Resident Evil is one of gaming’s most iconic franchises. It’s shaped survival horror as a genre, influenced countless imitators, and managed to reinvent itself more times than Madonna. It’s a series packed with unforgettable monsters, classic moments, and just the right amount of camp. If you grew up playing video games, there’s a decent chance Resident Evil played a major role in your gaming education.

Unless… you somehow missed it.

That’s me. I missed it.

I didn’t grow up terrified of dogs jumping through windows or strategizing how to conserve herbs and bullets. I wasn’t there to fumble with tank controls in the Spencer Mansion or to scream at Mr. X stomping around in low-res 3D. Somehow, Resident Evil passed me by until I was well into adulthood.

I knew of it, of course. Everyone does. The zombie reveal in the original game is practically part of gaming folklore. But I had no nostalgia. No childhood fear. No fond memories of trying to aim with a D-pad. And let me tell you—playing Resident Evil as an adult with zero prior experience is a very strange, very cool thing. It’s like watching Jaws or Alien for the first time in your thirties. You can still appreciate the brilliance—but you’re also painfully aware of the dated edges.

And yet, despite all that… I kind of fell in love.

Resident Evil 5 – My First, and the Least Resident Evil

My gateway into the franchise was Resident Evil 5—the game that hardcore fans often view as a cautionary tale. But in college, it was exactly what I wanted: musclebound protagonists, fast-paced co-op gunplay, and zero thinking required.

At the time, I was deep into Call of Duty and other twitch shooters. If a game didn’t give me a fully-loaded assault rifle and an absurd amount of ammo, I probably wasn’t interested. So Chris Redfield—biceps bigger than his head—punching zombies and suplexing infected enemies? Absolutely my vibe.

What I didn’t know then was that RE5 had all but abandoned its survival horror roots in favor of action and spectacle. Ammo is plentiful, healing is constant, and having a co-op partner removes a lot of the dread that made earlier games special. But to me, at the time, it was fun—and fun was all I cared about.

Ironically, it set the stage for me to appreciate what came before it. Once I realized that people loved Resident Evil for its scarier entries, I got curious. And curiosity, in this case, led me straight into a mansion full of terrible ideas.

Resident Evil (Remake) – The Scooby-Doo Mansion of Death

Eventually, I went back and played the Resident Evil remake on PS4—a remaster of the GameCube version, which itself was a rebuild of the PS1 original. If that sounds confusing, welcome to this series.

The Spencer Mansion is iconic for a reason. Every hallway drips with tension. Every camera angle makes you feel like prey. You’re armed with a pea-shooter and two herbs, and you’re expected to take on a castle full of undead and worse.

This game feels like a haunted house simulator. But not a cheesy one—the kind that’s actually trying to kill you.

Despite the age of the game’s foundation, it holds up surprisingly well. The story is absurd in the best way (Umbrella Corp, bio-weapons, conspiracies, etc.), but it’s told through moody environments and unsettling detail. You play as either Jill “Master of Unlocking” Valentine or Chris “Boulder Puncher” Redfield—before he became a human fridge.

What hit me hardest was the resource management. Ammo is scarce. Healing items are gold. Saving your progress requires an ink ribbon, and you only get a handful. Every decision feels like it matters. It’s not just scary—it’s stressful. And yet, that’s what makes it so good.

I never played the original PS1 version, and I honestly don’t think I could. The remake strikes such a good balance between preserving the original’s spirit and modernizing just enough to feel playable today. I’d play it again in a heartbeat. Just… not with tank controls.

Resident Evil 2 Remake – Survival Horror, Perfected

And then I played Resident Evil 2 Remake… and I got it.

This game is basically a masterclass in how to modernize a classic without losing what made it special. The police station, like the mansion before it, is equal parts maze and monster closet. The lighting is oppressive, the sound design is top-tier, and the zombies are terrifyingly resilient.

You play as either Claire Redfield or Leon Kennedy, each with slightly different campaigns that cross paths in fascinating ways. It’s like watching the same movie from two angles, and every overlap adds depth to the world.

And then, of course, there’s Mr. X.

If Resident Evil 1 taught me to be scared, Mr. X taught me to be paranoid. The thud-thud-thud of his footsteps echoing through the station is one of the most stressful audio cues in any game I’ve ever played. He’s relentless. You can’t kill him. You can’t outrun him for long. You just have to deal with him.

This is the game that truly made me fall in love with Resident Evil. It balances old-school tension with modern polish. It’s scary, yes—but it’s also fair. You never feel helpless. You just feel… hunted.

Resident Evil 3 Remake – Speedrun Vibes and Missed Potential

RE3 Remake builds on the greatness of RE2… and makes everything just a bit worse. Not terrible—just less impressive.

The game starts with a bang—literally. Nemesis chases you through your apartment, the city is in chaos, and the pace is breakneck. But then things start to fall apart.

Compared to RE2R, it’s shorter, more linear, and less interested in puzzles or exploration. Nemesis, while still terrifying in concept, is used mostly in scripted set pieces. You know when he’ll show up, and that predictability dulls the fear.

Carlos’s segments add some variety—he’s got more firepower, and his sequences are more action-heavy—but they also feel disconnected from Jill’s more vulnerable moments. The whole game just feels… rushed. Like they had a great idea, started strong, and then ran out of time.

It’s not bad. It’s just not as good as it could’ve been. And in this franchise, that’s a letdown.

Resident Evil 4 Remake – Bonkers in the Best Way

This one is pure adrenaline.

RE4 Remake takes a beloved classic and modernizes it without losing its spirit. The zombies are gone, replaced by parasite-infected villagers who are faster, smarter, and love to sidestep your bullets just to mess with you. And then there’s the chainsaw guys. And the fish boss. And the flaming castle. It’s like every level was designed by a horror-loving 12-year-old with a budget.

You play as Leon again, now somehow both grizzled and a total cheeseball. You’re escorting Ashley, the president’s daughter, through what feels like a cursed European vacation. The game leans into absurdity, and it’s better for it.

Is it scary? Sometimes. But mostly, it’s exhilarating. If RE2 Remake is a horror classic, RE4 Remake is an action blockbuster with fangs. This game knows exactly what it is and leans into it. It might not be the scariest RE, but it might be the most fun.

Resident Evil 7 – Swamp Thing

Chronologically, this was actually my second RE game—Resident Evil 7: Biohazard—and it’s a hell of a place to go to after 5.

Gone are the third-person camera angles and cheesy dialogue. In their place? First-person horror, a disturbing swamp setting, and the most terrifying family dinner scene in gaming history.

You play as Ethan Winters, whose entire personality is basically “confused but determined.” His wife has gone missing, and his search leads him to the Baker family—a group of fungus-infected rednecks with chainsaws and zero boundaries.

RE7 is atmospheric, tense, and deeply gross in all the right ways. It feels intimate in a way no other game in the series does. The setting—a Louisiana estate—feels lived-in and layered. The scares are more psychological. The monsters are less undead and more… rotting.

It’s a return to form that also breaks new ground. And even with its janky final act, it remains one of the best entries in the franchise.

Resident Evil 8 Village: Too Much of a Good Thing?

RE8 feels like a love letter to horror tropes: werewolves, vampires, fish monsters, creepy dolls. It’s stylish, bold, and absolutely bonkers.

Once again, you’re Ethan—the man who never has the right reaction to anything—and you’re searching for your kidnapped daughter in a cursed village with exactly one normal building. The rest are dungeons, lairs, and monster-infested strongholds.

The highlights are incredible. Lady Dimitrescu’s castle is a gothic dream. The baby doll sequence is pants-wettingly scary. The boss fights are over-the-top in the best way.

But there’s so much. By the end, it feels like eating an entire chocolate cake in one sitting. You’ll remember the flavor, but you’ll also need a nap and possibly therapy.

Resident Evil 6: The Giraffe in the Room

I didn’t play Resident Evil 6. I watched trailers, I saw the quick-time events, and I saw… the logo. You know the one. The giraffe one.

And that was enough.

I may still try it someday for the experience. But from what I’ve seen, it’s more “Michael Bay” than “George Romero,” and that’s not what I’m here for.

Resident Evil Zero, Code Veronica, and the Side Quests

I gave Resident Evil Zero and Code Veronica a try. They’re interesting, but clearly products of their time.

Zero introduces a partner-swapping mechanic that sounds cool on paper but feels clunky in practice. Code Veronica tries to go bigger and bolder but ends up feeling like a B-movie with too many rewrites.

They’re not bad, but if you’re new to the series like I was, they’re probably not where you should start. They’re better suited for lore-hungry fans looking to fill in the gaps—not newcomers looking for the core RE experience.

Final Thoughts – No Nostalgia Required

What surprised me most about diving into Resident Evil as an adult is how well the series holds up—even without nostalgia. I wasn’t blinded by childhood memories. I could see the rough edges. But I could also see the brilliance.

This is a franchise that knows how to evolve. From fixed-camera tank controls to cinematic remakes. From cheesy PS1 dialogue to spine-tingling VR horror. From slow zombies to parasite cults to mold monsters. It reinvents itself constantly—and somehow keeps the soul intact.

Whether you’re fighting off Mr. X in a police station or hurling spears at a lake monster, Resident Evil is one of the rare franchises that genuinely earns its legacy.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to mentally prepare for Resident Evil Requiem… and stock up on green herbs.