8 Best Deaths in the Resident Evil Games

The Resident Evil games are known for their high-quality game engine, impressive graphics, gory disposition, and overarching storyline. With nine games in the core series and three significant remakes, there is no shortage of those features. The most recent game in the Resident Evil franchise has been Resident Evil Village, with a remake of Resident Evil 4 set to release on March 24th, 2023.

With all these games in the series, there have been countless fatalities. Some have been tame, some silly, but the majority have been unsettling displays of the many violent ways the antagonists of the franchise can slaughter the protagonists in cold blood. That said, talking about protagonist deaths means spoilers aplenty are inbound, so be warned.

8 Rachel Gets Oozed: Resident Evil Revelations

rachel gets oozed, resident evil revelations (1)

Resident Evil Revelations is communally considered rather unremarkable compared to the other games in the series, but it still has one of the scariest (and saddest) transformations and boss fights in the franchise. Rachel Foley was forced to investigate the Queen Zenobia, which would ultimately lead to her untimely infection with the T-Abyss Virus.

Rachel has two "deaths." Her first occurs in the prologue, where she initially encounters the oozes and becomes infected. The second happens later in the game, after the protagonist has discovered her notes alongside her fully mutated body. Although it's impossible to progress without killing Rachel, it's difficult to do so while she screams, eternally in pain from the virus taking over her mind and body.

7 Killed By Rasklapanje: Resident Evil 6

These wailing mutants are victims of the C-Virus present in Resident Evil 6. Rasklapanjes easily have one of the most drawn-out and grueling death animations, as they hold down the protagonist and implant another Rasklapanje into their body by suctioning onto their face. The player even has to watch the newly born mutant burst from their protagonist's body, and only after that will the "you are dead" screen roll.

Rasklapanjes themselves are killed in a variety of brutal ways throughout Resident Evil 6, but arguably nothing is more frightening than the way they slaughter the protagonists.

6 Getting Eaten By Birkin: Resident Evil 2

In both the original and remake of Resident Evil 2, William Birkin's final mutated form is horrifically grotesque. Amounting to nothing more than a blob of flesh with a circular mouth surrounded by sharp, jagged teeth at the center, being eaten by this monstrosity is not a peaceful death.

If the player is caught by Birkin in his final form, he'll drag the protagonist towards him and eviscerate them until they're nothing more than a bloody spurt dripping from his mouth.

5 Brad's Death: Resident Evil 3

Cutting the majority of Brad Vicker's death was one of the most heavily criticized aspects of the remake of Resident Evil 3. His death in the original game was far more brutal than how it was dulled down in the remake.

Originally, Brad died at the hands of Nemesis. His death is bloody and brutal as players see one of Nemesis' tendrils impale Brad, then throw his lifeless body to the ground. Nemesis hatefully murmurs "S.T.A.R.S" before moving on to get his murderous hands on Jill Valentine.

4 Chainsaw Decapitation: Resident Evil 4

One of the deaths fans are hoping will make the cut for the remake of Resident Evil 4 is the chainsaw decapitation at the hands of the Chainsaw Man. The original death sequence doesn't pull any punches, showing players every second of Leon Kennedy's head being bloodily sawed off by the whirring chainsaw.

Blood spurts everywhere and pools on the ground after his lifeless (and headless) corpse falls to the ground. This bloody death was certainly memorable for those who have played the game and is one that certainly deserves to make the final cut for the remake.

3 Clancy Jarvis: Resident Evil 7

Clancy's demise might just be one of the most drawn-out, torturous deaths in all of Resident Evil. Players get to see through Clancy's perspective during some videotape segments in Resident Evil 7, as well as during the DLC. This humble cameraman has been through horrors unimaginable, seeing his coworker fall dead in front of him, being held captive by Marguerite, and forced to play torturous games of Blackjack at the hands of Lucas Baker.

His suffering comes to a head when players find the tape titled "Happy Birthday." There, players watch Clancy's ultimate demise as he's forced to go through a psychopathic take on an escape room. After seemingly completing the challenge, the room bursts into flames and Clancy meets his agonizing end as he burns to death.

2 Moreau: Resident Evil Village

Moreau is easily one of the most grotesque, yet sad, creatures in Resident Evil Village. Moreau suffers from incredibly low self-esteem, hoping to impress Mother Miranda yet constantly being outshone by the other Lords. It gives him more depth than some other antagonists in the game, but it also makes his death just as depressing as it is disgusting.

Unlike many of the other antagonists' deaths, Moreau's final, grotesque form clearly suffers before his death. He inflates, wailing in pain and screaming for Mother Miranda as he grows bigger and bigger, before exploding.

1 Ethan Winters: Resident Evil 7 & Village

Ethan Winters, the protagonist in both Resident Evil 7 & Resident Evil Village, has had an especially grueling storyline. It's revealed in Resident Evil Village that the head stomp Ethan endured towards the beginning of Resident Evil 7 actually did kill him, but that by then he had been infected with the same mold that infested the Bakers and his wife, Mia. The mold managed to revive him and bestow the same regenerative abilities that those infected with the mold have, allowing him to play out the events of Resident Evil 7.

In Resident Evil Village, Ethan's story comes to a bittersweet end. In an act of self-sacrifice, hoping to destroy the mold (now known as the Fungus Root) that destroyed both his own life and the Baker's, he triggers a bomb that blows up himself alongside the village and the Fungus Root. Although it's not one of the goriest deaths in the franchise, players could feel the grief that followed Ethan's death.

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