The ninth entry in the mainline Resident Evil series is fast approaching, but if you’re thinking that it could be the ideal point to jump in for the first time, you’ll almost certainly be left wondering what the hell is going on as you play through its opening hours. Resident Evil Requiem builds atop a three-decade legacy of survival horror, so you’re going to have to do some homework before you get started.
To help you out, we’ve put together a (very condensed) synopsis of the main Resident Evil story and everything you need to know leading into Resident Evil Requiem, presented in chronological order. As I’m sure you’ve already worked out, the following contains spoilers – lots and lots of spoilers – for the entire Resident Evil series prior to Requiem.
Resident Evil Zero
July 23, 1998
It’s July 23, 1998. The Bravo Team of Raccoon City Police’s elite S.T.A.R.S division is dispatched to investigate a number of murders in the Arklay region. The team believe evidence can be found in the area’s mountains, but their helicopter crashes before they can reach their landing zone. Survivor Rebecca Chambers makes her way towards a nearby spooky-looking mansion in an attempt to find the rest of Bravo Team.
Before she makes it to the house, Rebecca, along with her newly acquired convict companion Billy Coen, come across an abandoned training facility where they discover that its former director, Dr James Marcus, along with former partner, Oswell E. Spencer, were responsible for a new biological weapon dubbed the T-Virus: a deadly infection that turns humans into zombies and other monstrosities.
Resident Evil
July 24, 1998
The S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team is dispatched to find out what happened to the missing Bravo team. Their search leads Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Barry Burton, and team leader Albert Wesker to the aforementioned grand estate, the Spencer Mansion.
The gang splits up and discovers the horrible fates of the missing S.T.A.R.S. members, who have been decimated by the monstrous results of the T-virus. As he explores the mansion’s many rooms and hidden chambers, Chris finds Bravo team member Rebecca Chambers still alive.
Jill and Chris eventually discover that the Umbrella Corporation, a pharmaceutical company with shady business practices, is behind the illegal experiments that led to undead horrors (and the odd oversized animal) roaming the mansion’s halls.
Eventually, once they reach a sinister laboratory hidden beneath the house, the duo discover that Wesker is not actually a loyal S.T.A.R.S. operative, but a traitor who works for Umbrella. Wesker infects himself with a strain of the T-virus as part of an elaborate plan that also involves releasing a new biological super weapon, the “Tyrant”, from containment. Unfortunately for him, the creature swiftly kills him. After managing to defeat the Tyrant, the remaining S.T.A.R.S. team members escape the lab (relatively) unscathed.
Our heroic survivors return to Raccoon City, only to learn that the corruption runs deep. They decide to go rogue, leaving the RPD to investigate the grand corporate conspiracy. Chris heads off to Europe solo, while Jill stays in the city to learn more about Umbrella.
Resident Evil 3
September 28, 1998
It’s September 1998, just a few months after the Spencer Mansion incident, and Raccoon City is overrun with zombies. Umbrella sees the outbreak as an opportunity to test its latest bioweapon, the experimental Nemesis; a hulking beast armed with a rocket launcher, tasked only with the destruction of all remaining S.T.A.R.S. members.
While Jill desperately tries to escape the outbreak with the relentless Nemesis hot on her heels, rookie R.P.D. officer Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield’s younger sister, Claire, both arrive in Raccoon City at the worst possible time.
Resident Evil 2
September 29, 1998
After being separated following a car accident, Leon and Claire agree to meet up at the nearby police station. Unfortunately for both of them, the building is already infested by the undead.
As she navigates the station’s dangerous hallways in search of information about her brother’s whereabouts, Claire runs into Sherry Birkin, a young girl pursued by a monstrous weirdo who not only turns out to be her Dad, but also Umbrella's leading scientist, William Birkin.
Turns out Billy B had planned to betray his corporate masters and sell his newly developed G-virus, but he was gunned down by Umbrella before he had the chance. As he bled out, William managed to infect himself with the G-Virus. His monstrous form massacred Umbrella’s troops and proceeded to dump both the G- and T-virus formulas into Raccoon City’s water supply, creating the enormous mess all our characters now have to deal with. Nice one, Willy.
Meanwhile, Leon runs into Ada Wong, an FBI agent seeking the G-Virus for her own investigation into Umbrella’s corruption. The two decide to form an alliance, for now…
Leon and Ada run into Birkin’s wife, Annette, who is not a big fan of the pair. They follow Annette deep underground to a secret Umbrella facility called NEST in hope of securing the G-virus sample.
Pretty much simultaneously, Claire also arrives at NEST, in search of a vaccine for the now-infected Sherry. Leon manages to obtain the G-Virus sample but runs into the hideously deformed William, who mortally wounds his wife. As she struggles to hold on, Annette reveals to Leon that Ada is not what she seems: she’s actually a mercenary looking to sell the G-Virus to the highest bidder. Ada arrives on the scene and demands the G-Virus, but before Leon can hand it over, Annette manages to shoot her, sending both Ada and the virus sample falling into the lab’s seemingly bottomless chasm.
Meanwhile, Claire finds a vaccine for Sherry. As Annette administers it to her daughter, Claire tangles with an out-of-control William. Sherry is cured, but Annette eventually dies of her injuries. The facility is set to self-destruct, and Claire, Sherry, and Leon board a train to escape.
With NEST destroyed, the crew finally manage to escape the nightmare and, on the outskirts of Racoon City, vow to continue their fight against Umbrella.
Resident Evil Outbreak
September 23 - October 1, 1998
While Jill, Leon, and Claire are dealing with their own issues amidst a zombie outbreak, eight other Raccoon City residents are also in a desperate fight for survival. Among them is a local journalist, Alyssa Ashcroft, who is trying to shine a spotlight on Umbrella’s evil ways. Remember her name, as it’ll come in handy when you start playing Resident Evil Requiem.
Alyssa manages to escape Raccoon City before the government annihilates the entire area with an evidence-destroying thermobaric missile strike, carrying information that could expose Umbrella once and for all.
Resident Evil 3 (continued)
October 1, 1998
Elsewhere in Racoon City, in the hours before the missile strike, Jill Valentine is infected with the T-Virus. Fortunately for her, Carlos Oliveria – an uncharacteristically friendly Umbrella mercenary – arrives on the scene to not only cure Jill, but also help her find the important vaccine that could save the city. Unfortunately, the government has a different “cure”; our heroes discover the plans to wipe out Raccoon City, which is publicly explained away as the only sure method to eradicate the zombie outbreak.
Carlos and Jill head to another underground lab, this time creatively called “NEST 2”. Unfortunately, the Nemesis is still alive and very much still in pursuit. Jill and Carlos manage to take out the abomination once and for all, and with the vaccine sample in hand, manage to escape the city before the missile hits. Unfortunately, Nicholai, Carlos’s former colleague/secret operative, is waiting for them and manages to destroy the vaccine vial. Jill and Carlos take down Nicholai, leaving him for dead, and escape just before government-approved thermobaric hellfire arrives to completely demolish Raccoon City for good.
And as is tradition, our hero vows to take down Umbrella before the credits roll…
Resident Evil: Code Veronica
December 27-28, 1998
Three months after escaping from Racoon City, Claire Redfield, still in search of her brother, attempts to raid a European Umbrella facility. Things go south and she’s captured, taken to an island prison ruled over by Alfred Ashford, the governor of Rockfort Island.
As is mandatory for a Resident Evil game, an outbreak occurs, and amidst the chaos Claire is freed, allowing her to get to work looking for Chris and escaping the island. Unfortunately, Mr. Redfield is nowhere to be found, so after much trouble, Claire tries to escape in a plane. Ashford, who is revealed to have a split personality disorder and often believes himself to be his twin sister, Alexia, remotely takes control of the plane and crashes it into another Umbrella facility, this time in Antarctica. Knocked unconscious, Claire has a dream that turns out to be the plot of Resident Evil Survivor 2. Weird.
Ashford, believing Claire to be a spy, pursues her in a quest for revenge. But after he’s fatally wounded, he frees the real version of his sister, Alexia, who has been cryogenically frozen this entire time, her body riddled with a new virus called T-Veronica.
Meanwhile, back on Rockford Island, none other than Chris Redfield shows up, looking for Claire. But rather than finding his sister, he runs into his old pal/mortal enemy, Albert Wesker, who’s alive, super strong, and on a mission to find the T-Veronica sample. Turns out he had actually planned to be killed by the Tyrant back in the Spencer Mansion, as that would ensure he could reach the full potential of some experimental virus he was infected with… or something.
The pair make their way to Antarctica, where Chris hopes to be finally reunited with Claire, and Wesker hopes to secure the T-Veronica sample. A restored, very powerful Alexia becomes the final boss of Chris’ latest adventure, and everyone escapes the facility before – you guessed it – it self-destructs.
Wesker claims a virus-infected corpse to experiment on. Chris and Claire vow to take down Umbrella… are you seeing a pattern here?
Resident Evil 4
Autumn, 2004
Six years have passed, and the Umbrella Corporation is now long gone due to a government suspension and stock value crash. Is this the lamest way possible for a big bad to go out? It’s certainly up there.
Leon S. Kennedy, former rookie RPD officer, is now a government agent with full permission to roundhouse kick anyone who stands in his way. He’s sent on a mission to rural Spain, where the president's daughter, Ashley, is being held by kidnappers. As he explores the area, he discovers that not only are the kidnappers part of a cult called Los Illuminados, but they’re also all infected by a brand new mind-controlling parasite: Las Plagas.
As Leon hunts for Ashley, he unexpectedly bumps into someone he thought long dead, Ada Wong, who is very much alive and is once again on the hunt for virus samples.
After rescuing Ashley, Leon confronts the cult’s leader, Saddler, and, with the help of Ada, defeats him, bringing down the parasite and all the hordes it infected. Once again showing her true colours, Ada takes a sample of Las Plagas and escapes by helicopter, but not before – you guessed it – setting the base to self-destruct.
Leon and Ashley manage to dramatically escape on a jet ski, which they appear to ride all the way from Spain back to the US. I mean, they probably just went back to the mainland and took more traditional routes, but imagining they jet-ski’d across the Atlantic is funnier, so let’s just say they did that.
Resident Evil: Revelations
2005
Shortly after the events of Resident Evil 4, our original protagonists, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, become involved in a new investigation into biological organic weapons. They discover a new strain of the T-Virus called T-Abyss, developed by evil organisation Il Veltro, which plans to use its new weapon to infect a fifth of the world’s oceans.
A lot of evil plots and betrayals unfold, involving names and organisations that mostly don’t feature in the wider series except for one: the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, or BSAA. Chris and Jill are founding members, and this new organisation’s motives become the driving force for these characters going forward.
Naturally, Chris and Jill survive the events of Revelations, taking us directly into the next chapter of Resident Evil.
Resident Evil 5 - Lost in Nightmares DLC
August, 2006
Two years after Resident Evil 4, our original big bad, Wesker, is still on the loose. Chris and Jill, now operating under the banner of the BSAA, follow a thread that should lead them to Umbrella’s founder, Oswald E. Spencer. Instead, they run into Albert Wesker, who has killed Spencer.
Wesker, seemingly even more powerful than before and now dodging bullets for fun, is more than a match for Chris and Jill. To save a wounded Chris, Jill sacrifices herself, sending both her and Wesker to their deaths. Chris, understandably, is a bit sad.
Resident Evil 5
March 4-6, 2009
Almost three years after Jill’s death, Chris is tasked with apprehending terrorist Ricardo Irving, who is selling bio-organic weapons in Africa. Along with his new partner, Sheva, Chris discovers that the locals are infected by a modified Las Plagas parasite. The duo set out to solve the crisis, but Chris has another thing on his mind: the BSAA believes Jill could still be alive.
After defeating a mutated Irving, Chris and Sheva learn that Tricell, the company that funds the BSAA, has taken over Umbrella’s seedy work in conjunction with – shock, horror – Albert Wesker, who is very much still alive and has been conducting human experiments. Unfortunately, one of his victims is Jill, who is also still alive and now under Wesker’s control.
Chris and Sheva manage to subdue Jill and remove Wesker’s mind-control device before it’s too late. Wesker tries to flee on a plane, which crash-lands in a volcano. After some boulder punching, Chris and Sheva finally kill Wesker once and for all, and all is well in the world… for now.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2
January, 2011
Claire Redfield is now a member of TerraSave, an anti-bioterrorism taskforce, and once again finds herself trapped in an island prison, this time with her new partner, Moria Burton, daughter of Barry Burton. Remember him from the Spencer Mansion incident? He’s the “Jill Sandwich” guy…
Jill and Moira are directed around the prison’s labyrinth-like halls by someone known only as the Overseer, all while being stalked by mysterious monsters. After the entire playbook of typical Resident Evil hijinks involving other survivors, shady corporations, and betrayal unfold, it’s revealed that the Overseer is a woman named Alex Wesker. Although she shares the surname, she’s not actually a relative of the series’ infamous villain, but rather a child who was kidnapped for her “talents” and inducted into “The Wesker Project”, a sinister plot developed by Umbrella founder Oswell E. Spencer to try and develop a race of superior beings. Alex has been doing her own experiments on the prison island, creating a fresh batch of monstrosities.
Eventually, Claire and Moria corner Alex, and with nowhere left to run, Alex commits suicide. But not before, of course, setting the base to self-destruct. Claire manages to escape, but unfortunately, Moira is trapped under the rubble. Enter big daddy Barry.
Six months pass before Barry reaches the island, who has been desperately chasing Moria’s SOS signal. But before finding his daughter, he comes face-to-face with Alex, who’s now heavily mutated into her disgusting final form, complete with orange glowing weak points. Fortunately, both a still-alive Moria and a returning Claire armed with a rocket launcher arrive to swing the odds in Barry’s favour.
In the epilogue, Claire receives a message about Chris and his jaunt to China, where he’s off to handle another bioterror threat…
Resident Evil 6
December 2012 - June 2013
Next up is Resident Evil 6, which features three interwoven campaigns, and it all gets really, really messy. So strap yourself in….
In 2012, a new virus is developed by a company dubbed Neo-Umbrella, led by someone who appears to be Ada Wong. Mercenary Jake Muller is immune to the virus, on account of being the child of Albert Wesker (who has… let’s say “unique” DNA after all those experiments), and so is believed to be the key to creating a vaccine.
In 2013, the American president decides enough is enough with all these bioterrorism incidents, and that it’s time to reveal what really happened in Raccoon City. However, before he can spill the beans, there’s another viral attack. The president, now a zombie, must be taken down by his loyal agent, Leon Kennedy.
Ada Wong arrives on the scene to tell Leon that National Security Advisor Derek Simmons is affiliated with Neo-Umbrella, and is behind the terror attack that zombified the president. Leon heads to China in pursuit of Simmons. Chris Redfield, now wracked by post-traumatic stress and a thirst for revenge after his team was slaughtered by Ada, also heads to China. As does Jake, because, you know, plot.
It’s no secret that Resident Evil 6 is the most convoluted game in the series, so let’s just get through this quickly:
- Chris finds out Jake’s true identity, and despite an awkward moment where Chris tells Jake he killed his dad, they mostly work it out.
- Simmons dies.
- Chris’s buddy, Piers, is wounded, then grows a new arm thanks to the C-Virus, and saves Chris.
- Jake kills his boss, who’s not worth talking about.
- We discover that there are two Adas, with one being an imposter called Carla.
- Finally, all the good guys win and go their separate ways.
Basically, a lot is going on, and it’s not very good. Maybe just ignore this bit – I highly doubt anything that happens here will have any implications for the future of Resident Evil.
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard
July 19-20, 2017
In 2017, Ethan Winters is looking for his missing wife, Mia. His search eventually leads him deep into Louisiana, where he finds her imprisoned by the Bakers, a very odd and very disgusting family.
Ethan is captured by the family’s patriarch, Jack Baker, and forced to join a vomit-inducing dinner with Jack’s wife, Marguerite, son Lucas, and a mysterious elderly woman. It turns out the entire family is infected by something called “mold”, a sort of parasitic, fungal virus that has the added benefit of increasing your resilience, but the downside of making you just a bit gross.
Side note: you can find a newspaper clipping written by Alyssa Ashcroft in the Baker’s house. Remember her from Resident Evil Outbreak? Turns out she’s still a journalist, now investigating the disappearances in Louisiana.
After escaping and managing to kill hideous forms of both Jack and Marguerite, Ethan reunites with his wife and develops a serum to help shake off her apparent mold infection. The couple attempt to flee on a boat, but the vessel is capsized by a mysterious creature that turns out to be a “girl” named Eveline. This child is actually a bio-weapon that Mia, who’s actually a secret agent, was tasked with escorting. Eveline is responsible for the Baker family’s mind-altering infection because she was desperate to create her own family. You know, like all bioweapons are. Classic stuff.
Ethan injects Eveline with a toxin, which causes her to revert to her true form: the mysterious old woman from the Baker’s disgusting dinner. It turns out she’s been rapidly aging. Of course, a senior is hardly an ideal final boss, so Eveline mutates into a giant blob like all classic Resident Evil big bads do, and after a climatic confrontation with Ethan (who gets a little help from a recently arrived military squad), she’s finally destroyed.
In a final twist, the leader of the military squad is revealed to be none other than Chris Redfield, who emerges from a helicopter branded with the Umbrella logo. Man, things have really changed around here.
Resident Evil 7 - Not a Hero DLC
July 20, 2017
Chris and his team pursue Lucas Baker, who had avoided Eveline’s mind control thanks to a serum provided to him by a new shadowy organisation called The Connections.
They were the ones behind Eveline’s creation, and Lucas had been gathering data on her for them. Naturally, he planned to betray his masters, because Lucas is a Resident Evil villain, and that’s apparently part of the contract.
After working his way through a series of traps, Chris manages to kill a mutated Lucas. He then returns to base to take an urgent phone call…
Resident Evil Village
February 8-10, 2021
Over three years later, Ethan and Mia have settled in Eastern Europe, but their new-found family bliss is violently interrupted by Chris Redfield, who shockingly and mercilessly guns down Mia and kidnaps Ethan and his child, Rose.
Ethan wakes to find himself in a rural village that has been besieged by a horde of marauding lycans. On a desperate quest to find Rose, Ethan works his way through the abandoned village and into a nearby castle inhabited by vampires, most notably an enormous goth mommy called Lady Dimiterscu.
Lady D, along with a wider group of oddities including a fish man and a cowboy Magneto, all belong to cult that worships Mother Miranda; a god-like, mold-infected matriarch who, in a quest to resurrect her dead daughter, Eva, became consumed by the infection and spread it to her four elevated lords and houses. Ethan discovers a crest for these four lords that looks eerily similar to Umbrella’s logo.
Ethan’s journey to rescue Rose and take down Miranda’s lords eventually leads him back to Chris Redfield, who explains that the Mia he gunned down wasn’t actually Mia at all, but rather a shape-shifting Mother Miranda. Miranda believes Ethan and Mia’s daughter, Rose, is the successor of bioweapon, Eveline, based on the fact that both her parents were infected by the mold. After Miranda finally confronts Ethan in her true form, she explains that the mold will help rebirth Rose as her own daughter. Without hesitation, Miranda rips out Ethan’s heart.
Chris and his squad launch a full assault against Mother Miranda, battling through her waves of monsters and destroying a large mold barrier that protects her. Once inside, Chris and the team discover a large mold root called the Megamycete; the source of the mold that plagued both the village and the Baker family. Turns out the Megamycete not only infects its victims, but it also absorbs their DNA and memories.
Chris plants a bomb, but before destroying the mold once and for all, he passes through Miranda’s lab for one last lore dump. He discovers the entirety of her plan to find a suitable vessel for her daughter’s consciousness to be reborn into. Miranda was also responsible for the creation of Eveline, working with The Connections.
That’s not the most shocking revelation, though: Chris discovers that Oswell E. Spencer, founder of Umbrella, was actually a student of Miranda's and began his work on the progenitor virus based on her teachings. To honour this, he designed Umbrella’s logo after Miranda’s four lords’ symbol. So not only is Miranda responsible for everything in Resident Evil 7 and Village, but she’s the inspiration that started this entire 30-year, virus-riddled affair!
After Chris exits the exposition-packed hallway, he encounters the true version of Mia, who’s very much alive and reveals that Ethan isn’t quite dead, either. It turns out that Miranda didn’t kill Ethan after all – Jack Baker did, way back at the start of Resident Evil 7. Ethan was infected by the Mold, which had kept him moving and “alive” this entire time, and explained how he could regularly reattach body parts with just a bit of healing juice.
Despite his mold infection, Ethan is falling apart, only able to muster just enough energy for one last stand against Mother Miranda. Upon defeating the big bad once and for all, he hands his daughter over to Chris and agrees to stay behind with the detonation device that will activate the bomb planted on the Megamycete, destroying the village, the mold, and himself once and for all. Ethan triggers the explosion as Chris, Mia, and Rose escape.
Resident Evil Requiem
October 2026
The upcomming adventures of Leon Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft take place in 2026. If the trailers are to be believed, the story will take us to the bombed out remains of Raccoon City, as well as the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center, which we explored in our hands-on preview. But until we play the full game, we don't know what this chapter will mean for the Resident Evil timeline.
Resident Evil Village - Shadows of Rose DLC
2037
In 2037, a teenage Rose learns about her abilities, one of which is the power to connect with a surviving piece of the mold root recovered from the incident 16 years prior. After jacking in, Rose enters a new realm filled with the memories of the Megamycete’s victims. She takes a jaunt through a version of the village her father was once trapped in, guided by the spirit “Michael”, who is actually Ethan’s remaining consciousness. As she explores, Rose is taunted by the trapped consciousness of Mother Miranda, who is desperate to escape this realm of memories. With the help of Ethan and her newfound abilities, Rose manages to defeat Mother Miranda and share one last moment with her father before she returns to the real world. In the aftermath, she visits Ethan’s grave while shadowed by a mysterious agent who calls her Eveline. After threatening him, Rose reveals she has abilities that even Chris doesn’t know about.
And there we go. That’s the entire plot of Resident Evil – well, all the stuff that actually matters. Yes, we skipped over some bits here or there, but there’s a lot to cover in the wacky world of Resident Evil, and that should be everything you need to know before diving into Resident Evil Requiem. Now, excuse me while I set my base to self-destruct and vow to get my revenge.
Dale Driver is an Associate Director of Video Programming at IGN. Be thoroughly bored by following him on Bluesky at @daledriver.bsky.social
Connexion
