When the original Resident Evil came out, it changed everything. The game took hold of people despite the goofy dialogue, and that was primarily because of the incredible mix of survival horror. Seeing who could survive against the undead, and sometimes who could do it the fastest was iconic.
It should be no surprise then that plenty of games have or have likely been inspired by the Resident Evil series over the years. The game was such a hit that an entire series of clone games were made following its release, so obviously, there’s no shortage of games that were inspired by the original survival horror.
10 Devil May Cry
Pretty much everyone interested in gaming will already know the story behind the Devil May Cry series. The original Devil May Cry, and by extension, its awesome characters, was actually being developed as Resident Evil 4 for quite a while until the team decided to move in a different direction.
Because of that, it’s clear that a lot of the series was inspired by the more action-oriented approach of Resident Evil 4 and onward. It’s a heavily stylistic game in a dreary world, and although it is an action game first, the demons involved were likely inspired by Resident Evil’s creatures.
9 Dead Space
Whether you are aware of it or not, there are a lot of people who would consider the original Dead Space to be a Resident Evil 4 clone. It may be set in space, but Dead Space does bring a lot of the action-based horror that Resident Evil 4 does.
You might consider Dead Space to be a bit more horror focused, but there aren’t many moments where you feel truly powerless. The thrilling third-person combat will certainly remind you of Resident Evil 4, even if the team added in a few of their own quirks.
8 Dino Crisis
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Dino Crisis was inspired by Resident Evil because it was created in part by one of the major figures behind that series, Shinji Mikami. The series trades zombies for dinosaurs, but it keeps all the thrills and horrors.
There are even aspects of Dino Crisis that feel familiar to the early Resident Evil efforts with secret operations, hidden facilities, and a lot of survival horror. If you are a Resident Evil fan who missed this series, you’ll want to give it a try.
7 Parasite Eve
Parasite Eve might seem like a completely different beast at a glance, but in reality, portions of the game feel like Resident Evil if the combat were morphed into an RPG. With an ambitious and mature story, Resident Evil fans will love what Parasite Eve has to offer.
Realistically, if you’re the kind of person who loves classic Resident Evil but wishes it had some more oomph in its gameplay, the fresh mechanics in Parasite Eve will be appealing. The darker nature of the story and events give a horror vibe throughout, even if some wouldn’t call it a horror title.
6 The Evil Within
This is another fantastic game that should feel familiar to Resident Evil fans, mostly because Shinji Mikami ended up directing this game. The Evil Within brings all the helpless horror you could dream of, and it adds some brutal difficulty as well.
At times, the game can feel like it pulled a lot of inspiration from the Silent Hill series, but it still has that familiar Resident Evil charm. If you’ve longed for heavier horror experiences, The Evil Within is a great game to pick up, and it’s even got a sequel.
5 Silent Hill
It’s impossible to not constantly compare Silent Hill and Resident Evil since they are two of the biggest horror series in gaming. It’s likely that the original Silent Hill took a lot of inspiration from Resident Evil, and set out to make an even more harrowing experience, even if other games have since referenced it.
Being stuck in a mansion is bad, but being stuck in a town veiled in endless fog with even fewer human creatures is arguably much worse. Just about all the mechanics of Silent Hill will feel familiar to a Resident Evil fan, even if the game can be a bit spookier.
4 Cold Fear
Cold Fear is a bizarre but fun hidden gem that a lot of people missed out on. It blends elements from a lot of popular games to create what feels like a really early version of Resident Evil: Revelations.
This 2005 survival horror game sees you tasked with battling a ship filled with zombies. The inspiration should be clear enough from that description, but luckily, Cold Fear does try to stand out from other games of the era through a variety of unique choices throughout.
3 Galerians
After the original Resident Evil was released, there were a lot of games that most people considered to be clones, and Galerians is one of them. The story and some of the ideas are actually quite unique, but it will feel eerily familiar to Resident Evil the entire time.
The best parts are that the action feels rather unique thanks to the psychic plot, and the story itself might surprise you with how enjoyable it is. This game might have been heavily inspired by Resident Evil, but it did a good job of setting itself apart.
2 Deep Fear
Most people probably missed this one since it was both only on the Sega Saturn and never actually released in North America. It brings back all the usual research facilities and infected creatures that Resident Evil made famous.
It’s probably fair to say that the game was going for more of a sci-fi vibe thanks to the infected creatures being mutants. It does offer some unique ideas in terms of survival horror, but there won’t be too many things that catch you off guard.
1 Extermination
This game does feel inspired by Resident Evil both in the story and in overall game design. The game emphasizes survival horror, meaning that it is once again a good idea to do what you can to conserve health and ammo.
Like many others, Extermination uses the classic secret research facility concept to set up a variety of zombie-like creatures. This game does expand on Resident Evil’s ideas by adding an interesting infection mechanic that might be a fun new challenge for some fans of the series.