Hey everyone! I’m pretty new to this series and just finished playing Village as my first game. Now I want to dive deeper into the franchise but I’m not sure which titles are actually important for the main plot. I’ve made a list that includes the 8 core games plus RE0 and both Revelations titles. Can anyone tell me if there are other games or DLC content that contribute to the overall narrative? I want to make sure I don’t miss any crucial story elements before I start my playthrough marathon. Any guidance would be really helpful!
Honestly your list covers most of the important stuff. I’d probably prioritize Code Veronica since it’s basically RE3.5 and connects directly to the main storyline. The CGI movies are decent too if you want the full picture - they’re not amazing but they’re canon. You could probably skip some of the side content on your first run through and come back to it later once you get the main story beats down.
Operation Raccoon City is skippable but Umbrella Chronicles has some neat backstory moments
Code Veronica is pretty important for the main story too, don’t skip that one
The animated movies do a good job of filling in story gaps, especially Degeneration and Damnation. Also, check out the Lost in Nightmares DLC from RE5; it’s worth playing to get more context.
Starting with Village is actually pretty cool since you get to see where the story goes first. Code Veronica is definitely a must play and the original trilogy sets up everything important.
Your list sounds pretty solid actually. The only thing I’d add is that some of the DLC campaigns are worth it, especially the ones that bridge story gaps. Not Another Hero and End of Zoe from RE7 come to mind. The Chronicles games on Rails aren’t essential but they do fill in some backstory if you’re really going for completionist understanding. You picked a weird but great starting point with Village!
The Chronicles games have some good backstory bits if you can handle the rail shooter format
Going backwards from Village is actually kind of fun since you’ll catch references you missed the first time. I’d throw in the Outbreak games if you can find them - they’re not crucial but they show what was happening to regular people during the Raccoon City incident. Also don’t sleep on the animated movies, they’re canon and fill in some gaps between games.
Dead Aim and Survivor are pretty forgettable but Darkside Chronicles has some solid story content between the shooting sections.