My 3 all-time favorite Resident Evil games

Hello everyone! Today I want to talk to you about my three absolute favorite Resident Evil games.

You might agree with a couple of my choices, but I’m pretty sure at least one of them will make a few people turn up their noses.

Then again, these are just my personal opinions. What strikes me most about a title in this series isn't necessarily its technical perfection or how exceptional it is from a purely gameplay perspective.

What fascinates me most about Resident Evil is the overall atmosphere, the way the environments are crafted, and, above all, the level of immersion they manage to provide.

Before we begin, though, a quick disclaimer.

I loved Resident Evil 9 but I wasn't exactly a huge fan of everything this latest installment from Capcom had to offer. For instance, I found the section featuring Leon—even though he’s my favorite character in the series—to be quite lackluster compared to Grace’s section, or at least in terms of what I personally look for in a Resident Evil game.

I should also point out that there’s very little difference between my top three picks; in fact, the game I’ve placed third is, for all intents and purposes, on the same level as the one in first place.

With that said, let’s get started.

THIRD PLACE:

Resident Evil 2 Remake

I’ve surely lost quite a few readers by now, but let me explain.

I consider the *Resident Evil 2* remake to be one of the best remakes ever made in the history of video games, as well as one of the entries in the series that most effectively kept me glued to the screen.

It has practically everything I look for in a *Resident Evil* game.

Right up until the end, I was torn about whether to swap the second and third spots. Ultimately, I decided on this ranking, and I’ll explain why.

Along with the seventh installment, this is arguably the *Resident Evil* game I appreciated the most in terms of puzzles, backtracking, and a sense of claustrophobia.

However, there is one factor that pushed it down to third place—something that, in my view, sets it apart from the top two: the setting.

The Raccoon City Police Department is simply iconic, and we spend the vast majority of the adventure within its walls. While it’s true that the campaign with Claire takes us to other locations, I’ve always felt that the core of the experience revolves primarily around Leon and the police station.

And, as I mentioned earlier, setting and atmosphere are crucial to me; they are the very elements that drastically heighten my level of immersion.

There is also another factor—perhaps a trivial one, but one I cannot ignore in a ranking based solely on my personal tastes: Leon’s maturity.

At the start of the second game, Leon is about 21 years old and on his very first day on the job. Consequently, he is inevitably much more awkward and naive than the character we come to know in later installments.

Within the context of the narrative, this is a perfectly logical and necessary choice for telling his story. But precisely because this ranking is based on my own personal engagement, it is an aspect I must take into account. The game remains a masterpiece of design.

It is packed with creative ideas, the backtracking is handled brilliantly, and the entire experience manages to leave you with a constant sense of anxiety. Narrow corridors, limited resources, and—above all—Mr. X—with the lingering uncertainty of when he might appear—all contribute to a level of tension that is truly difficult to replicate.

Leon and Claire make a fantastic duo; personally, I found Claire’s playthrough slightly more varied, thanks in part to the different locations she gets to visit.

But Leon is, well, Leon.

And, above all, the Raccoon City Police Station remains one of the most iconic settings in the entire series.

The puzzles are excellent, the technical execution holds up remarkably well even today, and the sound design is simply exceptional.

Yet, whenever I think about this game, one question naturally comes to mind:

how did they go from a masterpiece like this to the remake of the third game?

SECOND PLACE:

Resident Evil Village

I already know what you’re thinking.

"It’s full of plot holes, the ending feels a bit pulled out of thin air, and some parts of the gameplay are definitely weaker than others—take the Moreau section, for example."

And you’re right: *Village* is certainly not a perfect game.

But remember what I said at the beginning about the importance of immersion and setting?

Well, there you go.

*Resident Evil Village* has literally everything I look for in a *Resident Evil* game.

The very structure of the game won me over. The concept of a central hub branching out into various zones—each tied to a specific villain—felt consistently interesting and, above all, engaging.

Every time I finished a section, I found myself wondering what awaited me in the next.

And then there’s Castle Dimitrescu.

I believe it’s one of the most beautiful and fascinating locations in the entire series, and Lady Dimitrescu has become an iconic *Resident Evil* figure in an incredibly short amount of time.

Another element I really appreciated is the protagonist, Ethan Winters.

Even though we almost never see his face, he’s a character who manages to be deeply intriguing. We first met him in *Resident Evil 7*, where we followed his search for his missing wife.

In *Village*, however, Ethan finds himself searching for his daughter—in a completely different, and even crazier, situation.

What struck me most, though, is the game’s artistic variety.

Each area feels like it could belong to a different *Resident Evil* title.

The castle, House Beneviento, the Moreau section, Heisenberg’s factory—every zone has its own distinct identity, a specific atmosphere, and a unique way of challenging the player.

It’s just a shame about some of the issues the game carries, and the fact that certain areas, in my opinion, don’t quite reach the same level as the others. But by my own personal criteria—considering, above all, how much it drew me in and kept me glued to the screen—I found it, on the whole, slightly better than the Resident Evil 2 Remake.

FIRST PLACE:

Resident Evil 4 Remake

This is the only one of the three about which I had virtually no doubts.

It is, hands down, my favorite Resident Evil game.

And I’m likely not the only one who feels this way.

Capcom took the original Resident Evil 4—which, even back then, stood as one of the series' high-water marks—and had the courage to improve it further without ever showing it a lack of respect.

In fact, they managed to enhance certain aspects and modernize them, fully leveraging today’s hardware.

The result, for me, is a remake that borders on perfection.

Unlike the second installment, which focused more heavily on puzzles, exploration, and backtracking, Resident Evil 4 Remake places gameplay at the very heart of the experience.

And then there’s him.

Leon.

Here, we encounter a character entirely different from the naive young man we saw in the second game.

Following the events in Raccoon City and everything that transpired in the years since, Leon has become a seasoned agent. He’s no longer naive; he’s far more rational and possesses a completely different level of cool-headedness.

He knows exactly what he’s doing.

And, above all, he knows how to handle a weapon.

He’s an absolute show-off, but that’s part of why we love him.

The game also masterfully blends much more open environments with a narrative that I, personally, found incredibly engaging.

We’re no longer in the Raccoon City police station.

This time, we find ourselves in a remote Spanish village, facing a new kind of threat—Las Plagas—with the mission of rescuing Ashley, the daughter of the President of the United States.

And from that moment on, the game practically never stops evolving. The settings shift constantly, the pace remains incredibly fast, there are virtually no dull moments, and the tension stays consistent—even when the game moves away from its more horror-oriented atmosphere to focus primarily on action.

The gameplay arguably reaches its absolute peak here.

There is a great variety of weapons, diverse enemies, memorable villains, and a vast array of scenarios that keep the experience feeling fresh throughout.

It is precisely this blend of atmosphere, settings, characters, storytelling, and gameplay that leads me to rank it above the other two.

In short, for me, it is a true masterpiece.

IN CONCLUSION

This was never intended to be an definitive ranking of the best Resident Evil games of all time.

It is simply my own personal top 3.

You might completely agree, or you might think I’ve just written one of the most absurd lists ever seen on the internet.

And that’s exactly the beauty of it.

Because Resident Evil is such a vast saga that everyone can find an entry that resonates with them in a unique way.

Personally, what I look for most is atmosphere, setting, and immersion.

And these are the three titles that, for different reasons, have best succeeded in delivering those qualities to me.

Thanks for reading this far, and as always—until next time!