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Among the four principal numbered remakes, our order is Resident Evil 3 (2020), Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil 2 (2019), then Resident Evil 4 (2023). That is an editorial ranking, not an official list: Resident Evil 3 is the weakest overall package because its campaign is short and more action-focused, while Resident Evil 4 is the most complete modernization. Resident Evil 1 and Resident Evil 2 are the close call; both received a 91 Metascore in the comparison used here, and the deciding factor is whether you value classic fixed-camera survival horror or a more accessible modern third-person design.
What counts as a Resident Evil remake in this ranking?
This list covers the four major numbered remakes: Resident Evil (the 2002 GameCube remake, later remastered in HD), Resident Evil 2 (2019), Resident Evil 3 (2020), and Resident Evil 4 (2023). It does not treat every port, remaster, or spin-off as another remake.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
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Resident Evil 4 - PS5 | $15.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Resident Evil 2 - PlayStation 5 | $15.19 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Resident Evil 4 Remake for PS5 (100% UNCUT) (German Packaging) | $47.02 | Buy on Amazon |
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Resident Evil 3 - PlayStation 5 | $18.13 | Buy on Amazon |
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That distinction matters. Metacritic’s methodology counts a substantially remade later-generation release as a separate game, which is why the 2020 version of Resident Evil 3 is evaluated independently from the 1999 original. The 2002 Resident Evil is likewise separate from its later HD remaster. A partial Nintendo DS remake, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, is outside this four-game scope because it is not a full remake of the same kind.
How the ranking was decided
The scores provide useful context but do not determine every position. Metacritic’s franchise comparison, updated February 25, 2026, lists the four remakes at 79, 91, 91, and 93. Those aggregates are a snapshot of critic reviews and can change; they are not a direct measurement of what every player prefers.
#1 Best Overall
- Reawaken a Classic – Resident Evil 4 preserves the essence of the original game, now reconstructed using Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine to deliver realistic visuals and additional narrative depth to the iconic story that was not possible at the time of the original release.
- Modernized Gameplay – The team from 2019’s Resident Evil 2 returns to build upon the series’ modern approach to survival horror. Engage in frenzied combat with the Ganados villagers, explore a European village gripped by madness, and solve puzzles to access new areas and collect useful items for Leon and Ashley’s constant struggle to survive.
- Overwhelming Hordes – Face hordes of rabid enemies that threaten to overwhelm Leon with even more diverse methods of attack than in the original release.
- Survive on a Knife’s Edge – Years of intense training have taught Leon new ways to use his knife, helping to even the odds against the unrelenting onslaught of enemies. By parrying enemy attacks, you can avoid debilitating damage and evade lunging enemies seeking to grab Leon and hold him in place. Make smart use of scavenged knives to deliver precise finishing moves on vulnerable enemies, and even use the element of surprise to quietly dispatch unsuspecting foes before they break.
- Survive on a Knife’s Edge – Years of intense training have taught Leon new ways to use his knife, helping to even the odds against the unrelenting onslaught of enemies. By parrying enemy attacks, you can avoid debilitating damage and evade lunging enemies seeking to grab Leon and hold him in place. Make smart use of scavenged knives to deliver precise finishing moves on vulnerable enemies, and even use the element of surprise to quietly dispatch unsuspecting foes before they break.
The editorial order weighs five practical questions:
- How strongly does each game create horror rather than straightforward action?
- How well do its camera and controls serve the experience today?
- Is the pacing and campaign length appropriate for the design?
- How much does the remake improve or rethink its source game?
- Does it balance exploration, combat, puzzles, and resource management?
That framework explains why the two 91-rated games are not tied in this article. Resident Evil 1 is a more faithful, deliberately old-school survival-horror experience; Resident Evil 2 is easier to recommend to players accustomed to modern third-person games.
At a glance
| Editorial rank | Remake | Modern release | Metacritic score in the cited comparison | Defining strength | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Resident Evil 3 | 2020 | 79 | Fast action and the pressure of Nemesis | Shorter, less exploration-heavy campaign |
| 3 | Resident Evil | 2002 | 91 | Dense mansion exploration and traditional survival horror | Fixed-camera design and slower, less accessible controls |
| 2 | Resident Evil 2 | 2019 | 91 | Excellent balance of atmosphere, combat, and modern presentation | Some scenario differences and repetition can divide players |
| 1 | Resident Evil 4 | 2023 | 93 | The broadest, most polished modernization | Its action emphasis is less purely survival-horror |
4. Resident Evil 3 (2020): exciting, polished, and the least complete
Resident Evil 3 is last here, but “worst” should not be confused with “bad.” It is a brisk, technically polished action-horror game built around Jill Valentine’s escape from Raccoon City while Nemesis relentlessly pursues her. The result has urgency that the other remakes do not always match.
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Why its action works
Dodges, quick weapon handling, and frequent set pieces make Jill feel more capable than the protagonists in the first two remakes. Nemesis gives the campaign a recognizable antagonist who can turn a routine traversal section into a sudden flight. TIME’s April 7, 2020 report quoted producer Peter Fabiano explaining the creative approach: “The director on Resident Evil 3’s reimagining was also lead programmer on the 1999 version, so he knew what the team was originally trying to accomplish, and was able to focus on his vision for how we should reimagine the new version while staying true to its roots.”
Why it falls behind the others
The central criticism is length. The remake delivers its major events quickly, leaving less room for the slow exploration, backtracking, puzzle solving, and resource anxiety that define the strongest entries in the series. Its more action-forward structure also means that ammunition and healing often feel less restrictive than they do in Resident Evil 1 or Resident Evil 2.
Nemesis is memorable as a pursuer, but the game’s linear sequence of encounters does not always allow the same sustained tension as a large interconnected map. You get a concentrated burst of spectacle rather than the fullest survival-horror journey.
Who should play it
- Players who want the quickest route through the Raccoon City storyline.
- Fans who prefer evasion, set pieces, and weapon-focused combat to extensive inventory puzzles.
- Anyone who enjoyed Resident Evil 2 and wants a more aggressive follow-up.
Choose another remake first if campaign length, exploration, and scarcity are your top priorities.
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- TERRIFYING ZOMBIES WAITING AROUND EVERY CORNER -- Driven by insatiable hunger, these creatures act on instinct, gnashing their teeth, ripping at flesh, and devouring their victims. The new immersive camera lets you feel their fangs as they sink into your flesh.
- RACCOON CITY, REBUILT IN INTRICATE DETAIL -- The characters, environments, and story have all been rebuilt from the ground up to create a terrifying world that feels both nostalgic and new.
- NEW FOR PLAYSTATION5 – Upgraded features new to the PlayStation5 version of the game include a higher frame rate, 3D audio, added ray tracing, and engaging DualSense support for Haptic Feedback and Adaptive Triggers.
3. Resident Evil (2002): the purest survival-horror remake
The 2002 Resident Evil remake is the most traditional game in this ranking and the one that most clearly preserves the grammar of classic survival horror. It expands the 1996 original with additional story detail, new explorable areas, and defensive weapons while retaining fixed camera angles, deliberate movement, and a mansion designed around locked doors, keys, shortcuts, and return trips.
What it does better than the newer remakes
The mansion is a compact puzzle box. Every room can matter later, and limited inventory space forces decisions about which weapons, ammunition, healing items, and quest objects are worth carrying. Defensive weapons add another layer to close encounters: a well-timed response can prevent damage, but the supplies are not infinite.
Its atmosphere also benefits from restraint. Narrow views hide threats, door transitions create anticipation, and the soundtrack and environmental detail give ordinary corridors an uneasy stillness. The remake’s additions deepen the original rather than simply replacing its identity with a faster shooter.
The cost of its faithfulness
Fixed cameras can make navigation and combat feel unfamiliar to players raised on over-the-shoulder controls. Movement is slower, aiming is less immediate, and the game expects you to learn its rooms instead of following a constantly updated objective marker. Those qualities are strengths for a classic-horror audience but friction for someone looking for modern accessibility.
This placement is therefore an explicit editorial choice, not a claim that Resident Evil 2 is objectively superior. The cited Metacritic comparison gives both games the same score. Resident Evil 1 ranks lower only because this article gives substantial weight to contemporary control comfort and approachability.
Who should play it
- Players who want the most concentrated mansion-based survival-horror experience.
- Fans of puzzles, backtracking, limited resources, and fixed-camera suspense.
- Anyone curious about how a remake can add content without discarding the structure of its source game.
2. Resident Evil 2 (2019): the best modern starting point
Resident Evil 2 is a major reimagining rather than a graphics-only refresh. It keeps the original’s Raccoon City police-station premise, Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, and the tension of being hunted, then rebuilds the game around an over-the-shoulder camera, modern aiming, redesigned environments, and more physical enemy encounters.
Why it balances old and new so well
The police station is both a recognizable landmark and a genuinely useful survival-horror space. You open routes, solve environmental puzzles, manage a finite inventory, and decide whether to fight or avoid enemies. Zombies can absorb substantial punishment, so every trigger pull has a cost. Mr. X adds a sustained pursuit threat that changes how you move through familiar halls.
Rank #3
- Resident Evil 4 Remake for PS5 (German Packaging)
The remake’s strongest achievement is balance. It is frightening without becoming inaccessible, action-oriented without losing resource management, and familiar without being a shot-for-shot recreation. Metacritic’s comparison identifies it as the highest-scoring game of 2019, a useful indication of how broadly its modernization resonated with critics, though that does not make it a universal favorite.
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Players can disagree about the relationship between Leon and Claire’s scenarios, the amount of repeated location traversal, or how closely the new structure matches memories of the 1998 original. Those are design choices rather than simple technical flaws. The remake prioritizes a coherent modern campaign over preserving every original scenario beat in exactly the same form.
Who should play it
- First-time players who want one entry that explains the series’ modern survival-horror formula.
- Players who find fixed cameras cumbersome but still want puzzles and scarcity.
- Fans looking for the strongest midpoint between the classic games and the later action-focused entries.
1. Resident Evil 4 (2023): the most complete modernization
Resident Evil 4 takes the top spot because it updates the 2005 game’s combat, presentation, and pacing while preserving the broad structure and recognizable identity that made the original influential. It is the most expansive and mechanically confident remake of the four.
Why it earns first place
The over-the-shoulder combat is more flexible than before: movement, aiming, stealth, parries, melee follow-ups, and weapon upgrades give Leon more ways to respond to a threat. Encounters are built around positioning and improvisation rather than simply waiting for an enemy to enter a firing lane. The remake also gives its quieter stretches more room for exploration and character development, which helps the action land with greater impact.
It retains the original’s rural setting, escort premise, merchant economy, and set-piece rhythm, but its tone is more grounded and its progression more cohesive. That combination makes it approachable even for players who never played the 2005 version while still rewarding veterans who recognize the locations and encounters being reworked.
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Resident Evil 4 is still the most action-heavy game in this ranking after Resident Evil 3. It contains horror, tension, and resource decisions, but it is not built around the same claustrophobic vulnerability as Resident Evil 1. If your ideal Resident Evil is a mansion, a dark corridor, and one precious healing item, the top-ranked remake may feel too combat-driven.
Commercial reach is not the same as quality
Capcom reported that the remake passed 10 million units worldwide approximately two years after its 2023 release. The company’s related series-sales snapshot was dated December 31, 2024. That milestone demonstrates exceptional reach; it is supporting context, not proof that sales figures settle an artistic ranking.
Rank #4
- CLASSIC RESIDENT EVIL GAMEPLAY -- Overcome chilling encounters in a relentless fight for survival that ratchets up the intensity through nail-biting exploration and gripping puzzle-solving.
- EXPLORE RACCOON CITY FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE -- Get even closer to the action with an over-the-shoulder camera and updated control scheme, drawing you into every bloodcurdling encounter.
- SURVIVE TOGETHER IN THE MULTIPLAYER MODE -- Bring up to four friends into the carnage with Resident Evil Resistance, a multiplayer survival horror experience included in the Resident Evil 3 package. Available as a PlayStation 4 title compatible on all PlayStation 5 devices. Includes code necessary for redemption, requires additional download not on disc.
- NEW FOR PLAYSTATION5 – Upgraded features new to the PlayStation5 version of the game include a higher frame rate, 3D audio, added ray tracing, and engaging DualSense support for Haptic Feedback and Adaptive Triggers.
How the four remakes differ
| Remake | Horror-to-action balance | Camera and controls | Pacing and length | Relationship to the source | Resource-management profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resident Evil (2002) | Most horror-focused | Fixed cameras and deliberate movement | Slow-burn, exploration-led | Adds areas, story detail, and defensive weapons while preserving the original structure | Strict inventory and item decisions |
| Resident Evil 2 (2019) | Balanced horror and action | Modern over-the-shoulder controls | Measured, with interconnected exploration | Extensive reimagining of the 1998 game | Scarcity remains central, especially with tough enemies |
| Resident Evil 3 (2020) | Most action-forward alongside RE4 | Modern third-person controls with evasive movement | Fast and comparatively short | Reinterprets the 1999 escape story around a more concentrated campaign | More combat momentum and less prolonged map management |
| Resident Evil 4 (2023) | Action-led with substantial horror elements | Modern over-the-shoulder controls, stealth, parries, and melee | Broad, set-piece-driven adventure | Updates combat and presentation while retaining major elements of the 2005 game | Weapon economy and tactical combat decisions dominate |
Which remake should you play first?
Start with Resident Evil 2 if you want one recommendation
Resident Evil 2 is the safest starting point for most new players. It teaches modern movement and combat without abandoning puzzles, exploration, or limited resources. It also sits early in the series’ chronology, so its setting and characters provide useful context for the other remakes.
Choose Resident Evil 1 for classic survival horror
Pick the 2002 game if fixed cameras, mansion exploration, and deliberate inventory planning sound appealing rather than outdated. It is the best match for players who want tension created by uncertainty and scarcity instead of constant combat.
Choose Resident Evil 3 for a shorter action sprint
Resident Evil 3 is appropriate when you want Jill, Nemesis, and Raccoon City delivered at a faster pace. Its compact length is a liability for a full-price-length expectation, but an advantage if you prefer a focused campaign.
Choose Resident Evil 4 for the broadest action-horror package
Resident Evil 4 is the best fit for players who want fluid combat, stealth options, upgrades, set pieces, and a substantial adventure. It is also the strongest choice for someone who enjoyed modern third-person action games but wants more tension and resource decisions.
Release and availability context
Capcom’s April 25, 2025 release information identifies the modern remake launches as 2002 for Resident Evil, 2019 for Resident Evil 2, 2020 for Resident Evil 3, and 2023 for Resident Evil 4, and lists Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, and Resident Evil 4 on current console platforms at that time. Platform support, physical editions, storefront listings, and prices can change, so verify the exact edition for your console before buying.
A Capcom portal announcement dated October 16, 2026 also addressed Switch 2 versions of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, and Resident Evil 4. An announcement is not evidence that a release is already available, so check the current platform listing rather than assuming launch status.
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The verdict
Resident Evil 4 is the strongest all-round remake, Resident Evil 2 is the best modern entry point, Resident Evil 1 is the connoisseur’s choice for traditional survival horror, and Resident Evil 3 is the most uneven because its excellent pace comes with a notably shorter, more action-heavy campaign. If you rank by atmosphere and old-school design instead of accessibility, moving Resident Evil 1 above Resident Evil 2 is entirely defensible; the two are tied in the cited critic-score comparison.
Quick Recap
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