The survival horror gaming genre began as a niche fascination in the 1990s, but franchises like Resident Evil helped legitimize these frightening experiences and turn them into some of the most successful games on the market.

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Audiences can expect a new Resident Evil game every few years, but the 2000s were a pivotal decade for the franchise in terms of the direction of its mainline games and its increasing number of spin-off experiments. Some of these Resident Evil games have held up better than others and they make for a fascinating look down memory lane.

10 Resident Evil Survivor Turns The Zombie Apocalypse Into A First-Person Shooter (Score: 39)

Games Resident Evil Survivor Attack

The Resident Evil series has many spin-offs that push the franchise in different directions. Early on in its run, there are two Resident Evil Survivor titles that deliver first-person light gun gameplay that capitalizes on the series’ terrifying array of creatures.

Resident Evil Survivor borrows enemies and elements from the first two Resident Evil games, while its sequel Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica, looks at material from Resident Evil 3 and CODE: Veronica. It’s a creative pivot for the series that feels quite natural, but it lacks the impact and scares of the core series.

9 Resident Evil Zero Turns The Clock Back To Look At Raccoon City’s Origins Of Evil (Score: 62)

Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen fighting leeches in GameCube's Resident Evil Zero

The Resident Evil franchise continues to expand its lore in complex ways, but in the early 2000s it was quite novel to have a prequel game that connects the dots to the original Resident Evil. Resident Evil Zero is an ambitious outlier in the franchise that takes gameplay risks, such as its companion “zapping” system, punishing difficulty, and its emphasis on leeches.

Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen never gained the same notoriety as other Resident Evil leads. Resident Evil Zero made a bigger splash when it first debuted on Nintendo’s GameCube and its modern HD remasters aren’t as strong and only highlight some of the game’s fundamental issues.

8 Resident Evil: Dead Aim Is An Action-Heavy Light Gun Adventure On The PS2 (Score: 65)

Games Resident Evil Dead Aim Monster

Capcom's Gun Survivor first-person shooter light gun spin-off series was a fascinating experiment during the 1990s and 2000s. There are three Gun Survivor titles that started out on the PlayStation and despite the fancy name, the PlayStation 2's Resident Evil: Dead Aim is for all intents and purposes Gun Survivor 4.

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Resident Evil: Dead Aim is technically an improvement over the previous Resident Evil Survivor games, but only because of the PS2’s hardware. The new characters in the game are among the most forgettable from Resident Evil. The gameplay that shifts between first-person shooting and third-person movement is also a pain.

7 Resident Evil: Deadly Silence Brings Touch Controls To The Original Zombie Experience (Score: 71)

Games Resident Evil Deadly Silence Tarantula

Nintendo has a longstanding history of innovating handheld gaming, but their Nintendo DS technology was such a substantial leap forward from its Game Boy Advance predecessor. The DS became a reliable home for many Nintendo 64 era ports, including a version of the PlayStation’s original Resident Evil.

Resident Evil: Deadly Silence adds many quality of life improvements to the original, but doesn’t lose any of the original’s magic in the porting process. Deadly Silence can’t compare to the GameCube’s proper Resident Evil remake, but the main novelty here is to get a proper portable version of the game that started it all.

6 Resident Evil Outbreak Forces Online Players To Conquer The Undead As A Team (Score: 71)

Games resident evil outbreak (1)

The advent of online multiplayer gaming has completely changed the industry and some franchises have been able to reinvent themselves through online play. Resident Evil has gradually incorporated online features, but their first dedicated attempt in this field was the PlayStation 2’s Resident Evil Outbreak.

Set during the events of Resident Evil 2 and 3, the online survival game allows players to pick from a wide array of human survivors. Resident Evil Outbreak was a fun evolution of the franchise’s standard formula. The series’ expansion pack, Outbreak File #2, wasn’t met with the same enthusiasm and marked the beginning of the end for the co-operative title.

5 Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles And Darkside Chronicles Revisit A Legacy Of Evil (Score: 75)

Wesker attacks zombies in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

Resident Evil’s history with the light gun genre goes all the way back to the original PlayStation, but the motion control-centric gameplay of the Nintendo Wii prompted two impressive Resident Evil on-rails shooters. The Umbrella Chronicles and its sequel, The Darkside Chronicles, retell pivotal events across the franchise through the perspective of various Umbrella and S.T.A.R.S. agents.

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These titles are relatively short, but they’re packed with unlockables that extend the light gun adventure. Both titles have since been collected and remastered for the PlayStation 3, but the original co-operative experience on the Wii is what most audiences remember.

4 Resident Evil 5 Marks The Bold Return Of Chris Redfield And A New Focus On Action (Score: 84)

Chris Refield and Sheva Alomar firing their guns in Resident Evil 5 game

Resident Evil 4 completely changed the game and set unrealistic expectations for the next main title in the series. Resident Evil 5 sends a burly Chris Redfield to West Africa with a new partner, Sheva Alomar, on a personal mission that forces Chris to confront many faces from his past, like Albert Wesker and Jill Valentine.

The return of these old faces, the new scenery, and the emphasis on co-operative gameplay are all effective, but the game's sloppy storytelling begins to push the franchise further away from horror and into generic action territory (which reaches its apex in Resident Evil 6).

3 Resident Evil Code: Veronica X Is The Definitive Traditional Resident Evil Experience (Score: 84)

Albert Wesker strangling Chris Redfield in Resident Evil Code: Veronica

Originally released for Sega’s Dreamcast, Resident Evil CODE: Veronica was developed as the third mainline entry in the series with Resident Evil 3: Nemesis meant to be more of a side story. CODE: Veronica tells an appropriately epic story that spans the globe and tests both Claire and Chris Redfield in new ways as they attempt a reunion.

CODE: Veronica has chilling puzzles, disturbing enemies, and it brings back Albert Wesker in a huge way. Code: Veronica X is the upgraded PlayStation 2 port that adds even more into the satisfying package.

2 2002’s Resident Evil Remake Conjures Even Scarier Spectacles Than The Original (Score: 91)

Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, and Albert Wesker at the entrance of the Spencer Mansion in Resident Evil HD.

Nintendo fostered an exciting deal with Capcom during the GameCube’s run that gave their console several exclusive titles, including multiple Resident Evil games. One of the most exciting projects during this partnership was a robust remake of 1996’s Resident Evil.

The GameCube remake doesn’t just add substantially more to the game, but it’s one of the best looking games on the console and it’s legitimately scary. Modern remakes of the classic Resident Evil games have become a popular trend for Capcom, but many consider this GameCube effort the strongest of the lot.

1 Resident Evil 4 Is A Franchise High And A Turning Point For Survival Horror (Score: 96)

Games Resident Evil 4 GameCube

The Resident Evil series would not be where it is today without Resident Evil 4. The breakthrough title introduces a larger focus on action, removes the static camera angles, and continues to look forward. Resident Evil 4 started as a GameCube exclusive, but it’s gone on to become one of the most widely ported games of the generation.

The larger scope and stakes in Resident Evil 4 felt revolutionary at the time and the game still has a deeply addictive structure to it. With an official next-gen remake on the way, time will tell if the GameCube original will have finally met its match.

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