How to Play the Resident Evil Games in Order

Capcom’s survival horror franchise, Resident Evil, has been around since 1996, and while it’s had a few stumbles along the way, the series is still going strong even now. If you’ve never gotten into the series, or if you’re a longtime fan looking to re-experience this long saga, here’s a breakdown of how to play the Resident Evil Games in order, both chronologically and via release order.

Playing the Resident Evil Games in Chronological Order

Believe it or not, Resident Evil does actually have an overarching plot that spans the entirety of the series and all 16 games. If you want to see how the horror really began, and follow the story from its origin to conclusion (for now, at least), here’s the chronological order:

1. Resident Evil 0
2. Resident Evil
3. Resident Evil 3
4. Resident Evil 2
5. Resident Evil: Survivor
6. Resident Evil: Code Veronica
7. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
8. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
9. Resident Evil 4
10. Resident Evil Revelations
11. Resident Evil 5
12. Resident Evil Revelations 2
13. Umbrella Corps
14. Resident Evil 6
15. Resident Evil 7
16. Resident Evil Village

Do note that we’ve deliberately left out some of the side games like the popular Outbreak, as well as Gaiden and Deadly Silence. These games are spin-offs of the series and have very little to do with the actual plot. However, if you really want to play every single game in the series in release order, here’s how you would go about doing so.

Playing the Resident Evil Games in Release Order

1. Resident Evil (1996)
2. Resident Evil 2 (1998)
3. Resident Evil 3 (1999)
4. Resident Evil: Survivor (2000)
5. Resident Evil: Code Veronica (2000)
6. Resident Evil: Survivor 2 (2001)
7. Resident Evil Gaiden (2001)
8. Resident Evil REmake (2002)
9. Resident Evil Zero (2002)
10. Resident Evil: Dead Aim (2003)
11. Resident Evil: The Missions (2003)
12. Resident Evil Outbreak (2003)
13. Resident Evil Outbreak: File 2 (2004)
14. Resident Evil 4 (2005)
15. Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (2006)
16. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (2007)
17. Resident Evil: Genesis (2008)
18. Resident Evil 5 (2009)
19. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (2009)
20. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (2011)
21. Resident Evil Revelations (2012)
22. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (2012)
23. Resident Evil 6 (2012)
24. Resident Evil Revelations 2 (2015)
25. Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster (2016)
26. Umbrella Corps (2016)
27. Resident Evil 7 (2017)
28. Resident Evil 2 Remake (2019)
29. Resident Evil 3 Remake (2020)
30. Resident Evil Village (2021)

Do note that this list does include the remakes of the original Resident Evil game, 0, 2, and 3. You can safely replace the original releases with the remakes and still get the gist of the story, but if you really want to soak in the B-movie horror campiness of those original games, they’re still pretty playable even by today’s standards. Assuming you’re fine with tank controls, of course.

That’s all you need to know about how to play the Resident Evil games in order. Be sure to search for Twinfinite for more news and information on the series, including the cancellation of the Netflix series and 10 iconic moments we want to see in the RE4 remake.