Resident Evil is one of the greatest survival horror franchises of all time. With a storyline spanning over 25 years, it can be hard to keep track of everything that has happened up to this point. Luckily, I’m here to give a quick synopsis of each game and how they all tie in together.
Here are the Resident Evil games in chronological order.
For the purposes of this timeline, I have cut down the list of games to contain only the most story crucial and widely accessible games that you can play right now. Spoilers ahead, but I will keep it on the lighter side for your enjoyment of the games, should you choose to play them.
All Resident Evil Games in Chronological Order
- Resident Evil 0
- Resident Evil
- Resident Evil 3 (First Half)
- Resident Evil 2
- Resident Evil 3 (Second Half)
- Resident Evil: Code Veronica
- Resident Evil 4
- Resident Evil: Revelations
- Resident Evil 5
- Resident Evil: Revelations 2
- Umbrella Corp
- Resident Evil 6
- Resident Evil 7
- Resident Evil Village
1. Resident Evil 0
Release Date: November 10, 2002
Date of Events: July 23-24, 1998
Kicking off the Resident Evil timeline is Resident Evil 0, to set the stage for the rest of the series. Taking place only a day before the events in the Spencer Mansion of Resident Evil, S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team officer Rebecca Chambers and escaped convict Billy Coen fight their way through the zombie-infested Ecliptic Express.
While at an Umbrella Training Facility, the two uncover Umbrella’s sinister project of crossing the progenitor virus with leech DNA to create a new biochemical weapon. The duo also discovers STARS Alpha Team captain Albert Wesker’s work with the Umbrella Corporation, leading to Resident Evil 1.
2. Resident Evil
Release Date: March 22, 1996
Date of Events: July 24-25, 1998
Right after the events of 0 is the original Resident Evil, which introduces us to some of the classic STARS of the franchise, including Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Billy Burton of Alpha Team. This will be the only time I make that joke.
Sent in to search for the missing Bravo Team, Alpha Team finds themselves inside the Spencer Mansion, where they uncover Umbrella’s zombie experiments taking place. Upon discovering Umbrella’s bioweapon named Tyrant, it is also revealed that Albert Wesker intends to destroy STARS. Jill and Chris manage to take down Wesker and flee the Spencer Mansion, but their stories are far from over.
3. Resident Evil 3 (First Half)
Release Date: September 22, 1999
Date of Events: September 26-28, 1998
It didn’t take Capcom very long before they started getting messy with the order of their Resident Evil games, seeing as Resident Evil 3 takes place before and after 2.
Resident Evil 3’s first half takes place right at the beginning of the all-important and iconic Raccoon City incident. Now in the shoes of Jill Valentine as she attempts to escape Racoon City in the wake of a T-Virus outbreak. Joining her is an Umbrella hired mercenary named Carlos.
Part one is mainly about Jill navigating Racoon City, while evading Umbrella’s newest bioweapon, Nemesis. Eventually, Nemesis catches Jill at the Saint Michael Clock Tower, infecting her with the T-Virus.
4. Resident Evil 2
Release Date: January 21, 1998
Date of Events: September 29-30, 1998
Sometime after Jill’s clocktower showdown, we encounter Chris Redfield’s sister, Claire Redfield, and rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy who can proudly claim to have had the worst first day on the job of all time.
While navigating Racoon City, Leon learns about the Racoon City Police Chief hiding evidence of Umbrella’s deeds. He also meets FBI agent Ada Wong who is investigating Umbrella’s illegal activities.
Meanwhile, Claire encounters Sherry Birkin, the daughter of Umbrella virologist William Birkin. William is the creator of the G-Virus and had intentions to sell the virus to the US military. Leon finds a sample of the G-Virus and intends to destroy the lab in which he found it. Eventually, a T-Virus-infected William Birkin shows up to stop our heroes but is ultimately defeated.
Ada then reveals that she is actually an independent mercenary on a mission to obtain the G-Virus and sell it. Ada falls to her death with the G-Virus while Claire and Leon escape the city.
5. Resident Evil 3 (Second Half)
Release Date: September 22, 1999
Date of Events: October 1, 1998
Three days after Jill is infected with the T-virus, she is saved by Carlos, who finds a vaccine. It is up to the two to escape Raccoon City before the US government vaporizes the whole city with a nuclear bomb.
Upon defeating Nemesis, they escape with a vaccine and the US Government sues the Umbrella corporation.
6. Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Release Date: February 3, 2000
Date of Events: December 1998
Funny enough, Code Veronica was initially developed as Resident Evil 3; however, it ended up as an off mainline game exclusive to the Dreamcast, due to some handshaking and deal-making.
In Code Veronica, Claire finds herself in an Umbrella facility in Paris searching for her brother, Chris. Umbrella captures Claire and imprisons her on Rockfort Island, where, surprise surprise, a T-Virus outbreak is occurring. Claire teams up with Steve Burnside, a former Umbrella employee, to escape the island.
The games start getting pretty plot-heavy, but the basic rundown is that a new villain, Alfred Ashford, has created the T-Veronica virus while our secondary villain, Albert Wesker, has mutated into a superhuman with intentions to snag a sample of the T-Veronica virus from Ashford. Ultimately, Wesker successfully retrieves the sample he needs while Claire and Chris are reunited.
7. Resident Evil 4
Release Date: January 11, 2005
Date of Events: Fall 2004
Everyone’s favorite RE game and a game that is frequently brought up in the “greatest games of all time” discussion. It’s even ranked as number 30 on Metacritic’s Best Videos of All Time List, not too shabby. Even if you elect to not play all the Resident Evil games, much less in order, definitely check this one out.
Resident Evil 4 returns to Leon, now a Secret Service agent tasked with rescuing the president’s daughter from a rural village in Spain. We discover that the villagers are infected with the Las Plagas parasite that turns its host into a zombie-like being. While on the hunt for Ashley, Leon is infected with Las Plagas.
Eventually, Leon saves Ashley but not before running into Ada Wong again. Ada now works for Wesker and is hunting down the Las Plagas parasite for him. Eventually, Leon is cured of Las Plagas while Ada steals a sample of the parasite and disappears once again.
8. Resident Evil: Revelations
Release Date: January 26, 2012
Date of Events: 2005
Revelations introduces a new faction into the RE canon, the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, otherwise referred to as the BSAA. This globe-trotting group is now the world’s first line of defense against the bioweapon terror sweeping the globe. I guess it only took a decade to figure out what to do about these outbreaks, huh.
Our classic characters, Jill and Chris, spearhead BSAA operations, and overall this game establishes the T-Abyss virus.
Try to keep up with all the zombie virus variants if you can.
9. Resident Evil 5
Release Date: March 5, 2009
Date of Events: March 2009
Now a part of the BSAA, Chris Redfield is tasked with taking down a black market bioweapon dealer in Africa. In yet another double-cross, it is discovered that Tricell, the organization funding BSAA, is now partnered with Wesker and supporting Umbrella’s illegal activities.
That Wesker guy sure knows how to cut a deal!
Also, it is revealed that Wesker is actually an Umbrella bioweapon tasked with wiping out all humans that are not fit for survival in a zombie world. What a guy! Wesker is ultimately killed by Chris Redfield.
Don’t ever try to fight a guy who can punch through a literal boulder. Seriously.
10. Resident Evil: Revelations 2
Release Date: February 24, 2015 - March 17, 2015
Date of Events: 2011
Revelations 2 is a bit more of a standalone in the series, with Claire Redfield back into the spotlight. This time, Claire is working with another bioterror prevention agency named TerraSave.
As a standalone story, this game gives us another look at what Claire and Barry Burton are up to and establishes TerraSave. At the end of this episodic series, Claire learns that her brother is in China, setting the stage for Resident Evil 6.
11. Umbrella Corps
Release Date: June 21, 2016
Date of Events: March 12 - November 20, 2012
Even as one of the worst games in the series, Umbrella Corp adds a bit more to the whole Resident Evil story. However, should you choose to play all the Resident Evil games in order, this is one you can easily skip.
In short, Umbrella Corps is the new branch of Umbrella that is making up for its past misdeeds by working with the BSAA to clean up its mistakes. A little too late if you ask me. The game also implies that Wesker did not die at the end of Resident Evil 5.
12. Resident Evil 6
Release Date: October 2, 2021
Date of Events: December 24-25, 2012
RE6 is where everything comes together, and we have the first game with almost every major protagonist present and playable. And it is a really messy and convoluted story as a consequence!
The majority of Resident Evil 6 focuses on the global efforts to contain the new C-Virus. Chris is still working with the BSAA, Leon is still getting played by Ada Wong. Ada Wong is actually two people; one is the real Ada, while the fake Ada is actually a bioweapon. An adult Sherry Birkin returns to find Jake Wesker, Albert Wesker’s son, to create a vaccine for the C-Virus.
13. Resident Evil 7
Release Date: January 24, 2017
Date of Events: July-August 2017
This is where the RE games have spun off from the big overarching plot that Capcom had spun together for the last 20 years. A soft-reboot of sorts after having two mainline games receive a lukewarm reception. This is where the series establishes mold monsters as its central enemy, in a departure from the standard zombie/zombie super mutant formula.
This new take on Resident Evil introduces us to Ethan Winters as he finds himself in a ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre-style’ creepy mansion, somewhere out in Louisiana, tracking down his presumably dead wife. Ethan manages to find his wife; however, at the end of the game, the real hero is Chris Redfield, who destroys this game’s biochemical threat and is now operating under the Blue Umbrella corporation.
Blue Umbrella still largely remains a mystery in the RE universe.
14. Resident Evil Village
Release Date: May 7, 2021
Date of Events: February 8-10, 2021
Village is a continuation of Ethan’s story. While still honoring the previously established lore with the inclusion of the BSAA and Chris Redfield, Village looks more towards the franchise's future. Village is still fresh; it was recently released in May of last year. I will keep details light, as this game is worth your time.
Village opens up with Ethan and his wife, Mia, now living in a remote village somewhere in eastern Europe with their newborn daughter. One night, Chris Redfield storms the house, kills Mia, and takes Ethan's daughter away. Now it is up to Ethan to figure out what in the world is happening. Also, there are vampires and werewolves now due to the mold and Cadou parasite.
Resident Evil now has Underworld vibes. I’ll take it.
Do You Need to Play ALL the Resident Evil Games in Order?
That just about wraps up every Resident Evil game in order up to this point. It can be a lot to sit through at a grand total of 14 games, and not everyone is so inclined to play each one. If Resident Evil interests you but you don’t want to take on the daunting task of playing them in order, go ahead and play whichever interests you the most. The great writers at Capcom have ensured that despite having a long connected plot across the whole series, each game can still stand as an independent story that you can enjoy even with limited knowledge of the series.
I jumped in during the BSAA era of RE5, only going back to play the Racoon City era games much later, and I never felt like I missed too much of the overall plot.
Some mysteries still remain, like whether or not Wesker is truly dead, the status of Ada Wong, and why there is still no bow tie on the storylines of Leon, Claire, Jill, and Billy Burton. After the events of Village, the future of Resident Evil appears to be an exciting one. Wherever the series may go, be sure to pack your Samurai Edge and plenty of green herbs for the stories ahead.
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