Ranking the best Resident Evil games is no easy task. Since 1996, Capcom's long-running series has delivered some of the best horror games ever made, a true pioneer of the survival horror genre that many new games have sought to emulate over the years. While imitation is the sincerest form of splattery (pardon the zombie brains), you'll find no such thing here.
I've played every single Resident Evil game that has ever been released, and after much debate with the rest of the hardcore Raccoon City experts on the GamesRadar+ team, I've rounded up the top 10 titles across the Resident Evil timeline. For this ranking, I've made sure to keep in mind both horror and action when considering placements. Some games lean more towards one genre, and others give us the perfect balance of both. The titles with true thrills and chills are the ones who I believe should be lauded as the all-time greats.
It's also worth keeping in mind that I periodically update this list whenever we get a new Resi release. Our most recent addition is Resident Evil Requiem, but with more upcoming horror games on the way, my ranking may change again in the future as well. But for now, join me in looking back on the top 10 Resident Evil games of all-time!
The best Resident Evil games, starting with...
10. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Release date: September 22, 1999
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis found success in its capacity to subvert expectations. The introduction of Nemesis, an unkillable monstrosity that made the streets of Raccoon City more deadly than ever before, made it so there was never a safe place to hide; triggering a door animation would create a little distance, sure, but never a feeling that you were truly safe from harm.
In presenting a world thick with tension, along with improved combat mechanics and mobility options, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is one of those rare survival horror games that grips you within minutes and never dares to let you loose. If you want to know more, you can check out our Resident Evil 3 Remake review.
9. Resident Evil Village
Release date: May 7, 2021
Platform(s): PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Switch, Switch 2
Resident Evil Village sought new ways to scrutinize the Resident Evil playbook and largely succeeded. Capcom furthered the story of Ethan Winters, intertwining it more explicitly with the wider Resident Evil universe, and pushed to strike a better balance between humor and horror.
The outsized torture of Ethan's hands was a body horror breath of fresh air against some of the more overt scares – the stalking by Lady Dimitrescu and the Witches Three, not to mention a dollhouse section that rivaled the best Silent Hill games in terms of pure tension. Resident Evil Village may have had the occasional stumble (as we mention in our Resident Evil Village review). Still, it proved to be another compelling example of the power Resident Evil can wield when it casts its action from a first-person perspective- though, as of a post-launch update, you can play it third-person now too. It's also heading to the Switch 2 soon, in case you wanted to experience it on a Nintendo console.
8. Resident Evil – Code: Veronica X
Release date: February 3, 2000
Platform(s): PS3, PS2, Xbox 360
Rumor has it Resident Evil – Code: Veronica was originally designed to carry the Resident Evil series into the future. While Nemesis ultimately landed with 'Resident Evil 3' emblazoned across its title screen, it's clear today that Code: Veronica was deserving of the title. In fact, you only need to read our glowing Resident Evil Code: Veronica X HD review to see how highly we rate this entry still today.
It introduced real-time 3D environments and a more dynamic camera to sit in them, furthering Resident Evil's foray into action territory without exorcizing the spirit of survival that embodied its core scenario design. Code: Veronica closed out Resident Evil's first chapter; it's a time capsule that honors Resident Evil's past and hints at where it will go in the future. The good news is that we now also have a remake heading our way with Resident Evil Veronica. Hopefully it can live up to this greats legacy.
7. Resident Evil 4 Remake
Release date: March 24, 2023
Platform(s): PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X
Resident Evil 4 Remake is one of the best action games of the modern era. In fact, in our near-perfect Resident Evil 4 Remake review, we mentioned how "it captures everything that made it so special to begin with." Capcom was not only able to preserve the spirit of the 2005 original but successfully modernize elements of its design – updating the plot, artistic direction, and structure to make it more palatable to players joining the series in 2023.
With its slick, claustrophobic combat and stunning set pieces, RE4 Remake is absolutely worth your time and attention. Naturally, there's some debate as to whether or not the Remake is able to beat the original, but as far as we're concerned, it's a fantastic interpretation of one of gaming's masterpieces.
6. Resident Evil 2 Remake
Release date: January 25, 2019
Platform(s): PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Switch
To play the Resident Evil 2 Remake is to look through a window into an alternate history. The way it is able to coalesce the methodical challenge of the original Resident Evil games with the tight, over-the-shoulder third-person combat popularized by Resident Evil 4 shows where the series could (and should) have gone after Capcom changed the nature of play in 2005.
It's a stunning love letter to the legacy of Resident Evil 2 and is fearless in its attempt to make the past feel fresh for the present. Resident Evil 2 Remake is an incredible reimagining of a legendary game that stands as one of the best survival horror games of the modern era. If you need more convincing about this gem, check out our four-star Resident Evil 2 Remake review next.
5. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Release date: January 24, 2017
Platform(s): PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Switch, Switch 2
Following the disappointment of Resident Evil 6, the future of the series seemed uncertain. It had gotten too messy and convoluted for its own good, a series bloated by time and expectation. It's in this environment that Resident Evil 7 was born, a true overhaul that kickstarted a new era for the Resident Evil series.
Cast from a first-person perspective, set in an intricately designed single-set location, framed around a core set of monstrous (and no less larger-than-life) characters, and a return to the survival horror foundations the series was first built upon, Resident Evil 7 emerged as one of the best horror games of the modern era. So much so that in our Resident Evil 7 Biohazard review, we said that it is "about as an essential a horror experience as you can get."
4. Resident Evil 2
Release date: January 21, 1998
Platform(s): PC
Creating the foundation for a successful franchise is one thing; developing a successful sequel to it is something else entirely. Resident Evil 2 took the suspenseful action of its predecessor and the suffocating atmosphere that lingered in the Spencer Estate and draped it across a sprawling city under siege from the living dead.
Resident Evil 2 is an ingenious survival horror game, bringing meticulously crafted spaces together with perfectly paced scenario design to form an experience that's as gripping today as it was in 1998. Resident Evil 2 is one of the greatest sequels ever made and the game that established Resident Evil's place in history as one of gaming's best franchises.
3. Resident Evil Remake
Release date: March 22, 2002
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Resident Evil Remake was truly astounding when it landed on GameCube back in 2002, and it has lost none of its power in the years since. It's a lovingly crafted REmake (if you will), taking the bones of the 1996 original and rendering it anew – introducing new terrifying threats in the Crimson Head zombies, improved combat mechanics, and refined resource management to make what was once old feel fresh again.
Resident Evil Remake is also stunningly evocative, its overhauled visual design so impressive that it is still able to make the jaw drop, so many years later. Resident Evil Remake took an impressive game, weathering the decay of time, and preserved it in amber, ensuring that one of survival horror's most formative experiences would remain as good to play today as the day it was first unleashed upon the world.
2. Resident Evil Requiem
Release date: February 27, 2026
Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series X, PS5, Switch 2
Resident Evil Requiem landed in 2026 to bring us the latest entry in the series, and it's also one of the best Resi games yet. Essentially packing in two different experiences when it comes to enemy encounters, thanks to the contrasting lead protagonists in Grace and Leon – the former of which is less experienced in combat, while the latter is a longtime veteran – it succeeds at being a consistently scary, atmospheric, and well-balanced survival horror experience that you'll have a hard time forgetting.
Visually, it looks incredible, too (and we're not just talking about Leon Kennedy, here). With the option to play in both first-person and third-person, it marries the classic style with the more recent direction of Resident Evil 7. It seems evident through it that Capcom is setting the scene for the future of the series, and if Requiem is anything to go by, it's a very exciting one indeed. Full of action, gore, and terrors, the latest entry demands to be played. For more information, you can read our Resident Evil Requiem review!
1. Resident Evil 4
Release date: January 11, 2005
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Not only the best Resident Evil game ever, Resident Evil 4 is arguably one of the best shooter games of all time and undoubtedly one of the most important releases of its generation. Its 2005 arrival marked a sweeping reinvention of the Resident Evil framework, the camera's perspective fixed firmly over the shoulder of Leon S. Kennedy.
It's perfectly paced and utterly relentless, an experience designed to overwhelm from the first minute through to the last, and self-aware enough to revel in the ridiculousness of its own narrative arc. Resident Evil 4 is a truly remarkable game, one that changed the entire industry around it.
Looking for something else to play outside of the Resident Evil series? There are plenty of upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox Series X games to look forward to on the horizon.
