This guest post is written by Tiago Svn.
“Resident Evil 2” director Hideki Kamiya recently said he’d asked Capcom to add non-horror or “cute” gameplay modes to modern Resident Evil games, as the series has become too frightening even for him to stomach. I hold Kamiya’s honesty in the highest regard, so I doubt this was part of an elaborate late marketing scheme for “Resident Evil Requiem,” but it felt puzzling nonetheless, as I actually find it one of the least-scary entries in the history of the series.
So I naturally had to rank every game in the series for scare factor, and I’m now sharing completely objective findings with everyone.
A Total Joke: ‘Resident Evil 6‘
The black sheep of the franchise is naturally its least scary entry. Some fans complain about the more action-y route the series took starting with “Resident Evil 4,” but that game still featured plenty of scary moments. “Resident Evil 6” got so action-oriented and kept throwing such levels of chaos at players that they were too overwhelmed to feel anything. Sadly, the scariest parts here were some of the glitches that would have you panicking over the possibility of having soft-locked your progress, forcing you to restart from a previous checkpoint and experiencing even more of the game.
Listen, It Did Have That One Big Spider Boss In It: ‘Resident Evil Requiem‘
I think the first half of “Requiem” is one of the most fun RE we’ve had in years, and the second, objectively emptier and less-inspired part isn’t even that bad, evening the entire thing out to a pretty decent game. Still, I mentioned fun, not very scary. One of the main reasons why the game isn’t scary is that Leon S. Kennedy has turned into such a badass that the fear the player feels will always pale in comparison to the fear striking every fiber of whatever being unlucky enough to cross his path. The segments where we play as Grace are certainly scarier, and way more tense, but they never reach the heights of other first-person view entries I’ll talk about further ahead, which is a shame.
Not That Scary: ‘Resident Evil 5‘
There are actually two very different RE experiences inside “Resident Evil 5,” though they very conveniently land the game on the same spot in this ranking. The first involves playing with Sheva as a CPU companion, which isn’t great because her lackluster AI will often struggle with stuff that even the zombies would’ve figured out easily, causing the campaign to slog a bit sometimes. The other involves playing with a pal who’ll control Sheva, which makes for one of the best co-op campaigns in gaming history. Unfortunately, however, this will severely diminish the game’s scare factor because the power of friendship will never let you lose hope in your success.
Tenth Scariest: ‘Resident Evil’
The game that kickstarted the survival horror phenomenon likely caused an uptick in diaper sales back in the day, but it just doesn’t hold up that well today. The graphics have aged far more poorly than those of the other PS1 “Resident Evil” games, and the one two punch of bad writing and amateur voice acting ensures any built up tension will burst out of the window via a fit of laughter. Regardless, it still has some nice scripted scares, and that’s why it remains above the “action era” RE titles.
You might be left wondering if you should try out the “Resident Evil Director’s Cut” version in the hopes of it providing better scares, but it features all the problems mentioned above plus a hilariously awful new soundtrack.
Ninth Scariest: ‘Resident Evil: Code Veronica’
This was originally meant to be “Resident Evil 3,” but it somehow ended up demoted from a numbered entry to a named one. Was it just not scary enough? I don’t know. What I do know is that this was the first game in the series to ditch pre-rendered environments, which was cool because we love 3D, but the greater camera freedom also had the game missing out on various cool scares that more fixed camera angles would’ve allowed to pull off perfectly. “Code Veronica” has brave ideas and good moments, but its scariest aspect is the possibility of accidentally locking out all your weapons in a box right before the final boss.
Eight Scariest: ‘Resident Evil 3 Remake‘
The “Resident Evil 3” remake feels like a weaker retread of the fantastic “Resident Evil 2 Remake,” one that, adding insult to injury, includes very promising “Resident Evil 7”–inspired first-person segments that amount to little more than a tease. This remake caught a lot of flak for being shorter in length than both the “Resident Evil 2” remake and even the original “Resident Evil 3,” but I think that even a smaller campaign could’ve landed it near the top spots if it was just about trying to escape Nemesis through Raccoon City in first-person view mode only.
Seventh Scariest: ‘Resident Evil 4′
Even though it stars Leon S. Kennedy right after he graduated hero school with an SSS ranking, “Resident Evil 4” features countless unique scripted scares, as well as some terrifyingly underrated gameplay elements throughout. Sure, Leon can roundhouse kick and suplex most of his problems away, but there’s absolutely nothing he can do against your average chainsaw-wielding Spanish villager that gets too close. Immediate decapitation-induced Game Over is one of the scariest and tensest things that can happen in Resident Evil history, and people tend to forget it could only take place in the game many deride as too action-oriented.
The remake took that from us, as it allows players to parry pretty much anything with the knife, greatly diminishing its scare factor. Fans of the original know how perfect a balance the original “RE4” actually struck between action and horror, and we’re still wondering if Capcom will ever re-capture that type of lightning in a bottle.
Sixth Scariest: ‘Resident Evil 2’
When people think of all the best memories they have from the series during its PS1 days, chances are most of them come from “Resident Evil 2.” That’s the game responsible for all the awesome scares we thought we got out of the original. This is where most of the best scripted scares, monsters, and most iconic monsters in the series came from. There’s a reason why we’re still revisiting Raccoon City’s police station nearly 30 years later.
Though it’s old as hell, and it definitely lost some of its appeal over the years, I doubt any absolute newcomer would have a doubt ranking the zombie arms through the walls, or the licker through the glass jump scares as some of the greatest of all time.
Fifth Scariest: ‘Resident Evil 2 Remake‘
I tend to loathe remakes because they usually rely on technological advancements to make old games look technically better, often overlooking all the artistry that actually got people to love them in the first place. That’s not a problem here, as “RE 2 Remake” combines an updated version of “Resident Evil 4’s” controls with a bold new take on the “Resident Evil 2” campaign, meaning you still get to play as Leon, albeit in the much more vulnerable version many missed in “Resident Evil 4.” It’s great for fans, because they’ll know more or less what to expect and will still be surprised by the new direction, and for newcomers, because aside from some forgettable boss battles, most threats will feel as modern as it gets.
If you consider this “Resident Evil’s” ultimate form, I definitely don’t blame you.
Fourth Scariest: ‘Resident Evil 3: Nemesis‘
Though “Resident Evil 3” is overall a weaker game than its predecessor, I’d argue that its scare factor easily surpasses it. That’s because of Nemesis, the titular new enemy that director Kazuhiro Aoyama used actual Pavlovian conditioning psychology to turn into the scariest enemy in PlayStation history.
Before “Nemesis,” Resident Evil games were scary because they made players aware that they were entering a completely hostile area where mutated predators would eat them out of instinct. “RE3’s” brilliant direction and top jump scares made Nemesis feel like a smart enemy that would hunt players down because he wanted to, and he was good at it. Though Nemesis was inspired by Mr. X from “Resident Evil 2,” he’s clearly better thought-out, and would later re-inspire the fantastic Mr. X from the “Resident Evil 2 Remake.“
Third Scariest: ‘Resident Evil Village‘
Coming out after the tremendously scary and suspenseful “Resident Evil 7,” I actually felt most of “Village” a bit lackluster in the horror department, becoming an even stauncher believer in the concept of less being more in horror, especially when it comes to a small American property in the south versus a huge European Gothic castle. A lot of that shifted, however, with a single level, one that I won’t spoil, but that I’m sure anyone who’s played the game knows exactly what I’m talking about, as it remains, without a doubt, the scariest moment ever in the series.
Second Scariest: ‘Resident Evil Remake‘
My current complaints regarding the original “Resident Evil” aging poorly already existed even as far back as the year 2000. Those were less its fault, more about how the entire survival horror industry became so immediately profitable that we began getting amazing horror games left and right. Either way, Capcom quickly fixed the issue, as 2002 saw the release of “REmake,” then the most ambitious remake of all time, one that gave us stunning new visuals, improved writing, voice acting, and a tweaked campaign. You could argue that the pre-rendered hallways of the Spencer Mansion don’t make for as fun gameplay as any of the more modern iterations, but the limitations they impose on the player, combined with the tank (or even with the modernized controls), actually make for a much more claustrophobic and suspenseful experience, one that quickly forces players to abandon the heroic fantasies they’d enjoy in most other games.
The Scariest: ‘Resident Evil 7‘
If you think “Resident Evil 4” turned RE into too much of an action romp, worry not, as “Resident Evil 7” dialed it farther back than ever before, making it more deliberately slow and scarier than many could’ve imagined. The new first-person perspective did wonders for immersion, especially when combined with some incredibly gruesome cinematics that made it clear that the best case scenario here would be barely making it out alive. “Resident Evil 7” is a triumph in horror, one that gets even scarier than it needs to be if you brave through it in VR.
Even if you somehow don’t care for the new direction taken by “RE7,” remember that “Resident Evil 6” sold 15 million copies. Capcom could’ve just rehashed it a couple more times, and it still would’ve made a lot of money. Instead, they went with a completely unproven format for the franchise, and it resulted in one of its most frightening, relentless, and personal games yet.
Image Credit: “Resident Evil Requiem”
Leave a Reply