Resident Evil Games in Order: What to Play Before Requiem

You don't need to play every Resident Evil game in release order to enjoy Requiem. The series is mostly self-contained, so the smart route is a handful of key entries: the RE2 remake, Resident Evil 4, RE7 and Village. If you want a cheap way into the classic style, the Resident Evil 4 Ultimate HD Edition is $5.99 on GameRealm.

That's the short version. Here's the longer one, because Resident Evil Requiem just took Ultimate Game of the Year at the 2026 Golden Joystick Awards, and my feed is full of people asking where to start.

Why the Golden Joysticks put this series back on everyone's list

If you spend any time on r/pcgaming this week, you've seen the awards threads. Requiem won the big one, Crimson Desert took PC Game of the Year, and the usual arguments followed. I'm not here to relitigate the voting. What I noticed is the "I've never played a Resident Evil, where do I start?" posts piling up underneath.

I get why it feels intimidating. The series has been around since 1996, it has remakes, remasters, a mid-series genre shift, and a couple of spin-offs nobody agrees on. Some of those are great. Some are homework.

The good news is that Capcom writes each major entry so a newcomer can jump in. You'll miss some character cameos and a few lore callbacks. You won't be lost.

Release order vs. story order vs. what I'd actually do

There are three ways to approach this.

• Release order. Authentic, but the early games are rough by modern standards. Fixed camera angles, tank controls, limited saves. I love them, but I wouldn't push a friend into that on day one.
• Story order. Mostly follows the Raccoon City and Umbrella plotline. Fine if you're a lore person, but it doesn't match the quality curve.
• Quality-first order. What I'd recommend. Start with the best-feeling games and go backward only if you get hooked.

I'm going with the third.

The order I'd play them on PC

1. Resident Evil 2 (2019 remake)

This is the cleanest on-ramp. Third-person, over-the-shoulder aiming, a police station that feels like a puzzle box, and Mr. X stomping after you at the worst possible moments. Inventory management is the real game here. You'll constantly ask yourself whether that shotgun shell is worth the slot.

The remake modernizes the controls while keeping the dread. If you only play one older RE before Requiem, make it this one.

2. Resident Evil 4

This is the one that changed the series, and it's the one I've replayed most. You play Leon Kennedy, dropped into a Spanish village that goes bad fast. The pacing is nearly perfect: tight set pieces, the merchant, the weird castle section, and a boss design that still holds up.

The original has a reputation on PC because early ports were rough. The Ultimate HD Edition on Steam is the version that fixed most of that, with higher-resolution textures, 60 fps support, and the Separate Ways add-on content included. Controls are the old-school type where you can't move and shoot at the same time. Give it an hour. It clicks, and the stress it creates is part of the design.

There's also a newer remake, and plenty of people prefer it. But if you want the original at a tiny price, the Resident Evil 4 Ultimate HD Edition does the job, and it's a great way to see what all the fuss was about.

3. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

First-person, claustrophobic, and a hard reset of the tone. You're stuck in a Louisiana farmhouse with a family you really don't want to meet. It's closer to a horror film than an action game, and it's the best argument that the series can still scare you.

If you play with headphones and the lights off, you'll regret it. Do it anyway.

4. Resident Evil Village

Same first-person view, bigger scope. It's weirder and more action-oriented, with a gothic-fairy-tale vibe and some boss encounters that feel like a different game. Not everyone loves the tonal swings, but it's a good bridge between RE7's horror and RE4's action.

5. Then Requiem

By this point you'll have the vocabulary: herbs, ink ribbons, ammo scarcity, the sense that every door might be a bad idea. I'm not going to guess at story details I can't verify, so check the official info before you buy. What I can say is that the community reception and the Golden Joystick win suggest it's worth being caught up for.

What I'd skip, or at least delay

Here's where I'll probably annoy someone.

• The original Resident Evil 1 and 2 with tank controls. Great historically. Not a smooth first experience.
• Most of the spin-offs. The multiplayer-focused ones are hit or miss, and you don't need them for the main story.
• Resident Evil 6. Some people defend it. I think it tries to be four games at once and ends up mushy. Play it later if you're a completionist.

None of this is a rule. If you like old-school survival horror, the early games are a treat. I'm just describing the order that keeps newcomers from bouncing off.

If you want similar games while you wait

Sometimes you finish the main entries and still want that tense, resource-starved feeling. A few picks from the GameRealm catalog that scratch a similar itch:

• Little Nightmares ($1.69). Short, atmospheric, more stealth than combat. You'll finish it in a single evening.
• Dead Rising 3 Apocalypse Edition ($2.79). Not horror in the same way, more of a zombie sandbox. It's silly, chaotic, and a decent palate cleanser.

If you'd rather gamble, the mystery boxes are $2 per random code. I wouldn't count on any specific game, but it's a fun way to fill a backlog. And I keep an eye on the offer of the week page for anything that fits the mood.

A quick note on buying keys

I've been burned by sketchy key sites before, so I get the hesitation. A few habits help: check that the key is for the platform you actually use, redeem it soon after buying, and read the store's help page before you pay. GameRealm has an FAQ that covers the basics. If you pay in USDT, double-check the network before you send anything, because sending on the wrong chain is the classic mistake.

My honest take

People overthink the "correct" order. Resident Evil is at its best when you treat each game as its own nightmare. Play RE2 remake for the structure, RE4 for the pacing, RE7 for the fear, and Village for the spectacle. Then jump into Requiem and see why it's winning awards.

And if you're only going to spend a few bucks to test the waters, the RE4 Ultimate HD Edition is the cheapest way I know to find out whether this series is for you. I've bounced between the original and the remake more times than I can count, and the original still earns its spot.