Be it zombies, giant infected animals, or bio-engineered killing machines like Nemesis and Eveline, they’re at the center of every game. You’ll shoot at them, run from them, and if they’re something special, remember them for decades. Some will overwhelm you with numbers, others with speed, and many are simply bullet sponges. One way or another, they’re out for your blood. Let’s take a look at some of the best.
20. The Executioner
First appearance: Resident Evil 5 (2009) Since Resident Evil 4, the franchise had moved away from regular zombies to organized “infected” who didn’t look that different from an average human. Resident Evil 5’s Majini might as well be ordinary people… except for The Executioner. Upon infection with a Type-2 Plaga, this dude had a different reaction than his brethren – growing increasingly muscular, thick-skinned, and standing over 7ft tall. “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” he thought – and so, he became an executioner for the infected rebels in Kijuju. You fight him early on in the game, making the first big gunfight in RE5 that much more memorable.
19. Baby
First appearance: Resident Evil Village (2021) Parents always worry about what their kids might become if they don’t step up their parenting game. Ethan Winters is no different. This deformed infant is the product of Ethan’s hallucinations in House Beneviento. Its horrible misshapen body comes together with a normal infant voice to make Baby uniquely disturbing. Baby will even exclaim “Yummy!” after swallowing Ethan whole in one of the most surreal deaths in the game.
18. It (U3)
First appearance: Resident Evil 4 (2005) Dubbed “It” by Lord Saddler and his acolytes, the U3 is one of the most durable and ferocious BOWs in RE4. It’s a perfect name for a creature that bears more than a passing resemblance with Pennywise from Stephen King’s 1986 novel. You first have to run away from it in a series of crate rigs – easily the most anxiety-inducing section of the campaign. Then, after you finally drop It into the abyss, it crawls back up as if nothing had happened. This monster is why you must always carry at least one RPG in your RE4 inventory.
17. Eveline
First appearance: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) Eveline represents a shift in biological warfare. She was designed to eliminate enemies without combat, infiltrating settlements and taking them over from within by slowly infecting the population with airborne spores. Obsessed with creating a family for herself, Eveline infected the Bakers one by one – giving rise to the nastiest family the world had ever seen.
16. Marguerite Baker
First appearance: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) Marguerite Baker was the first of the family who fell to the mold. Sharing Eveline’s interest in keeping their family strong, Marguerite continued her housewife duties after infection. She’d cook delicious supper rich in insects and human body parts and even had some leftovers for Ethan when they “took him in”. This moldy lady can produce swarms of mold-enhanced insects and direct them at will. She’s also quick and can regenerate from damage in no time. Did I mention you have to fight her in the dark?
15. Queen Leech
First appearance: Resident Evil 0 (2002) James Marcus was a researcher obsessed with pursuing perfection in all things, including his work in the lab. After his untimely death at the hands of Umbrella security, his body was consumed by the same mutated leeches he had been working on. They somehow assimilated his personality once they got to his brain and learned to mimic his form. The Queen Leech thinks they’re James Marcus reborn, and they’re hungry for revenge.
14. Lickers
First appearance: Resident Evil 2 (1998) Even among zombies, some run ahead of the pack. Zombies that consume prodigious amounts of human flesh sometimes undergo a process known as V-Act. Then, depending on the virus strain, they may turn into a Licker. These fearsome creatures are faster, more robust, and considerably more intelligent than any other zombie. Once you see one of these blind hunters impale someone with their tongue from 12ft away, you’ll get why they call them Lickers.
13. G (William Birkin)
First appearance: Resident Evil 2 (1998) William Birkin is the first clear example of the “villain consumed by their own creation” trope in Resident Evil. After being gunned down and left for dead by the company’s private forces, this researcher injected himself with the G-Virus he’d been developing, and the monster was born. Every time we meet the infected scientist, he’s less human and more monster. He might be a villain, but it’s painful watching his descent into insanity.
12. Jack Baker
First appearance: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) The near-immortal patriarch of the Baker family embodies their values – he’s cruel, ruthless, and will make sure any new members of the family behave accordingly. Like a mold-based Terminator, Jack Baker can take the most violent beating you can think of like it’s nothing. Then, he’ll put himself back together with staples and some duct tape and continue the pursuit. You’ll have to kill him half a dozen times before he finally goes down for real. He’s one of those characters that makes you feel like you’re in real danger despite the screen separating you.
11. Lisa Trevor
First appearance: Resident Evil (2002) Lisa Trevor is one of the most brutal boss fights in the Resident Evil remake. But learning this monster’s tragic backstory without feeling sympathy is even harder. After her father – the architect behind the Spencer Mansion – was murdered by Umbrella to keep the facilities’ secrets safe, they decided to use Lisa and her mother as test subjects for the Progenitor Virus. Over the years, Lisa grew into a super-powerful abomination who keeps looking for her mother despite forgetting how she looks. Bound, deformed, and full of hate, Lisa Trevor is the picture of madness.
10. Dr. Salvador
First appearance: Resident Evil 4 (2005) Anyone who’s played RE4 remembers the sound of Dr. Salvador’s chainsaw and the panic it could unleash. This chainsaw-wielding Spaniard (or an army of clones) is encountered several times throughout the story, beginning with the first large-scale confrontation against the Ganados. As if fighting a horde of infected when you’re still getting used to the controls wasn’t enough, this dude comes out of nowhere in the middle of the fight to cut off your head in an instant-kill move. I’m not going to lie. I actually quit RE4 for months after the first time I ran into Dr. Salvador. It took me a long while to work up the courage to try again, and I’m sure some people out there never came back.
9. Crimson Heads
First appearance: Resident Evil (2002) Crimson Heads were one of the best new features in the Resident Evil remake. These deep red zombies are born after a previously defeated undead undergoes the V-Act process and rises back up to continue their hunt for human flesh. There just aren’t enough bullets to kill every zombie twice, so you’ll have to plan ahead and choose which zombies to kill in the first place. You can also burn the bodies with gasoline or an incendiary grenade, but even the best of us are bound to miss a few.
8. El Gigante
First appearance: Resident Evil 4 (2005) This big boy is the stereotypical brute who’s traded any sort of intelligence for physical strength. The game does a great job of portraying just how powerful and heavy El Gigante is. Fighting it is intense, as any contact with this towering hulk could be enough to send you flying to your death. It scared the hell out of me the first time around, though its movements are easy to predict once you’ve mastered the game’s mechanics. Fun fact: Animal lovers will find the first fight against this giant much easier. If you freed the dog from the bear trap near the beginning of the game, it will pay back the favor.
7. Zombie Dogs
First appearance: Resident Evil (1996) We’ve all been there. You’re walking down a corridor in an old mansion, the windows shatter, and in jump two horrifying zombie dogs who proceed to maul you thanks to awkward camera angles. These doggies are easily recognizable and widely loved among Resident Evil fans thanks to their continued appearances in almost every game in the series.
6. Tyrant (T-002)
First appearance: Resident Evil (1996) The Tyrant is one of the first really effective bio-organic weapons introduced in the RE series. Nowadays, Resident Evil monsters with intelligence and a human form are a dime a dozen – but the Tyrant was one of the first mutated humans to be able to follow orders. This made its viral-enhanced abilities useful for objective-based missions rather than just killing everything around them in a blind rage. Defeating the T-002 at the end of the original Resident Evil is a relief, but its legacy would live on to torment us in Resident Evil 2.
5. Mr. X
First appearance: Resident Evil 2 (1998) Mr. X is a T-103 Tyrant, the successor to the Spencer Mansion’s T-102. As the first mass-produced tyrant model, the T-103 was designed to carry out missions in populated areas. To help this 7ft tall bio-organic weapon blend in, Umbrella gave it a totally inconspicuous overcoat and a face only a mother could love. The thing with Mr. X is that he never gives up his pursuit. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, he’s always closing the distance like the demon from It Follows (2014). Fun fact: The name “Mr. X” wasn’t in the original 1998 game. It was adopted after Toy Biz used it for an action figure released in the same year.
4. Regenerador & Iron Maiden
First appearance: Resident Evil 4 (2005) The single scariest creature in Resident Evil’s fourth main entry is the Regenerador – only surpassed by its spiky cousin, the Iron Maiden. These infected have been made near-immortal by several Plaga parasites, which have colonized their entire bodies and made them indestructible. They may look like Baraka from Mortal Kombat, but they’re far more terrifying. Even if you manage to find the thermal scope that allows you to see the parasites in their bodies, staying calm enough to successfully kill them all is a feat. Once you think you’ve got them figured out, you’re introduced to the Iron Maiden – a Regenerador with retractile spikes. It doesn’t get any more metal than that.
3. Lady Dimitrescu
First appearance: Resident Evil Village (2021) The Internet at large has lost it over Lady Dimitrescu, making her the de facto mascot of Resident Evil Village. Nobody can resist a sexy giant European woman with a thirst for blood. But Lady Dimitrescu is much more than a pretty face. She may not look like a zombie, but she’s eaten more than her fair share of villagers to sustain herself since the early 20th century. Her sharp claws and over 9ft stature make her a serious threat – even to Ethan Winters. As if that wasn’t enough, she can also turn into a massive dragon-like flying beast.
2. Nemesis
First appearance: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999) The most widely-known member of the Tyrant family is Nemesis – a relentless pursuer fought by Jill Valentine in RE3. Nemesis is the ultimate RE nightmare. A grotesque but powerful killing machine that’ll pop in unexpectedly at the worst of times to bring you down. Whether it’s wielding a Gatling gun or a flamethrower, Nemesis is always the biggest threat in the area.
1. Zombies
First appearance: Resident Evil (1996) We all know the scene. Something’s off. You feel it deep in your bones. You slowly approach the pale figure hunched over a dead body. It finally turns around, revealing the disfigured face of a zombie that sends a chill up your spine. They may not be the fastest or the smartest, but classic zombies definitely take the crown as the best, most iconic monsters in the Resident Evil series. No matter how many BOWs Umbrella, The Connections, and their successors cook up – nothing beats a good-old zombie outbreak to bring absolute chaos to a crowded urban metropolis.
