The Resident Evil games are well known for their blend of survival horror, action, and puzzle gameplay. Ever since its outset, the franchise has been filled with a myriad of different brain teasers and puzzles to solve in order to progress through a stage or find some of the most rare weapons and equipment available to players. On National Puzzle Day (January 29), it's a good time to take a look back at some the best the series has had to offer.
The puzzles in Resident Evil run the gamut of styles. Simple tasks like matching the correct key to the correct door or finding the missing piece of a Greco-Roman statue are simple fare compared to the actual sliding piece puzzle in Resident Evil 4 or the vague portrait puzzle from Resident Evil: Code Veronica. The trend seems to continue with the Resident Evil Village demo's necklace seeming like part of a larger mystery.
 Resident Evil's Long History of Puzzles
Puzzles and ambiguous mysteries have long been a part of the Resident Evil games, with every RE protagonist dealing with at least some form of a puzzle at one point or another. The games have varying emphasis on these but even the action-packed RE5 and RE6 break up the formula with the occasional riddle. Some memorable moments may jump to mind for many players.
Resident Evil 0 is a sometimes overlooked prequel to the original RE. The game had some fun twists on the standard mechanics due to controlling both characters "simultaneously" and players navigated medic Rebecca and escaped convict Billy through the game together. Switching between the two to solve different scenarios was an enjoyable twist on the standard formula. The series has since introduced games where there are multiple playable characters, and it's rumored that Resident Evil Village will continue the trend. In a game full of interesting puzzles, one standout was the Chessboard Room.
While exploring an Umbrella training facility, the duo end up stumbling into a room filled with a giant chessboard set with equally large pieces. The stakes in this room are set quickly for if players move one wrong piece the room begins to fill with poisonous gas. Notably, putting players in dangerous scenarios even without enemies present in Resident Evil has been a key thing that helps keep players on their toes. The chessboard is a good example of a puzzle that has a clear solution but is hard to discern while stressed; that tension is one of the best elements of the franchise as a whole.
Resident Evil 4 Nailed Puzzles
The villains throughout the Resident Evil series are some of the most interesting, and most arrogant, in gaming, and many of them are responsible for crafting the puzzles protagonists face. Resident Evil 4's Salazar is no exception to that rule. While attempting to find an alternate route after a bridge is destroyed by the cultists, Leon stumbles upon an enormous clockwork statue of the diminutive royal. A testament to his affluence and ego, it will be interesting to see if this sequence makes its way into the Resident Evil 4 Remake, given that the developer is rumored to be making some major changes to the game.
Players are tasked with guiding Leon as he manipulates levers and dials to move the statue's hands. Moving the hands in the proper order allows Leon to make his way to a higher bridge to try and continue his journey through the castle, but in a moment that can seem silly in what's considered by many to be the best of the Resident Evil games, the giant stature springs to life and chases Leon across the bridge. This moment is no less stressful as failure to escape the stature rewards players with the classic RE death screen, but it remains a stand out for its hilarity.
Breaking up gameplay loops with relatively peaceful moments or forcing players to deal with powerful bio-weapons while simultaneously seeking the right key or passcode is a Resident Evil tradition. As the series moves forward, many players may exploring past games in anticipation for Resident Evil Village and being reminded of the series' best puzzles.
Resident Evil Village is set to release on May 7, 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.