TheResident Evilseries has almost as many spin-offs as mainline titles. To celebrate the amount of side games available within the franchise, the following list will rank them from worst to best based on their Metacritic score.
Related:Every Canon Resident Evil Game Ranked By How Long They Take To Beat
When judging solely by their number on the site, one will deduce that the best of the best barely stack up against the average from the mainline titles. Additionally, two games don’t have a score on the site, but they will still get a mention here before going to the ones with a number. It wouldn’t be fair to exclude them from the conversation simply because the site doesn’t rank them.
11Resident Evil Gaiden (No Score)
TheGameboyColor doesn’t seem like the ideal platform for a survival horror title. Many of the games were geared towards children and it doesn’t seem possible to scare people utilizing the available tech. Aportof the first game was in development before being cancelled, and a leaked video shows how impressive it looked. A project that did make it to shelves wasResident Evil Gaiden. The title mixed classicResident Evilpuzzle-solvingwith role-playing elements. Reviews praised the game’s ability to successfully translate the classic game play to a hand held device.
10Resident Evil Survivor 2: Code Veronica (No Score)
While dubbed a sequel toResident Evil Survivor, it doesn’t follow the game’s plot. Instead, the light gun title follows the events ofResident Evil: Code Veronica, but slightly changes the events from theDreamcastgame, adding monsters from the Raccoon City incident like Nemesis. Originally released in Japanese arcades in 2001, Europe only saw it come out on consoles, while North America never got its hands on it.
9Umbrella Corps (38)
Umbrella Corpsbarely counts as aResident Evilgame. It is a tactical shooter focused on multiplayer taking place inside the franchise’s lore. Most critics decried it as a lazyCall of Dutyclone and questioned the reason for its existence.
Related:10 Most Intelligent Characters In The Resident Evil Franchise, Ranked
Cooperative play has always been great for the series, but competitive modes haven’t had the same luck. The multiplayer component of theResident Evil 3remake may just bridge the gap, however, with its mixture of cooperation and competitive play.
8Resident Evil: Survivor (39)
Resident Evil: Survivorwas an early light gun game. Unfortunately, North American gamers were unable to experience the title with the intended peripheral due to the Colombine shooting promptingCapcomto remove the feature prior to launch. Even with the peripheral, the game was not said to be a lot better. It is slow paced and the graphics were pixelated and plagued with constant load times. When it comes to similar games from the era, one could do a lot better with something likeTime CrisisandPoint Blank.
7Operation Raccoon City (52)
The series had been leaning towards action for several years prior to 2012, butOperation Raccoon Citywas the first to go full steam ahead into the genre. The third-person shooter includes a four-player cooperative mode in addition to its single-player story which plays around with the lore and events from the early titles.
Related:10 Worst Video Game Spinoffs Of All Time, According To Metacritic
Aside from the intense moments when players are gunning down hordes of zombies barrelling towards them, the game does little to impressiveResident Evilfans or third-person shooter aficionados.
6Resident Evil: Outbreak File #2 (58)
TheOutbreaksubseries was way ahead of its time with its innovative online cooperative multiplayer. While the games are still playable on thePS2, the servers have long since shut down. The first game was far more celebrated than the sequel, perhaps from the novelty of the online component having worn off by the time the second game rolled around. Low sales also doomed any prospects of making a trilogy.
5Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (65)
The 3DS was quite a novelty upon its release, even if its initial price tag put some people off. The firstResident Eviltitle available for the popular Nintendo handheld wasThe Mercenaries3D, an expanded version of the minigame fromResident Evil 4and5. The title successfully translated the modernResident Evil game play to the 3DS, but some complained at the lack of additional content. While some may find little enjoyment in the shallow offerings, anyone who liked the Mercenaries modes from the mainline titles loved having them on the go.
Dead Aimis the successor toSurvivor, but Capcom was smart enough not to give it the same moniker due to the prior title’s lackluster reception. Instead of being a straight light gun game,Dead Aimsees the player moving in third-person, with the perspective switching upon aiming. It doesn’t hold up against even the best in its genre, but it is a solidResident Evilspin-off.Dino Stalkeris seen as the height of Capcom’s light gun efforts from the time, and that gets a plus for being a backdoor sequel toDino Crisis 2.
3Resident Evil: Outbreak (71)
It is a shameOutbreakcannot be experienced the way the developers originally intended. Several modernResident Eviltitles have multiplayer, but they don’t provide a classic survival horror experience and generally relegate the action to two players. Perhaps in the future Capcom will re-release the game and reactivate the servers. Upon release reviewers appreciated its innovation, though some slights against it included the lack of voice chat and short length.
2Umbrella Chronicles (75)
Light gun games andResident Evilhaven’t always been great partners, but Capcom finally got it right withUmbrella Chronicles. The title goes through the events ofResident Evil Zero, the debut game, andResident Evil 3as a rail shooter. There is also one new chapter telling an entirely new story within the lore. Originally released on the Wii, it eventually found its way to the PS3 and Xbox 360. It is far from perfect, but it is also a solid way to experience the older stories for those who cannot handle the original game play.
