Best Order to Play Resident Evil Games
Resident Evil is a franchise of horror video games. Resident Evil is often credited of popularizing the survival horror sub-genre in the video games industry. Many of Resident Evil's main game characters are recognized worldwide, and Resident Evil games are enjoyed by millions of players around the world.
What Are Resident Evil Games Like?
Resident Evil video games are horror video games in which the player character often must escape zombie-infested locations and solve puzzles, with some emphasis on inventory management, although this last part is variable depending on the game. Many of the Resident Evil video games are survival horror games, which is a sub-genre of the horror game genre, in which the game character must overcome different challenges in order to escape certain situations. Resident Evil games are often credited of popularizing the survival horror sub-genre in the video games industry, and are often described as survival horror video games.
Many Resident Evil video games are played in a fixed camera perspective, often called tank camera perspective, in which the camera is often fixed in a certain point and this point only changes whenever the game character moves to a different location. However, this camera perspective is not present in all Resident Evil games. For example, Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5 feature a third-person camera perspective, in which the camera perspective follows the game character in third-person perspective view as the character moves.
In Which Order Should I Play the Resident Evil Games?
The Resident Evil video games can be played and enjoyed in any order. These games have an immersive survival horror game experience which can be enjoyed by horror game fans. However, most of the Resident Evil games feature game characters that appear in multiple games, as well as storylines that connect across different games. For this reason, for fans of horror games, as well as Resident Evil games fans and people who want to have the most comprehensive story experience possible, it is suggested to play Resident Evil games in chronological story order.
The Chronological Story Order of Resident Evil Video Games
This is the chronological story order of the Resident Evil video games. This is not the same as the chronological order of release of these games. Instead, this is the chronological order in which the story events of each Resident Evil game take place. It is important to note how different this order is from the chronological order of release, as for example, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis was released after Resident Evil 2 (1998), but its story takes place slightly before the story of Resident Evil 2 (1998). The chronological story order is the suggested order in which to play the Resident Evil games for the most comprehensive story experience possible.
Resident Evil Zero
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Resident Evil (1996) | Resident Evil (2002) | Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
Resident Evil Outbreak
(Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City)
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis | Resident Evil 3 (2020)
Resident Evil 2 (1998) | Resident Evil 2 (2019)
Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2
Resident Evil Survivor
Resident Evil - Code: Veronica
Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica
Resident Evil: Dead Aim
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil: Revelations
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil: Revelations 2
Resident Evil 6
Umbrella Corps
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Resident Evil Village
Some Resident Evil video games, such as Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, are set in several different time periods. For this reason, selecting a specific time period for such games can be difficult, and instead I chose to decide the placement of these games based on the time period at the beginning of their gameplay.
Resident Evil Spin-Off Games
Some Resident Evil video games feature a story that is completely contradictory to the rest of the Resident Evil video games lore and established universe, or otherwise do not feature a storyline at all and include characters from various locations and time periods. For these reasons, these games can be generally considered to be spin-off games, and not directly related to the other Resident Evil video games, story-wise, even though they share game characters and locations in common with these games. For these reasons, I did not include these games in the chronological story order list I wrote of Resident Evil games, and instead included them in a separate list containing these spin-off games.
Resident Evil Gaiden
Resident Evil: Resistance
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D
Resident Evil RE:Verse
The Story Timeline Order of Resident Evil Games
This is the story timeline order of the Resident Evil video games. This is a timeline of the order in which the story events of each Resident Evil game take place, as well as the corresponding years in the Resident Evil games. It is important to note that the years presented in this timeline represent years in the Resident Evil games universe, and are not necessarily related to the years of release of these games. For example, Resident Evil (1996) was released in 1996, but takes place in 1998. It is also important to note that the years in this timeline are fictional years, and represent the time passage in the Resident Evil games universe, and for this reason they could be called "Resident Evil games years", "years in the Resident Evil games universe", "years in the Resident Evil games timeline" and so forth. In order to make this timeline as simple as possible, I decided to only include the years in which these games take place, and not the months, as I did not find the month in which the game is set for all of the games in this timeline. However, I decided to write one additional timeline of Resident Evil games including the months of the games for which I could find this information.
1998 Resident Evil Zero
1998 Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
1998 Resident Evil (1996) | Resident Evil (2002) | Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
1998 Resident Evil Outbreak
1998 (Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City)
1998 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis | Resident Evil 3 (2020)
1998 Resident Evil 2 (1998) | Resident Evil 2 (2019)
1998 Resident Evil Survivor
1998 Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2
1998 Resident Evil - Code: Veronica
1998 Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica
2002 Resident Evil: Dead Aim
2002 Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
2004 Resident Evil 4
2004 Resident Evil: Revelations
2009 Resident Evil 5
2011 Resident Evil: Revelations 2
2012 Resident Evil 6
2016 Umbrella Corps
2017 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
2021 Resident Evil Village
Deciding the time placement of the video game Umbrella Corps in my story timeline of Resident Evil video games was a choice that I made based on the multiplayer portion of that game, considering that Umbrella Corps was designed mostly as a multiplayer game, even though it features single player content. The single player content takes place initially in 2012, while the multiplayer content takes place in 2016. As Umbrella Corps is mostly a multiplayer game which also features single player content, it seems reasonable to consider the most definitive time period of this game as 2016, and not 2012.
The Story Timeline Order of Resident Evil Games (Including Months)
Jul 1998 Resident Evil Zero
Jul 1998 Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Jul 1998 Resident Evil (1996) | Resident Evil (2002) | Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
??? 1998 Resident Evil Outbreak
??? 1998 (Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City)
Sep 1998 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis | Resident Evil 3 (2020)
Sep 1998 Resident Evil 2 (1998) | Resident Evil 2 (2019)
Sep 1998 Resident Evil Survivor
??? 1998 Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2
Dec 1998 Resident Evil - Code: Veronica
Dec 1998 Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica
??? 2002 Resident Evil: Dead Aim
2002 Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
2004 Resident Evil 4
2004 Resident Evil: Revelations
2009 Resident Evil 5
2011 Resident Evil: Revelations 2
2012 Resident Evil 6
2016 Umbrella Corps
2017 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
2021 Resident Evil Village
Which Resident Evil Games Are Not Canon?
The canonicity status of some Resident Evil video games, in other words, whether they are canon or not, is often debated among Resident Evil games fans. Considering that the storyline of Resident Evil games can be quite complex due to the number of video games, and considering that many game characters appear in multiple video games, analysing the canonicity of all games can be a challenging task.
Some Resident Evil videos are widely regarded as non-canon, such as Resident Evil Gaiden, due to various aspects in which this game contradicts the rest of Resident Evil games established lore and universe.
Is Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica Canon?
The video game Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica, is regarded by some as canon and by others as non-canon. The way I view it, Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica does not contradict the story of other Resident Evil video games (considering its end), and thus, there is no reason not to consider it canon. In other words, there is no reason to consider Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica non-canon.
Is Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Canon?
The video game Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is perhaps one of the most debated Resident Evil games regarding its canonicity status, or in other words, whether it is canon or not. In the particular case of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, while this game depicts the environment of Raccoon City as it is seen in other Resident Evil video games that are set in the same time period, there are some elements in the game that contradict the storyline of other Resident Evil games. On the other hand, there is more than one way to go through the storyline of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City during gameplay, and not all ways directly conflict with the established storyline of other Resident Evil video games. In other words, depending on the gameplay choice of the player, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City could contradict the established storyline of the Resident Evil video games, and depending on the gameplay choice of the player, it could be generally coherent with the established storyline of the Resident Evil video games.
The locations presented in the game Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City are canon, as well as the game characters that appear in the game. Likewise, the game accurately represents the circumstances of Raccoon City at that time period in the Resident Evil games timeline. However, as I stated before, depending on the gameplay choices of the player, the game storyline could differ from the storyline of the rest of the Resident Evil games, and this is one of the reasons why some people do not consider this game to be canon.
In my point of view, the setting of Residnet Evil: Operation Raccoon City is generally canon, while the gameplay and the storyline of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City have a debatable canonicity. Some Resident Evil games fans argue that there are specific secondary elements in Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City that could contradict details of other Resident Evil video games established storyline. Considering all of these points, the canon status of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is too disputed for me to include it in the chronological story order of Resident Evil video games without any remarks, and thus I decided to include it with a parenthesis, as a way of emphasizing its debatable canonicity regarding the rest of the Resident Evil games established storyline. At the end, I consider Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City to be an interpretation, a hypothethical storyline, of the events that take place in Raccoon City between Resident Evil (1996) and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.
Is Umbrella Corps Canon?
Such as in the case of Umbrella Corps, there is no clear evidence indicating that the video game Umbrella Corps contradicts the established storyline of the other Resident Evil video games. Thus, I do not see a reason to consider Umbrella Corps non-canon. The locations that appear in Umbrella Corps are canon, as well as the elements that appear in this game. For all of these reasons, as far as I am aware, Umbrella Corps is canon.
Are All Resident Evil Games Set in 1998?
Many of the Resident Evil video games are set in the year 1998, such as Resident Evil Zero, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Resident Evil (1996), Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil Outbreak, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil 2 (1998), among others. However, even though many of the Resident Evil games take place in 1998, this is not the case for all of the Resident Evil games. For example, Resident Evil 4 takes place in 2004, and Resident Evil 5 takes place in 2009.
If you are interested in the story timeline order of horror video games, you may also be interested in checking out the story timeline orders of Dead Space, Outlast and Silent Hill,
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