TheResident Evilfranchise is chock full of both spin-offs and canon entries pushing the story forward. They haven’t always been home runs, but thezombie-massacringseries always marches on and does its best to correct its errors. As a tribute to all of the mainline entries in the beloved franchise, the following list will rank all of the canon games by how long they take to beat based on their listed length on howlongtobeat.com.
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Most of them are admittedly short, but they have high replayability due to bonus goodies and players' desires to beat the games as fast as possible.
13Resident Evil 2 (5 1/2 Hours)
This one stands as the shortest, but maybe it is not exactly fair. Five and a half hours is what it takes to go through just one of the campaigns. The game isn’t really done until one has gone through both campaigns, however.
For a more thorough completion, one is recommended to do both campaigns twice, the second time reversing the order for a slightly different experience.
12Resident Evil 3 (6 1/2 Hours)
Resident Evil 3feels more like a spin-off than a true sequel. It does little to push the canon forward and is more action-oriented than the prior two. As such, it is the least beloved of the original trilogy. Still, it is a quality title and holds up better than most PS1 games.
Jill Valentine also has one of the most iconic looks of late'90s gaming, and Nemesis is one of the most terrifying monster designs in the medium.
11Resident Evil (7 Hours)
The title that started it all still has the power to scare gamers almost twenty-five years after its release. The graphics are dated, and the live-action introduction is hilariously bad, but the tension and atmosphere forged by the gameplay is enough to keep anyone on the edge of their seat.
Players can choose between two playable protagonists, but they offer fewer differences than the sequel, and no A or B games are present like in the sequel.
10Resident Evil 2 Remake (8 Hours)
The most recent title in the franchise, theResident Evil 2remake stands as one of the finest games of 2019.
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Its perfect mixture of behind-the-shoulder shooting and classicResident Evilpuzzle-solving revitalized the classic, keeping what was great about the 1998 title and injecting new life into it. The only drawback is how similar the Claire and Leon’s campaigns are. Some fans were hoping for more radical differences between the two, but they stay on the same track except for several spots and character interactions.
9Resident Evil Revelations (9 Hours)
At a time when the series strayed furthest from its roots,Resident Evil Revelationscame along on the Nintendo DS, proving Campcom still understood what made the series great.
It would take a few extra years before the console games got back on track, but at least fans could feast upon this handheld goodness in the meantime. Fortunately, the game eventually made its way to consoles.
8Resident Evil 7 (9 1/2)
The 2017 title toned down the bombastic set pieces of its predecessor for a more intimate horror experience. The entire title took place in the first-person perspective, and VR owners could play the game entirely on the burgeoning platform.
It had seemingly few connections to the series, but later plot revelations show how the lore relates to the game’s events.
7Resident Evil Revelations 2 (10 Hours)
Cooperativeplay existed in the series before, most notably withResident Evil 5, butRevelations 2’scampaign included asymmetrical co-op. Player two didn’t use guns, but had special abilities which helped the other player solve puzzles and defeat monsters.
For those wanting some action, the Raid Mode provided hours upon hours of extra zombie-blasting goodness. As the icing on the cake, Barry Burton made his triumphant return after being absent from the series for almost twenty years.
6Resident Evil Remake (11 Hours)
With the help of theGameCube’sgraphical prowess, Capcom made the Spencer Mansion more terrifyingly beautiful than ever before.
Even upon its re-release on the PS4, the HD upgrade was all that was needed to make the characters and backgrounds look modern. Several changes were made to the design of the original, differentiating it enough from its source material to feel like more than a facelift.
5Resident Evil Zero (11 1/2 Hours)
This prequel was originally in development for the Nintendo 64 before development switched to the company’s next-generation console. As a result, some of the design choices feel like they come from the prior generation. Despite somethings which seem like setbacks, it is still a must-play for any fan of the series and is currently available on current generation consoles.
4Resident Evil: Code Veronica (11 1/2 Hours)
Code Veronicareally should have been the third numbered entry in the franchise. It takes the action out of Raccoon City and pushes the narrative forward, further exploring Albert Wesker’s plan and motives.
Some of the puzzles are admittedly too obtuse for their own good, turning off some fans, but other fans see this as a plus. It was also great to see the brother and sister duo of Chris and Claire together for once.
