Hardest Resident Evil Games To 100% Complete

The Resident Evil series loves to create tense gameplay moments. From oversized boss monsters that seem impossible to kill to making resource management decisions on the fly that can affect a run, players are often under pressure. Most of the games allow players to take it easy if they want with lower difficulty modes, but 100% completing the games often requires overcoming the tougher difficulties and challenges.

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From some pretty obscure secrets and unlock methods in the older games, to some genuinely tough hardcore difficulty challenges in the modern games, 100% completing many of the Resident Evil games asks for some in-depth game knowledge. Based on their toughest levels of challenge, these are the hardest Resident Evil games to 100% complete.

8

Resident Evil (2002)

The “Good” Ending

Systems

Released

April 30, 2002

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Violence

Developer(s)

Capcom Production Studio 4

The 2002 GameCube remaster of Resident Evil added a few new challenges that made 100% completing a game that already had a relatively obscure “good ending” even harder. Players have to assemble the hidden MO disks throughout the mansion to eventually save their partner while destroying the mansion, resulting in both characters surviving and the canonical “good ending” being triggered. So to fully complete the game, players have to get this ending with both Chris and Jill for starters.

With the Gamecube remake, though, completing it like this unlocks some additional difficulty modes, which offer some tougher challenges. Real survival mode means item boxes are not linked, which means players have to plan routes and item pickups in advance to survive. Invisible enemies mode, well, makes all enemies invisible. Completing either of these modes is a tough test. There are also unlockable items for completing the game in under 5 and 3 hours respectively, so there’s plenty to challenge gamers going for 100% completion.

7

Resident Evil 2

Branching Campaigns

Released

January 21, 1998

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Violence

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

As a sequel, Resident Evil 2 doubled down on the original game’s two-character setup by offering two characters with two alternate campaigns for each. So, to even get through the full story campaign requires four playthroughs. Completing these scenarios enough times also unlocked the timed escape challenges The 4th Survivor and Tofu Survivor, which could be pretty tough to finish.

The game also brought back the timed completion challenges from the first game, with special unlockable weapons for completing the game in under two and a half hours and completing it without saving. Getting an A-Rank run in under two and a half hours is one of the tougher Resident Evil challenges, and getting 100% of the unlocks can take a while.

6

Resident Evil 4

Secrets & Challenges

Released

January 11, 2005

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language

The original release of Resident Evil 4 included a lot more content than just its main campaign. Getting 100% completion meant also beating the Mercenaries mode, as well as the separate scenarios featuring Ada Wong, Ada’s Report and Separate Ways. These modes unlocked special weapons and costumes that could be used in the main game on a completed save file.

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There is also the harder difficulty mode, Professional, to play through once the campaign has been beaten normally, so there are certainly some challenges for a player looking to get 100% completion. Players can also find several secrets within the levels of the main game, like the blue medallions, as well as some unique and missable cutscenes and dialogues.

5

Resident Evil 5

Professional Mode

Released

March 5, 2009

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

Resident Evil 5 makes this list for different reasons than most of the other games. As Resident Evil 5 put a lot more emphasis on action and combat sequences than the previous games, there are some genuinely difficult segments, especially for players looking to complete the game on the highest difficulty.

Resident Evil 5‘s campaign was designed partially with co-op gameplay in mind, and players who want to complete Professional mode solo will find some sections very tough as a result. There are also some challenge-based unlockables, and a Mercenaries mode for 100% completionists, but the main challenge here is completing the game on its hardest setting.

4

Resident Evil Village

Village Of Shadows

Survival Horror

Survival

Horror

Released

May 7, 2021

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

The extra difficulty mode in Resident Evil Village, Village of Shadows, is a tough one to beat, but that’s not the only reason that getting 100% completion is a difficult task. Rewards are unlocked in Village via the extra content shop, for CP earned from completing challenges in-game. Grinding enough CP for every reward will take quite some time.

Then there’s the Mercenaries mode, which features four maps itself. Each one of these can be beaten for mode-specific unlocks, but beating them all with an SS-Rank also unlocks a special weapon, the LZ Answerer, for the main game. Getting this and the full challenge list completed, and unlocking every piece of additional shop content, will take some effort, for the time investment alone.

3

Resident Evil 2 Remake

Saving Tofu

Released

January 25, 2019

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Intense Violence

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

The 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 managed to re-evoke the same feelings of tension and dread that many players felt when playing the original. Third-person shooting has come a long way in the interim, and it did this with updated, more involved shooting mechanics, advanced enemy animations, and more. All of this adds up to a game that is more difficult to play, in terms of what it demands from the player.

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The game also includes the same myriad of unlocks and alternate campaign routes that the original game did, albeit in a slightly different way. Players can still get special weapons for completing the game on a time limit and with limited saves to get an S+ Ranking. Getting an S+ Rank on hardcore difficulty is no easy feat, and requires some in-depth game knowledge and forethought.

2

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Enter The Madhouse

Released

January 24, 2017

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Getting to 100% completion in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard has a shorter list of requirements than some of the other games in the series, but it’s not easy by any means. Madhouse difficulty is not only a higher difficulty setting, it changes the layout of items in the campaign and gives players limited saves instead of the autosave system. This makes it a unique challenge, where existing knowledge will only go so far in helping players get through.

This is the toughest challenge in Resident Evil 7, as there aren’t many others to overcome. Beating the game in under 4 hours is a tight time limit, but it can be done with any difficulty, and getting every statue of Mr. Everywhere is the kind of hidden item hunt Resident Evil players will be used to. Madhouse difficulty alone is enough to put the game high on the list of hard 100% completions, though.

1

Resident Evil 4 Remake

Challenge Runs

Released

March 24, 2023

ESRB

M for Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

In the style of the more modern Resident Evil games, Resident Evil 4 Remake has a long 100% completion list featuring additional challenges and a points shop for purchasing unlocks. Players need to beat the game on Hardcore difficulty first to unlock Professional mode, the highest difficulty. To get 100%, players have to then beat this mode on a new save file and achieve an S+ Rank, which involves a tight time limit, limited saves, and no bonus item use.

With additional gameplay segments and some redesigned boss fights, Resident Evil 4 Remake is arguably a harder game than its original version. This and other factors mean the Professional difficulty S+ Rank run is one of the hardest runs to execute across the entire series. 100% completionists have a lot to dig into besides this in Resident Evil 4‘s remake as well.

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