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From the relentless pursuit of Nemesis to the towering presence of Lady Dimitrescu, the Resident Evil franchise is filled with iconic monsters and unforgettable moments. This is our definitive list of the top 10 games in the series.
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00:00After 30 years, the Resident Evil series has a lot of titles to choose from.
00:04Some legitimately changed how we looked at survival horror,
00:06while others made us turn away in fear we might become infected.
00:09However, there is no denying the staying power of this series,
00:12and today we're taking a look back at the best of them all,
00:15as we share our list of the top 10 Resident Evil games so far.
00:19Number 10, Resident Evil Revelations 2.
00:22Resident Evil Revelations 2 felt like something of a homecoming,
00:25particularly after the cinematic action focus the series had become enamored with
00:28following the success of Resident Evil 5.
00:31Designed around cooperative play, and initially released as an episodic adventure,
00:35Revelations 2 was able to take the over-the-shoulder gunplay popularized by Resident Evil 4,
00:39and ground it once again in a world of survival and horror.
00:42Resident Evil Revelations 2 remains an entertaining side attraction to the mainline series,
00:46a way to spend some additional time with fan-favorite characters,
00:49and get a sense of how the series may have evolved had Capcom taken it down a different path.
00:53Number 9, Resident Evil 3 Nemesis.
00:56Resident Evil 3 Nemesis found success in its capacity to subvert expectations.
01:01The introduction of Nemesis, an unkillable monstrosity that made the streets of Raccoon
01:04City more deadly than ever before, meant there was never a safe place to hide.
01:08Triggering a door animation would create a little distance, sure,
01:11but never a feeling that you were truly safe from harm.
01:13In presenting a world thick with tension, along with improved combat mechanics and mobility options,
01:18Resident Evil 3 Nemesis is one of those rare survival horror games
01:21that grips you within minutes and never dares to let you loose.
01:24Number 8, Resident Evil Village.
01:26Resident Evil Village sought new ways to scrutinise the Resident Evil playbook,
01:30and largely succeeded.
01:31Capcom furthered the story of Ethan Winters,
01:33intertwining it more explicitly with the wider Resident Evil universe,
01:37and pushed to strike a better balance between humour and horror.
01:39The outsized torture of Ethan's hands was a body horror breath of fresh air,
01:43against some of the more overt scares.
01:45The stalking of Lady Dimitrisse and The Witches 3,
01:47not to mention a dollhouse section that rivalled the best Silent Hill games in terms of pure tension.
01:51Resident Evil Village may have had the occasional stumble,
01:54still, it proved to be another compelling example of the power Resident Evil can wield
01:58when it casts its action from a first-person perspective.
02:01Though as of a post-large update, you can play it third-person now too.
02:04It's also headed to Switch 2 soon, in case you wanted to experience it on a Nintendo console.
02:08Number 7, Resident Evil Code Veronica X.
02:11Rumour has it, Resident Evil Code Veronica was originally designed to carry the Resident Evil series into the future.
02:15While Nemesis ultimately landed with Resident Evil 3 and Blaze undercross its title screen,
02:20it's clear today that Code Veronica was deserving of the title.
02:23It introduced real-time 3D environments and a more dynamic camera to sit in them,
02:27furthering Resident Evil's foray into action territory without exercising the spirit of survival that embodied its core scenario design.
02:33Code Veronica closed out Resident Evil's first chapter.
02:36It's a time capsule that honours Resident Evil's past and hints at where it will go in the future.
02:40Number 6, Resident Evil 4, 2023.
02:43The Resident Evil 4 remake is one of the best action games of the modern era.
02:47Capcom was not only able to preserve the spirit of the 2005 original,
02:50but successfully modernised elements of its design,
02:52updating the plot, artistic direction, and structure to make it more palatable to players joining the series in 2023.
02:59With its slick, claustrophobic combat and stunning set pieces,
03:02Resident Evil 4 is absolutely worth your time and attention.
03:05Naturally, there's some debate as to whether or not the remake is able to beat the original,
03:09but as far as we're concerned, it's a fantastic interpretation of one of gaming's masterpieces.
03:13Number 5, Resident Evil 2, 2019.
03:16To play the Resident Evil 2 remake is to look through a window into an alternate history.
03:20The way it is able to coalesce the methodical challenge of the original Resident Evil games,
03:24with the tight over-the-shoulder third-person combat popularised by the original Resident Evil 4,
03:28shows where the series could and should have gone after Capcom changed the nature of play in 2005.
03:33It's a stunning love letter to the legacy of Resident Evil 2,
03:36and it's fearless in its attempt to make the past feel fresh for the present.
03:402019's remake of Resident Evil 2 is an incredible reimagining of a legendary game
03:44that stands as one of the best survival horror games of the modern era.
03:47Number 4, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard.
03:50Following the disappointment of Resident Evil 6, the future of the series seemed uncertain.
03:55It had gotten too messy and convoluted for its own good,
03:57a series bloated by time and expectation.
03:59It's in this environment that Resident Evil 7 was born,
04:02a true overhaul that kickstarted a new era for the Resident Evil series.
04:06Cast from a first-person perspective, set in an intricately designed single-set location,
04:10framed around a core set of monstrous and no less larger-than-life characters,
04:14and a return to the survival horror foundations the series was first built upon,
04:18Resident Evil 7 emerged as one of the best horror games of the modern era.
04:21Number 3, Resident Evil 2.
04:23Creating the foundation for a successful franchise is one thing,
04:26developing a successful sequel to it is something else entirely.
04:29Resident Evil 2 took the suspenseful action of its predecessor,
04:32and the suffocating atmosphere that lingered in the Spencer Estate,
04:35and draped it across a sprawling city under siege from the living dead.
04:38Resident Evil 2 is an ingenious survival horror game,
04:41bringing meticulously crafted spaces together with perfectly paced scenario design,
04:45to form an experience that's as gripping today as it was in 1998.
04:49Resident Evil 2 is one of the greatest sequels ever made,
04:52and a game that established Resident Evil's place in history as one of gaming's best franchises.
04:57Number 2, Resident Evil 4.
04:59Resident Evil 4 is arguably one of the best shooter games of all time,
05:02and undoubtedly one of the most important releases of the last two decades.
05:06When it arrived in 2005, Resident Evil 4 was a sweeping reinvention of the Resident Evil framework,
05:11the camera's perspective fixed firmly over the shoulder of Leon S. Kennedy.
05:15It's perfectly paced and utterly relentless,
05:17an experience designed to overwhelm from the first minute through to the last,
05:20and self-aware enough to revel in the ridiculousness of its own narrative arc.
05:24Resident Evil 4 is a truly remarkable game,
05:26one that changed the entire industry around it.
05:29And finally, number 1, Resident Evil 2002.
05:32The Resident Evil remake was truly astounding when it landed on GameCube back in 2002,
05:36and it has lost none of its power in the years since.
05:39It's a lovingly crafted R remake, if you will,
05:41taking the bones of the 1996 original and rendering it anew,
05:45introducing new terrifying threats in the Crimson Head Zombies,
05:48improved combat mechanics,
05:49and refined resource management to make what was once old feel fresh again.
05:532002's Resident Evil is also stunningly evocative.
05:56It's overhauled visual design so impressive that it is still able to make the jaw drop so many years later.
06:01The remake took an impressive game, weathering the decay of time, and preserved it in amber,
06:05ensuring that one of survival horror's most formative experiences would remain as good to play today
06:09as the day it was first unleashed upon the world.
06:12And there you go folks, our list of the top 10 Resident Evil games so far.
06:16Let us know whether you agree with this list,
06:17or which titles we forgot,
06:19and make sure to follow GamesRadar for all the latest news, reviews and more.