Resident Evil

 PlayStation
  • Publisher: Capcom
  • Release Date: Mar 30, 1996
User Score
9.5

Universal acclaim- based on 1290 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,232 out of 1290
  2. Mixed: 40 out of 1290
  3. Negative: 18 out of 1290
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. drlowdon
    Jun 16, 2013
    6
    Resident Evil’s clunky controls are less forgivable nowadays and the graphics simply look horrible but at the time this was quite rightly considered a classic. One of very few games to be genuinely scary it was like nothing else available and demonstrated just what the Playstation was capable of. Anyone wanting to experience the birth of one of gaming’s most well known series should reallyResident Evil’s clunky controls are less forgivable nowadays and the graphics simply look horrible but at the time this was quite rightly considered a classic. One of very few games to be genuinely scary it was like nothing else available and demonstrated just what the Playstation was capable of. Anyone wanting to experience the birth of one of gaming’s most well known series should really check out the superb GameCube remake.… Expand
  2. Rox22
    Mar 22, 2013
    7
    For when it came out it was a great game and truly set the genre for decades to come. Graphics were good and very detailed and looked really nice on the PS1. Sound, music and lighting set the atmosphere perfectly. This is the root of survival horror and it shows (the good and the bad.) While it has since become a bit iconic the voice acting is just terrible, even then. I've heard fan madeFor when it came out it was a great game and truly set the genre for decades to come. Graphics were good and very detailed and looked really nice on the PS1. Sound, music and lighting set the atmosphere perfectly. This is the root of survival horror and it shows (the good and the bad.) While it has since become a bit iconic the voice acting is just terrible, even then. I've heard fan made re-recordings that were better and more professionally done. But voice acting aside the gameplay is just first rate. Overall: Truly a classic, in the B-horror movie kind of way. It hasn't aged well and would rather defer to the Gamecube remake if you want to experience the game.… Expand
  3. ReyesA.
    May 5, 2009
    6
    Graphics were sucky, but I understand that this is an old game so I learned to look past that and try and cherish what people enjoy out of this game. However, the character voices were so gay, they should have just used subtitles. Also, the difficulty was too extreme. I played the director's cut (which allowed me to receive double the amount of whatever items i picked up such as Graphics were sucky, but I understand that this is an old game so I learned to look past that and try and cherish what people enjoy out of this game. However, the character voices were so gay, they should have just used subtitles. Also, the difficulty was too extreme. I played the director's cut (which allowed me to receive double the amount of whatever items i picked up such as ammo, ink ribbons, etc.) and I still had trouble. I like to play video games to relax and have fun, not bite my teeth and chuck my controller.… Expand
  4. OhRly
    Apr 1, 2013
    7
    The game has it's scares, but people, take off your nostalgia glasses and look at it. It pretty fun and entertaining and all, but these controls are some of the worst, EVER. Don't even bother with the analog, because you will be frustrated to breaking your controller with your bare hands, the digital mode (the arrow keys to the left of the controller) may be better, but that isn't sayingThe game has it's scares, but people, take off your nostalgia glasses and look at it. It pretty fun and entertaining and all, but these controls are some of the worst, EVER. Don't even bother with the analog, because you will be frustrated to breaking your controller with your bare hands, the digital mode (the arrow keys to the left of the controller) may be better, but that isn't saying much, not at all.

    So be warned, if you can get used to the controls, it is a pretty decent game, just not a classic.    … Expand
  5. hiltong55
    Mar 22, 2017
    7
    I would like to start by saying that survival horror is not my genre of choice. With that being said I completely agree that this is a good game. After never playing a survival horror game I figured I would give the granddad of the genre a try and it did not disappoint. My first observation was the apparent lack of hand holding that you get from many games these days. I was six when thisI would like to start by saying that survival horror is not my genre of choice. With that being said I completely agree that this is a good game. After never playing a survival horror game I figured I would give the granddad of the genre a try and it did not disappoint. My first observation was the apparent lack of hand holding that you get from many games these days. I was six when this game was originally released so maybe that was just the way games were made in the early PS days but either way it brought about a very different experience from what I was expecting. This game made it frustratingly obvious at times that this was no combat game and I had to use my brain to figure out how to advance (I may have also asked a few of my friends who played this back in the day but I refused to use the internet lol). Once I understood that everything is a puzzle things went a lot smother and quicker. The puzzles could be frustrating at times but once I figured them out I found myself saying "well duh". Combat is fairly primitive. Shooting is as simple as aiming in the enemies general direction and firing till they fall. I found that often times is was best to run away or run around certain enemies to conserve ammo as it can often be scarce and needed for later enemies. My biggest frustration was with the camera system. I thought it looked great from a cinematic perspective but as far as combat goes it was really annoying at times. I would often run right into enemies that were standing right in front of me because the camera angle in the section I came from was facing my front. Decent variety of weapons even though the suffer from some balancing issues. The music is creepy and fits the atmosphere fairly well. The AI reacts as they should and do as you would expect. The games real strengths in my opinion is the story and the atmosphere. The developers did a great job of creating a genuinely creepy and scary atmosphere that made a very non skittish late 20 year old man jump on several occasions with some unexpected enemy attacks and a good balance of slow moving and quick attacking enemies. I am not sure if it was the intention of the writers to create a story that was filled with lovingly terrible voice acting and awkward character interactions but they did..... and it works. By today's standards the story would be considered bad but for some reason it just fits within the narrative of the game and gives the game a certain charm. The game also offers multiple endings I came to find out later (apparently I got the good one with my first run through with Jill). The biggest criticism of the game is that I did not feel that my next play through with Chris was nearly as enjoyable. There wasn't that much of a difference other than a few less inventory slots and few different weapons. I got through the Chris story much faster.

    All in all this was a good game given that this genre is not my cup of tea but was successful in making me want to try more Resident Evil titles in the future. It scared the crap out of me at times and made me think a lot. 7/10 Good    … Expand
  6. UncleEd
    Apr 18, 2020
    7
    Alone in the Dark has invented the survival horror genre, but it was Resident Evil that popularized it. As a fan of Resident Evil 4, I was curious about the first game which paved the way for one of the most successful video game series today. I played the original PlayStation version, mind you, not the remake.

    Resident Evil starts strong: A phenomenal, super cheesy 80s B-horror movie    Alone in the Dark has invented the survival horror genre, but it was Resident Evil that popularized it. As a fan of Resident Evil 4, I was curious about the first game which paved the way for one of the most successful video game series today. I played the original PlayStation version, mind you, not the remake.

    Resident Evil starts strong: A phenomenal, super cheesy 80s B-horror movie cinematic. You are in a mansion and the game is creepy from the get go. I consider myself an experienced gamer and usually play in harder difficulties, but I have struggled too much early on in Resident Evil. I had to rely on knife to preserve ammo (which I have found too difficult) or I had to run away from zombies rather than killing them (which I have found too boring). I then switched to “training” difficulty, which translates to “easy’.

    I liked the atmosphere, loved the music. My gripe was the generally boring puzzles and the backtracking.

    Overall, I don’t regret playing through Resident Evil. But this is not a case of the original entry being the absolute best of a video game series. Resident Evil started it and some of the later games made it absolutely better.    … Expand
  7. Dperks
    Jun 11, 2021
    7
    Resident Evil 1 is a game I have a lot of respect for what it did for survival horror and for starting one of my favorite game series. With that being said I do think that this game has aged pretty poorly and I am of the opinion that the remake pretty much improved and perfected everything this game was going for. That's not to say that this game doesn't have value, merit or isn't worthResident Evil 1 is a game I have a lot of respect for what it did for survival horror and for starting one of my favorite game series. With that being said I do think that this game has aged pretty poorly and I am of the opinion that the remake pretty much improved and perfected everything this game was going for. That's not to say that this game doesn't have value, merit or isn't worth playing today cause I do think it does. It's just a lot harder I feel to recommend the original over the remake or at least the directors cut of the game. Because when I say the original I do mean I played the original version of the game which when you really boil it down means that there's few unlockable and the music is better. In fact the music is really good on the original release the basement music being my favorite piece for how it heightened the tension I felt while going through. The basement music is my favorite song in the directors cut as well just for entirely different reasons. In addition the original release only has alternative costumes for each character you can unlock which kind of sucks. And there's no auto aim which with the camera angels can make it really difficult to hit enemies some times. But the core gameplay of preserving ammo and healing items and solving puzzles is still really fun and even scary at times. Despite the games very dated visuals it does still mange to bring tension and dread in it's encounters through out the game. Another dated aspect is the story and voice acting which has critical levels of campiness. I think every one already knows this but the voice performance is on another level of how bad and unintentionally funny it is and I do love it. Some cutscenes have what I can call some of the worst 3d models I've seen in a game and I just love how bad they look. I think the game has a difficulty problem in that Jill's campaign feels kinda easy while Chris's campaign feels a lot harder and far more tedious due to his smaller inventory space. Leading me and seemingly most people to not what to play Chris more then once. The combat in the game is very slow due to in part the fixed camera angels and tank controls. Both of which I don't mind and I think really plays a part in the charm of the game and they work to heighten tension and make encounters all the more threatening. But I don't think it works with some of the enemies such as the hunters. Who can move very fast and sometimes will decapitate you killing you instantly which can be really annoying. I think this same issue is present for most of the boss fights due to their speed they can get a lot of hits in before your able to turn around and properly aim at them which again is very annoying. With all that being said I do think the game is a very charming experience and is still a good game at it's core just a terribly dated one.… Expand
  8. sebastianali
    Jan 25, 2020
    5
    No envejeció muy bien. Si bien la ambientación, la tensión provocada por la misma y la música se agradecen, la jugabilidad y el sistema de guardado son terribles. Arruinan en parte un juego que podría haber sido uno de mis favoritos del PS1
  9. MittensJa
    Sep 9, 2021
    6
    This game was one of the first genuine horror games that scared me as a child.
  10. zach_grech
    May 3, 2022
    7
    This game is incredible. Tension, horror and locations are all distinct and excellent. The cutscenes however are noticeably cheesy which ruins a lot of the tone. Some outdated design choices.

Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best PS1 Game of 1996
1
#1 Most Discussed PS1 Game of 1996
3
#3 Most Shared PS1 Game of 1996

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. TotalGames.net
    91
    Capcom has produced the perfect interactive movie. RE is horribly, horribly addictive -- it tests your reflexes, satiates your bloodlust, stretches your mind (and temper) and leaves you both thrilled and drained.
    Read full review
  2. Absolute Playstation
    91
    Stunning graphics. Amazing sounds. Gripping storyline. Frightening enemies. Callenging gameplay.
    Read full review
  3. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    89
    Fantastic game, but who can forget the terrible intro and dialogue? [Jan 2004, p.189]
See all critic reviews »