What do you do when you finish Resident Evil 4 Remake? Play it again?sneak into Resident Evil 5? The latter seems like the logical choice, despite its lack of shaggy-haired ex-cops. But there’s always the risk that just when you’re about to murder Wesker for wearing sunglasses indoors, Capcom announces it’s remaking that one, too.
Instead, why not set aside the numerical order and explore some of the many side games that the Resident Evil franchise has spawned?we are not talking Resident Evil – Codename: Veronica or Resident Evil Revelations or – Too many Resident Evil games to count, too many to shake a bazooka.
So we’ve rounded up some spinoffs from the series that you might not have gotten your hands on yet. Some are relatively easy to obtain, while others are very expensive. But if you’re a Resident Evil fan, each one is definitely worth playing.
Resident Evil Survivor (PlayStation 1 – 2000)
forget Resident Evil 7: Resident EvilResident Evil Survivor offers first-person zombie-ventilated pranks back in space year 2000. Part of the Gun Survivor series, it’s not a rail shooter, though it supports Namco’s G-Con 45 light gun.
Instead, you wander around in first-person, then switch to aiming mode to take out any abominations that move or jump toward you. Unfortunately, you can’t move and shoot at the same time, a “feature” that later appeared in the original Resident Evil 4.
But Resident Evil: Survivor’s first-person perspective does make combat more satisfying. It also means you can’t blame the wobbly camera angles or tank controls when zombies start biting your spine.
Add in an offshore Umbrella facility and a protagonist with amnesia (this was before every other horror game did this) and you’ve got a title that’s still fun despite its age. It was followed by two other Resident Evil entries and the Dinosaur Crisis game Dinosaurstalker.
Resident Evil Story (Gameboy Color – 2001)
The ambitious Game Boy Color version of Resident Evil may have been canceled, but Nintendo’s handheld still has its own BOW-bashing adventure, Resident Evil Gaiden. Its canonity is highly questionable, but it, rather than Resident Evil 4, marks Leon Kennedy’s return to the franchise. Before Resident Evil: Apocalypse, it was making zombies on ocean liners.
Even now, we question the wisdom of its time-based combat system. But we don’t like a good team, with both Leon and Resident Evil 1’s Barry Burton fighting a shapeshifting monster that can only be distinguished by its green blood.
Unfortunately, its gripping ending was never resolved, and it’s currently raking in money on eBay. But there’s a fan remake, Starlight Projectcurrently in progress.
Resident Evil Outbreak (PlayStation 2 – 2003)
In its heyday, Resident Evil Outbreak was mostly about teaming up with other players to escape the zombie-infested metropolis of Raccoon City. Its online features have long been shut down, but the third-person Resi game (which later got a semi-sequel) is still playable on its own.
What’s interesting about it, even without multiplayer, is how unremarkable the game’s choice of protagonist is. The closest they’ve come to dealing with mindless, shambling zombies is working Black Friday.
The Ghost Survivors DLC for the Resident Evil 2 remake does touch on this concept, but in Outbreak, it adds an extra dose of unease. Yes, you’re technically the protagonist (or main character) of the game, but there’s always that lingering feeling that you’re a supporting character in someone else’s story.
Resident Evil: Death Sight (PlayStation 2 – 2003)
Resident Evil: Revelations isn’t even the second Resi game to take place on an ocean liner. Resident Evil: Dead Aim, released nearly a decade ago, also has you all at sea, at least for the first half of the game.
It’s the fourth and final installment in the Gun Survivor series, but unlike the first, it only switches to a first-person view when you’re aiming. It also introduces two new characters, American agent Bruce McGivern and Chinese agent Fong Ling.
On the liner, the two men are the sole representatives of their government, each held to ransom by the villainous Morpheus D. Duvall. Despite the shaky voice acting, they’re a lovely duo. Unfortunately, aside from a brief appearance in a couple of card games, they’ve been largely unknown.
Resident Evil Confidential Report (Mobile – 2006)
Back in the early to mid-2000s, before Android and the iPhone came along, several major companies released Java games. These aren’t Frozen Elsa Gets Brain Surgery clones either, they’re legitimate licensed games. However, their actual quality varies widely.
We don’t recommend diving down that rabbit hole, but Resident Evil Confidential Report is one of the many (mostly retired) Resident Evil mobile games that stands above Capcom’s other mobile offerings. It falls a bit short on the horror side, but it dares to do something different and is the only turn-based Resident Evil game so far.
Resident Evil: The Dark Chronicles (Wii, PlayStation 3 – 2009)
Capcom may not have announced a modern-day Resident Evil: Code Veronica remake, but they’ve already recycled it for Resident Evil Survivor 2-Code: Veronica and Resident Evil: The Dark Chronicles. game.
However, the sequel to Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles doesn’t just reimagine Resident Evil: Code Veronica and Resident Evil 2 as rail shooters. It also explores some of the events leading up to Resident Evil 4. Wondering why Krauser fell to the dark side? You will find the answer here.
Of all these titles, it’s also the most accessible. If you’re a PlayStation Plus Premium subscriber, it’s part of the PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog, bundled with The Umbrella Chronicles. The latter, while offering less in terms of revealing new plots, has interesting Hot Wesker Action segments.
There are other Resident Evil entries to explore, but delve into these at your own risk. Yes, we’re talking about you, the Umbrella Corps. You’re not Left 4 Dead, no matter how you look at it. Who knows, when you’re done, Resident Evil 6 Remake May have rolled.
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