I wrote this Resident Evil beginner's guide after 23 years of being a Capcom superfan, and it's all you need to get into the series before Requiem

Approaching Resident Evil for the first time is a daunting prospect. Whether you've been admiring Leon, Chris, Jill, and Claire from a distance since the PS1 days, have caught snippets of some of the best survival horror games during YouTube Let's Plays, or if the Resident Evil Requiem trailer simply piqued your attention and you want to know a bit more about Capcom's legendary series, you've come to the right place.

I've tailored this spoiler-free Resident Evil beginner's guide for the sole purpose of catching you up ahead of perhaps the biggest upcoming horror game of 2026. If you're looking for a much more in-depth guide to pick apart the franchise's lore, our Editor-In-Chief penned an ultimate guide to Resident Evil for you to get stuck into. Here, though, I'll go through the franchise in its broadest strokes, pointing out overlaps in the lore between Resident Evil Requiem and past series instalments to help you decide where to start ahead of its launch – or, to help you go into Requiem with a little more context, at the very least.

What is Resident Evil about?

First, the headlines: Resident Evil – or Biohazard, in Japan – is a highly-successful survival horror video game series from Capcom that has seen several film and television adaptations since the first game launched in 1996. The focus was initially on the Umbrella Corporation, a company specializing in pharmaceuticals and bioweapons, and the Special Tactics And Rescue Services (STARS) division of the Raccoon City Police Department. Newer games in the series have broadened out from that tight focus in more recent years, though the links back to Umbrella are present throughout the series.

I won't spoil it for you, but STARS and Umbrella both are involved in the Raccoon City Disaster of 1998, when a bioengineered disease outbreak of something called the T-virus swept the American city and turned most inhabitants into zombies. The first game takes place a handful of months before the Raccoon City Disaster, Resident Evil 2 and 3 are set on the day itself, and the upcoming new game in the franchise – Resident Evil Requiem – is set 30 years later.

Resident Evil is credited as one of the games that cemented the popularity of survival horror in the late '90s and early 2000s, alongside Konami's Silent Hill franchise. Early games featured a host of what are now considered retro genre staples – fixed camera angles, inventory management, puzzles, and resource combination – while the slate of remakes kicked off with 2019's Resident Evil 2 Remake are defining masterclasses in how to modernize a classic survival horror game. It also features one of the most iconic and recognizable casts of characters in horror history, and those characters are largely the reason the series is still so beloved to this day. It's fair to say that Capcom has long been ahead of the curve when it comes to horror games, and Requiem looks like no exception.

Where to begin before Resident Evil Requiem

Everything I've seen and read about Resident Evil Requiem has me thinking that the most important games to play first would be the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes.

The two games take place on the same fateful night in Raccoon City, and with the iconic location also featured in Requiem, you'll get some important context from playing one or both of them. If you do only have time for one, Resident Evil 3 Remake is much shorter, though the second game is by far my favorite in the whole series so I'd be doing myself a disservice by not stressing how much I think you should play it. They're both on Xbox Game Pass, if that sways you at all.

Resident Evil 1 could also be important to play ahead of Requiem, given that some fans are theorizing the return of a side character – a mutated superhuman called Lisa Trevor – might be on the cards. That said, I'd probably suggest you watch her scenes on YouTube (or perhaps a video essay) instead of playing the whole game just to get the scope on her. She's in it for a handful of minutes at best.

Similarly, if you're super keen, you can also try and source a PS2 copy of Resident Evil Outbreak or look up relevant clips on YouTube. One of the characters in this canonical spin-off, Alyssa Ashcroft, is the mother of Requiem's protagonist Grace Ashcroft. Their family is, naturally, going to be central to the new game, so the more context you have on Alyssa's Raccoon City experience the better.

Failing all else if you're not willing to play anything and have an allergy to YouTube, you can always give the 2021 movie Welcome to Raccoon City a go. It's pretty faithful to the games in terms of timeline and canon events, merging Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3 together with a heavy helping of artistic license as far as characterization. Admittedly, that last reason is why I am so biased against it. Leon S. Kennedy is no bumbling fool, Wesker is not a himbo, and I will not be expanding upon that. That said, Welcome to Raccoon City is certainly better than nothing (it even has Lisa Trevor featured in it, as mentioned above) and is much more faithful to the games than the Resident Evil Netflix adaptation if you want to get up to speed ahead of Requiem. RIP, Lance Reddick.

What not to worry about before playing Resident Evil Requiem

As the ninth mainline Resident Evil game before even looking at all the spin-offs, you do not need to play every game and watch every film ahead of Resident Evil Requiem. The most recent two games, Biohazard and Village (yes, that's the one with the tall vampire lady) have very little to do with Umbrella and Raccoon City at face value, so I wouldn't priotize those unless you're looking to play one of the scariest horror games of all time. Without a doubt, it's Resident Evil 7.

You especially don't need to worry about catching any of the Paul W.S. Anderson live action movies if you're just getting ready for Requiem, since they don't follow the video game canon at all. The animated movies, most notably Dead Island, might be worth a watch if you want a little more color and context surrounding the series' most famous faces. However, with their presence in Requiem as yet unknown, I'd focus on my suggestions above and ignore everything else unless you have the next six months free.

What does the future look like for Resident Evil?

Well, your guess is as good as mine. Unlike Konami, whose Silent Hill Transmission and Press Play showcases help give players an idea of what's to come, Capcom is well-versed in keeping its plans under wraps. So much so that Resident Evil 9's much-rumored reveal at Summer Game Fest 2025 was as airtight as they come.

It's likely that the publisher will continue its remake series, with players clamoring for beloved spin-off (that really should have been mainline) Resident Evil: Code Veronica to get the modern day makeover following Resident Evil 4 Remake's 2022 success. But as far as the mainline series is concerned, I'll have to wait and see what state Requiem leaves things in when it launches in February 2026.

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