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Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6 are consecutive mainline entries: RE5 comes first, and Capcom places RE6’s events in 2013, after RE5. The clearest link is Chris Redfield, whose fight against Albert Wesker in RE5 gives way to his return to the BSAA in RE6. But RE6 is not simply “Chris’s next chapter”; it tells several connected stories with returning characters, including Leon Kennedy.
Where RE5 and RE6 fall in the story
The order is straightforward: Resident Evil 5 precedes Resident Evil 6. Capcom describes RE6 as taking place after RE5 and dated its events to 2013 in the game’s 2012 announcement, a few years after the previous game. Capcom’s RE5 and RE6 overview identifies the games and their relationship; Capcom’s RE6 announcement gives the 2013 setting.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Resident Evil 5 (PS4) | $21.69 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Resident Evil 6 - Xbox One | $27.40 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Resident Evil Revelations 2 (PS4) | $18.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Capcom Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition PlayStation 5 Game | $46.44 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition | $29.99 | Buy on Amazon |
If you are deciding which to play first, play RE5 before RE6. That preserves the chronology and lets RE5’s resolution of Chris Redfield’s conflict with Wesker come before RE6’s later crisis.
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Chris and Sheva’s mission
In RE5, BSAA operatives Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar investigate a bioterrorism threat in Kijuju. The danger includes the Uroboros virus, and the campaign’s climactic conflict centers on Albert Wesker. Capcom’s Chris Redfield profile summarizes the outcome: Chris and Sheva stop Wesker’s plan to spread Uroboros.
#1 Best Overall
- Adventure horror game from Capcom
A major resolution, not an end to bioterrorism
RE5 brings a significant chapter in Chris and Wesker’s long-running conflict to a close. It does not end the broader bioterrorism problem that drives the series. That distinction matters for RE6: its later crisis is part of the continuing world of the games, not simply a continuation of Wesker’s Uroboros plan.
How RE6 carries the story forward
Chris is the direct link
Capcom’s official timeline says Chris returns to the BSAA front lines in 2013 after his confrontation with Wesker. RE6 therefore follows RE5 in both chronology and Chris’s career: he remains involved in the fight against bioterrorism, now as part of a later operation. Capcom’s Chris profile provides that timeline context.
Rank #2
- Starting with four distinct, yet interwoven story threads, for either solo or co-op play, both offline and online, not only does Resident Evil 6 deliver both different perspectives and gameplay styles
- Ada Wong, Resident Evil's very own femme fatale, dives into a thrilling campaign of intrigue and infiltration, featuring unique missions, gameplay and weapons. Ada is available from the start
- The most expansive Resident Evil game to date- Experience the horror through four distinct yet intertwined campaigns
- Solo or co-op - Resident Evil 6 delivers both single and two player co-op gameplay either offline or online
- Includes all the available DLC content from Resident Evil 6: Siege Mode, Predator Mode, Survivor Mode, Onslaught Mode, The Mercenaries maps, ResidentEvil.net costumes
Leon and other characters widen the cast
RE6 is structured around multiple interconnected campaigns rather than one uninterrupted Chris story. Capcom describes it as a set of connected stories with returning characters. Its announcement links Leon Kennedy to government service under Adam Benford, the president in the game’s story, while Chris is involved in a BSAA operation in China. The result is an ensemble sequel: familiar characters and institutions meet a new crisis from different angles. Capcom’s RE6 announcement and its game overview outline those connections.
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The BSAA is an ongoing institution in the series, not a label created just for RE5. Capcom’s lore file says the organization was established after Umbrella’s collapse and names Chris and Jill Valentine among its founding members. Chris’s return to its front lines in 2013 helps explain why he is still central to the response after RE5 resolves the Wesker conflict. Capcom’s BSAA profile describes the organization’s origins and members.
Rank #3
- Initially set to be released as weekly episodes featuring hours of terrifying gameplay and dramatic cliffhangers
- Fan favourite character Claire Redfield returns to the horrors that haunted her in the past, alongside Moira Burton
- Set in what appears to be an abandoned detention facility on a remote island, horror awaits around every corner
- The Afflicted enemies are a genuine threat to your survival, able to move quickly and attack with basic weapons
- Players switch between the two characters to overcome the nightmares in single-player mode or offline co-op
What the connection does—and does not—mean
| Story thread | RE5 | RE6 |
|---|---|---|
| Chronology | Comes first in this pair. | Follows RE5; set in 2013, according to Capcom’s announcement. |
| Chris Redfield | Works with Sheva as a BSAA operative and helps stop Wesker’s Uroboros plan. | Returns to the BSAA front lines during a later bioterrorism crisis. |
| Conflict | Resolves the Uroboros plan at the center of Wesker’s climactic conflict. | Uses multiple connected campaigns to tell a later crisis; it is not presented as Wesker’s Uroboros plan continuing. |
So RE6 is a direct sequel in the broad sense of chronology, characters, and shared institutions. The official descriptions establish that broad connection, but they do not establish that every RE5 character receives a direct personal-story continuation in RE6. RE6’s defining shift is its wider cast and intersecting campaigns.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Features new modernized third-person action game control variations as well as the return of the traditional Resident Evil 4 control schemes.
- Gold Edition extras including all of the original content, two new episodes, four new costumes, an updated Mercenaries Mode and online RE5 versus mode.
- Two playable characters in the standard campaigns, including new character Sheva Alomar, an African BSAA agent tasked with investigating the epidemic.
- New cooperatively-focused gameplay that revolutionizes the way that Resident Evil is played. Chris and Sheva must work together to survive new challenges and fight dangerous hordes of enemies.
- Quick-Select inventory system that allows items to be traded between characters. To add to the intensity, all inventory management is done in real time; items can even be assigned to the directional pad for instant access.
Rank #4
- Intense horror experience with dark narrative
- Improved images and refined game mechanics included
- Players take on the role of Leon S Kennedy
- Mission to save the president's daughter from danger
- Challenging environments and strategic combat scenarios await
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