Summary
- Resident Evil 4 subverted genre norms with a new third-person perspective, gameplay, and story, revitalizing the series.
- Resident Evil 2 Remake successfully reimagined a beloved classic with stunning graphics and gameplay, honoring the original.
- Resident Evil 7 innovated with first-person view and a new protagonist, reviving the series with a fresh take on survival horror.
The Resident Evil franchise has always been trying to push the boundaries of the survival horror genre, which has inevitably ended up making some of these games seem extremely ambitious. While this can obviously apply to the gameplay and mechanics, it can also relate to the story, considering Capcom does have a tendency to go very big and bombastic every now and again, to varying degrees of success.
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With that being said though, there have still been several Resident Evil titles that many considered to be far ahead of their time, being seen as extremely forward-thinking and overly ambitious for the time they came out. This definitely applies to these games listed below, which are notable for how far Capcom decided to go in order to make them unique. This list is ranked according to how ambitious the games are, rather than overall quality.
8 Resident Evil 5
A Co-Op Thillride Which Wraps Up Many Loose Ends In The Lore
Resident Evil 5
- Released
- March 5, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
While the implementation of co-op had already made Resident Evil 5 stand out, what ended up getting fans most excited was the fact that this would be the game that was going to mark the conclusion of several long-running storylines. Most importantly, this would be the end of Wesker's journey as the main villain of the series, so needless to say, there was a lot weighing on Capcom's shoulders to make this a satisfying end for such an iconic antagonist.
Many doubted whether they could truly pull it off, but thankfully, Resident Evil 5 does an excellent job of giving Wesker enough of the spotlight for one final time before giving him an appropriate death at the very end of the final mission. While the game plays a lot similarly to Resident Evil 4, the addition of co-op is extremely well done, and while co-op horror games may have been a little tricky to pull off at this point in time, Capcom managed to nail it with Resident Evil 5.
7 Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Return To Raccoon City Through The Eyes Of An Umbrella Agent
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
- Released
- March 20, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
- OpenCritic Rating
- Weak
The Raccoon City outbreak has always been shown through the eyes of average survivors who were there when the incident took place. However, Capcom decided to get a little experimental with Operation Raccoon City by allowing players to assume control of Umbrella agents. Not only that, the game was set to be the first four-player game in the franchise.
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Considering that Umbrella had always been seen as the bad guys in the world of Resident Evil, being able to create a fun and compelling story while playing as Umbrella operatives was a pretty lofty task. Because the story is non-canonical, though, it means Capcom was able to take some creative liberties with the scenarios, making this fairly ambitious spin-off an extremely fun and addictive title that fans of the series definitely shouldn't gloss over.
6 Resident Evil Village
Village Contains A Completely Different Art Style And Aesthetic
Resident Evil Village
- Released
- May 7, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR2, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
After the critical and commercial success of Resident Evil 7, Capcom could have easily played it safe and created yet another slasher-inspired horror game to keep the fans happy, but this isn't exactly what ended up happening. Village features a completely different art direction and aesthetic, not only from Resident Evil 7, but from the rest of the franchise, since this was really the first time that the games had dived headfirst into the world of vampires, witches, and werewolves.
As a franchise that has always been synonymous with zombies and bio-mutants, it was made pretty clear as soon as the game was announced that Village was going to be a very ambitious title, which was making some major changes to the overall presentation of the franchise. The good news is, Capcom managed to nail this new style, despite this being the first time they've ever decided to go in this sort of direction.
5 Resident Evil 7
A First Person View And A Brand New Protagonist
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- Released
- January 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Psychological Horror, First-Person
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
After Resident Evil 6 ended up turning many players away from the series due to its reliance on action, the only way Capcom could resolve this was by returning to the series' roots. By far the most notable departure in Resident Evil 7 from the other mainline games is the decision to go with a first-person camera angle. In the same vein, removing all the classic protagonists entirely and introducing a brand new one was also seen as an ambitious choice, which could have easily backfired had it gone wrong.
It turns out, though, this is exactly what the series needed, as Resident Evil 7 was able to revive this series at a time when it seemed to be on its last legs. Capcom decided to think outside the box when they were developing Resident Evil 7, and it resulted in a game that plays like no other in the series.
4 Resident Evil 6
Four Whole Campaigns, All With Different Stories, Characters, And Enemies
Resident Evil 6
- Released
- October 2, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
Though Resident Evil 6 isn't exactly a beloved entry among the fanbase, it's still evident that Capcom wanted to make this the most grandiose game in the franchise, considering how much was packed into it. This game doesn't just feature one story; it has four campaigns, which are all centered around a team of different characters. Not only that, but they each have stories that will overlap at certain points in the plot, alongside new enemy types and even environments.
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Pair this with the plethora of multiplayer modes, including the Agent Hunt, where players can assume control of a monster in someone else's campaign, and it made it seem like Capcom was going above and beyond to make this a special entry in the series. The obsession with trying to make the game and action set piece did ultimately turn a lot of people away, but the staggering amount of time and effort Capcom put into making Resident Evil 6 different does still deserve some credit.
3 Resident Evil 2 Remake
How Does A Developer Remake What Many Already Consider A Perfect Game?
Resident Evil 2
- Released
- January 25, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Horror
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Despite being released back in 1997, it's still hard to find many flaws in the original Resident Evil 2, considering how well the game still stands up in most departments. When it was officially revealed that Capcom would be remaking this survival horror classic, it seemed like a highly ambitious task considering the glowing reputation it had already garnered over the years, so it really needed to be a home run for it to make much of an impression.
Thanks to the new RE engine, Capcom was able to completely re-imagine classic areas like the RPD and orphanage with dazzling new graphics, while also retaining the slow and methodical gameplay loop by making the zombies dangerous again. Recreating one of the most beloved games ever made can't be easy, yet Capcom managed to get it right, kicking off a wave of horror remakes which are still being made to this very day.
2 Resident Evil 0
Switching Between Two Characters On The Fly Was A Mechanic Ahead Of Its Time
Resident Evil 0
- Released
- November 12, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood and Gore
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
It's honestly bizarre to think that Resident Evil 0 was first released in 2001, considering the mechanics of the game are far ahead of their time. The main example of this is the ability to freely switch between Rebecca and Billy with a single button press. When doing this, there isn't a lengthy loading screen or transition. Instead, the game will almost instantly switch over to the other character, who can then help with completing puzzles and finding resources.
In practice, this ambitious mechanic can feel a little overwhelming considering players also need to manage both inventories at once, but it does at least help the game stand on its own as something vastly different from what came before and after. The choice to remove item boxes entirely was also seen as a big departure, though it's a clever way to encourage players to think more about what resources they truly need to keep around, and whether it's worth ditching a herb or two to pick up a key item.
1 Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4 Completely Subverted The Norms Of Survival Horror
Resident Evil 4
- Released
- January 11, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
With the Resident Evil series slowly but surely losing its luster by the early 2000s, Capcom realized they had to go big in order to bring fans back, but to say they got ambitious with Resident Evil 4 would be putting it lightly. Resident Evil 4 defies many of the established rules that had been placed on survival horror games. For example, the fixed camera angles, which had always been staples of the genre, were replaced with a fixed third-person over-the-shoulder view to add to the game's immersion and realism.
In the first few minutes of the game, Leon even announces that Umbrella has now completely disbanded after their stocks crashed. With Umbrella being propped up as the final enemy of the franchise, it was a huge risk for Capcom to remove them off-screen, but while all of this could have ended up going horribly wrong, these elements came together to create what many consider one of the best survival horror games ever made; full of fun gameplay segments, memorable characters, and a compelling story.
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