releases. Stepping in the shoes of Leon Kennedy once again, players will creep and crawl through dank, spooky environments to rescue the president’s daughter who has been kidnapped by a cult in rural Europe.
Even though RE4 was still a step in the action/horror direction, this game blended the two very well. The gunplay was slower and movement was more limited, which allowed for more focus on the zombies and the terrifying creature designs, and the claustrophobic level design only added to the feeling of unease. However, many fans will agree that the most terrifying parts of this game were the quick-time events.
4 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
The original trilogy of Resident Evil games had such a unique and groundbreaking design for their time that amped up the horror to new levels unseen in video games up to that point. In Resident Evil 3, Jill Valentine finds herself trapped in the now iconic Raccoon City, desperate to escape. Nearly every inhabitant of this oddly mammalian named city has been infected, and it is the player’s job to guide Jill out of this nightmare. RE3 continued the trend of the fixed camera style of the series (having all locations be pre-rendered backgrounds, and having 3D models placed over them), and it continued to increase tension by making the player not entirely sure what lurks around the corner.
This game attempted to open the series up and pushed it a little further away from the confined spaces of the original two games, but this lack of confinement was made up for by the introduction of Nemesis: an absolutely hulking beast that stalks the player all throughout the frightful adventure. The recent remake also provides excellent thrills with its beautiful graphics, third person perspective, and its return to pure survival horror. Both versions are worth experiencing; provided the player can handle the horror of a city-wide infection gone horribly wrong.
3 Resident Evil 2
The game that introduced the mega stars that are Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, Resident Evil 2 took everything that the first game did and amplified it tenfold. Most of the game takes place in the Raccoon City Police Department, and the tight hallways and multiple floors create a maze of infinitely terrifying possibilities. It can never be confirmed just how many zombies are running around the building at any given time and the quiet dread that the game infects the player’s mind with is absolutely stunning.
The 2019 remake puts the game in a third person perspective but keeps the close quarters terror very present, and although the beast known as a Tyrant was present in the original, a Tyrant known as Mr. X plays a huge role in the remake, acting almost as Nemesis does in RE3, constantly stalking the player. Fans can’t go wrong with either version; the scares are constant and effective throughout.
2 Resident Evil
The original powerhouse that started everything, the original Resident Evil proves that often the scariest things are the simplest. This time, it’s all in the name: Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine become trapped in a mansion in the middle of nowhere, filled with terrifying zombies freshly infected by the Umbrella Corporation’s T-Virus. The concept is chillingly simple, and all the better for it.
The mansion is creaky, the hallways are slim and every corner is filled with pure tension. The original game has some of the most meme-worthy dialogue in any game of this era (“the master of unlocking” will never not be a classic), but the gameplay and atmosphere stands on its own and still stands the test of time. If the dialogue makes or breaks the experience for the player, the remake fixes those issues and still maintains the terrifying atmosphere.
1 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
It was no secret that fans of the Resident Evil series were craving for a return to the days of trying to genuinely survive a night of terror against infected zombies. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard came along and gave every kind of RE fan everything they could ever want: effective simplicity, blood-boiling horror, entertaining characters, satisfying action gameplay that didn’t make the player feel overpowered, and beautiful next-gen graphics.
This was the series’ first foray into the first person perspective, and it was without a doubt the best choice as it puts the player directly into the terror. But RE7 has one edge above all other current RE games that make it the scariest of the series: it has full VR support. No further arguments needed.