Resident Evil: How to Start the Series – Best Entry Points Guide

After bouncing between different Resident Evil games for years, I eventually realised most newcomers stall at the same point: they want to dive in, but they’re torn between chronology, modern controls, and not missing important story beats. This guide is the “I wish I had this first” breakdown of where to start, based on actually playing through these entries multiple times.

Quick answer: pick your starting game by playstyle

If you just want the short version, here’s how I’d match you to a starting point:

• “I want the original mansion story and classic survival horror.”
  Start with Resident Evil (2002 remake) on GameCube, PS4/PS5, Xbox, or Switch.
• “I want absolute chronology from the very beginning of the story.”
  Start with Resident Evil 0, then play the 2002 remake.
• “I care more about tight, modern gameplay than lore order.”
  Start with Resident Evil 4 (either 2005 original or 2023 remake).
• “I want modern first-person horror with minimal homework.”
  Start with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.
• “I mostly want a fast story catch-up, not full playthroughs (yet).”
  Play Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (and optionally The Darkside Chronicles), then dive into a mainline game.

Everything below explains why each of these works, what to expect in terms of difficulty and controls, and common traps I hit that you can avoid.

If you want the “true beginning”: Resident Evil (2002 remake)

When people say “start with the original”, they usually mean the 2002 Resident Evil remake (often called “REmake”). It retells the 1996 PS1 story with much better visuals, tighter level design, and a few nasty surprises that still hold up today.

Why it’s a great first game

• Story-wise, this is where the series really begins. You’re investigating strange murders in the Arklay Mountains and stumble into the Spencer Mansion incident, which the rest of the early games keep referencing.
• It captures the core survival horror loop: fixed camera angles, limited ammo, tight inventory, and backtracking through a single cleverly interlocked location.
• Modernised controls exist on newer ports. On Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox versions you can switch from classic “tank” movement to a modern analogue scheme in Options → Controls, which makes a huge difference for newcomers.

My first serious run here took about 10-12 hours. The breakthrough came when I stopped trying to kill every zombie and started thinking of them as obstacles to route around. Once that clicked, the game stopped feeling unfair and started feeling like a puzzle box.

Common first-timer mistakes in REmake

• Wasting ammo on every enemy. If a zombie is off to the side of a corridor, you usually can just weave around it. Save shotgun and magnum rounds for tougher creatures and bosses.
• Ignoring the map. Hit the map button constantly. The game clearly marks locked doors and shows which rooms are “done” (turned blue) once you’ve collected everything.
• Not planning inventory trips. I lost so much time running back to item boxes. Before pushing deeper into a new wing of the mansion, I now always do a quick stash run: dump non-essentials, take a healing item, one main weapon, and 1-2 key items.

If you’re okay with something that still feels like a classic horror movie from the early 2000s, this is the best balance of authenticity and playability, and a very sensible starting point.

If you insist on full chronology: add Resident Evil 0 first

Resident Evil 0 is a prequel set immediately before the mansion incident. On paper, it’s the earliest point in the timeline you can start from, and that’s exactly what I tried to do on one of my “play everything in order” kicks.

What RE0 adds

• More background on Umbrella and its experiments. You get a closer look at how the outbreak started and who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
• Two-character “partner zapping” system. You actively switch between Rebecca and Billy with a button press. Each has different strengths, and you can split them to solve some puzzles.
• No shared item boxes. Instead, you drop items on the ground and remember where you left them. This sounds small, but it completely changes how you plan routes.

Why I don’t recommend it as a pure first game

• It’s less tightly designed than the 2002 remake. The backtracking combined with ground-dropped items can feel like a chore if you’re still learning Resident Evil’s style.
• There are some story beats that work better after you know the mansion game. I found a few character reveals much less impactful when I saw them out of the intended order.
• It’s more demanding about inventory awareness. Dropping the wrong key item in an obscure room means a long trek back later.

If you absolutely want to follow the story chronologically, the clean order is:

• Resident Evil 0
• Resident Evil (2002 remake)

Just be ready for a slightly rougher start. In my experience, players who begin with the mansion remake and then go back to RE0 enjoy both more than those who do it the other way around.

If you want peak action and modern pacing: Resident Evil 4

When friends who don’t usually play horror ask where to begin, I usually point them at Resident Evil 4. Both the 2005 original and the 2023 remake are fast, responsive, and don’t require much prior knowledge.

Why RE4 is a fantastic starting point

• Over-the-shoulder shooting that still feels good today. Even the GameCube and Wii versions hold up, and the remake refines the formula even further.
• Mostly self-contained story. You play as Leon S. Kennedy on a mission in rural Spain; earlier events are referenced, but you won’t feel lost without them.
• Generous checkpointing and ammo. Compared to the early fixed-camera games, RE4 lets you be aggressive and rewards skillful shooting rather than pure resource hoarding.

My first RE4 run back on GameCube was the moment the series really “clicked” mechanically. Learning to shoot legs to stagger enemies and then follow up with a melee kick turned every encounter into a mini crowd-control puzzle instead of a panic-fest.

Which version should you play?

Which version should you play?

• Original 2005 RE4: Available on many platforms (including Switch) and still excellent. Visuals and some controls are dated, but the pacing and encounter design are superb.
• RE4 Remake (2023): On PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, and PC. Sharper controls, modern visuals, and some story reworks that tie it more cleanly into later games.

If you’re on a Nintendo system, the original is your shot. If you have a PS5 or modern PC, I’d go straight to the remake; it’s friendlier to new players without losing the series’ identity.

The only real downside to starting with RE4 is that it sets a very high bar. When I went from RE4 back to the older fixed-camera titles, the slower pace and controls took some adjustment. Just know that going in, and treat them as a different flavour of horror rather than “worse versions” of RE4.

If you want modern first-person horror: Resident Evil 7

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is another soft reset for the series, this time in first-person. It’s one of the easiest games to recommend to people who missed everything before it.

Why RE7 works for complete newcomers

• New protagonist, new setting. You play as Ethan Winters, with almost no baggage from earlier plots. Any connections to old lore are background details until very late.
• Modern movement and aiming. If you’re used to contemporary FPS or horror games, RE7 feels natural immediately.
• Compact, focused runtime. My first blind playthrough took around 10-12 hours. It’s long enough to feel substantial, short enough not to overstay its welcome.

The first couple of hours inside the Baker house are some of the most intense in the whole franchise. I went in expecting pure action because of RE6’s reputation and was surprised at how methodical, claustrophobic, and puzzle-heavy it is-much closer to the original game’s spirit than its camera angle suggests.

Platform notes

• PlayStation / Xbox / PC: These versions are the most straightforward: stable performance and all DLC available.
• Switch: There’s a cloud version on the original Switch, but streaming adds latency and depends on your connection. Native versions on newer hardware are a much better experience if you have the option.

If your general taste leans more toward games like Outlast, Amnesia, or contemporary indie horror, starting with RE7 and then branching backwards into the third-person games is a very natural route.

If you mainly want story catch-up: Umbrella Chronicles (and Darkside)

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is an on-rails shooter originally released on Wii and later made available via certain PlayStation services. It’s absolutely not representative of how the main games play, but it’s surprisingly useful as a story crash course.

What Umbrella Chronicles covers

• Key events from Resident Evil 0
• The main beats of the Resident Evil (2002 remake) mansion story
• Large chunks of Resident Evil 3’s Raccoon City chaos
• An original scenario that ties some Umbrella threads together

Its companion game, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, does something similar for Resident Evil 2 and Code: Veronica. Playing both gave me a decent overview of the early saga during a week when I didn’t have the time (or desire) to replay all the originals.

When this approach makes sense

• You want to understand who characters like Wesker, Chris, Jill, and Leon are before jumping into something like RE4 or RE7.
• You have access to a Wii, Wii U, or compatible PlayStation system and don’t mind using motion or pointer controls.
• You’re okay with getting a “summary” version of events, not the full survival horror experience.

The big catch: you do lose a lot of atmosphere and nuance. Umbrella Chronicles compresses multi-hour games into short stages, and it skips puzzles and a lot of quieter tension. I treat it purely as a lore sampler: fun in short bursts, then I go play a mainline game for the real experience.

How to choose: a simple decision path

If you’re still torn, this is the exact decision path I use when friends ask where to start:

• Step 1 – How much do you care about “being there from the very beginning”?
  If that feeling matters a lot, start with Resident Evil (2002 remake). If it doesn’t, move to Step 2.
• Step 2 – Third-person or first-person?
  If you prefer third-person action, go with RE4 (2005 or remake).
  If you like first-person horror, go with RE7.
• Step 3 – Are you okay with older design quirks?
  If yes, you can safely add RE0 before REmake and enjoy the chronological story.
  If no, stick to RE4 and RE7 first, then loop back to the classics once you’re hooked.
• Step 4 – Want extra lore without extra playtime?
  Slot in Umbrella Chronicles (and optionally Darkside Chronicles) as your “interactive recap” between main games.

That’s all you really need. The series looks intimidating from the outside, but every one of these suggested starting points stands on its own and quietly teaches you how Resident Evil works: when to fight, when to run, how to manage resources, and how to read its level design.

What to play after your first Resident Evil

Once you’ve cleared your first game, it’s much easier to plot the rest of your route. These are the follow-ups that felt most natural after each starting point in my own runs:

• After Resident Evil (2002 remake)
  Play Resident Evil 2 Remake or Resident Evil 0 depending on whether you want more classic fixed-camera style (RE0) or a modernised sequel with over-the-shoulder controls (RE2 Remake).
• After Resident Evil 0
  Go straight into the 2002 remake. Played back-to-back they feel like one extended story.
• After Resident Evil 4
  You can follow the action thread into RE5, or pivot back to horror with RE2 Remake or the 2002 remake to see where Leon came from.
• After Resident Evil 7
  Continue Ethan’s story in Resident Evil Village, or jump backwards to Raccoon City with RE2 Remake to get a feel for the series’ third-person side.
• After Umbrella / Darkside Chronicles
  Pick the story that intrigued you most in rail-shooter form, then play its full game counterpart (for example, if you liked the mansion sections, go straight into the 2002 remake).

The main thing is not to get paralysed by the series’ long history. Resident Evil has been around for 30 years, but it’s surprisingly welcoming once you pick a starting door and step through it. Any of the games above can be that first door; the best one is simply the one that matches how you like to play.