There are few horror video games that are more popular than the Resident Evil series and it’s nothing short of incredible to see how much the games have not only been able to evolve, but also influence the entire survival horror genre. The Resident Evil games are infamous for their terrifying enemies and suspenseful action sequences, but another important element from the series is the odd and persistent puzzles that show up.
Puzzles are never the predominant aspect of a Resident Evil title, but they can throw a major wrench in the gameplay, especially when their solutions are obtuse. Accordingly, here are the 10 hardest puzzles in the Resident Evil franchise, ranked.
10 Piano Bar Puzzle (Resident Evil 0)
This puzzle honestly isn’t that difficult when players understand what’s entailed, but it’s still a solution that’s not exactly obvious and requires pre-existing knowledge from the original Resident Evil to get it.
In Resident Evil, Rebecca Chambers struggles with playing the piano. That is referenced again here in the piano bar. If Rebecca plays the piano, nothing happens. However, if players try to play it with Billy, they’ll open a secret room. Once this trick is clear, it’s an easy puzzle, but figuring out to use Billy at all takes some thought.
9 V-JOLT Formula (Resident Evil Remake)
An infamous puzzle from the original Resident Evil game is the quest to concoct V-JOLT, a powerful herbicide that's able to render the Spencer Mansion’s man-eating plant irrelevant. The puzzle involves four empty bottles and a number of chemicals that have to be mixed in various doses in order to create the V-JOLT.
A series of math equations are left as a clue, but the mess of numbers can really just complicate the task. It can be a real trial and error process and it doesn't help that this remake involves a different solution to the problem than before.
8 Water Release Valve Puzzle (Resident Evil: Deadly Silence)
Resident Evil: Deadly Silence is the Nintendo DS port of the original Resident Evil and it actually takes some impressive liberties with the DS’ touch screen and stylus mechanic. The game’s “Rebirth” mode actually incorporates new puzzles and elements into the game, too.
In the original game there’s an area where water is drained, but in Deadly Silence draining the water triggers a poisonous sprinkler system. Players must use the stylus to operate the round lever to drain the water before they’re poisoned. It’s an unexpected obstacle, but being stuck in a poisoned state after is the real tragedy.
7 Chessboard Puzzle (Resident Evil 0)
Resident Evil 0 is a creative prequel title that plays around with the game's structure in some challenging ways. Resident Evil 0 actually features some of the more complex puzzles from the series, which makes the experience even more suspenseful. One puzzle that's slightly frustrating involves a giant chessboard.
Related: Top 10 Most Intense Moments In Resident Evil 7
Players need to move the White King in order to get themselves in checkmate, which will move the chessboard and bear rewards. It's not the most difficult puzzle, but it does involve some knowledge of how chess is played, which players may not possess.
6 Portrait Puzzle (Resident Evil Code: VERONICA)
While it may be kind of an odd entry, Resident Evil: Code VERONICA doesn’t get the respect that it deserves. If there’s any justice in the world, this sequel will get a modern remake like some of the other titles in the franchise.
Perhaps the most vexing puzzle in the game revolves around a series of family portraits and properly tracing the Ashford family legacy and the rightful ruler of their lineage. The clues in this case aren’t very helpful and it’s easy to get lost in the minutiae of the portraits, especially since the solution isn’t immediately clear.
5 Animal Statue Puzzle (Resident Evil 0)
Another one of the more exhausting puzzles to come out of Resident Evil 0 involves a riddle that surrounds a number of predatory animals. Players need to light the respective candles for each of these animals from weakest to strongest.
This shouldn't be that difficult, but the sequence of these predators isn't the most logical. The list contains a wolf and a cougar, yet a snake and an eagle are at the top of the list. There's an odd logic to this puzzle and it's far from obvious.
4 Knight Puzzle (Resident Evil Remake)
Resident Evil Remake retains the core experience while adding to it in ways that legitimately improve the gameplay and story experience. However, Resident Evil Remake also remixes some of the classic puzzles from the game. One of the more difficult examples is the puzzle that utilizes four Knight statues, each one with a different weapon symbol.
The correct order of pushing these statues needs to be determined, but there really isn’t any assistance other than the weapon designations. It can be a frustrating slog, especially when incorrect attempts result in all of the statues moving back to their original positions.
3 Box Pushing Puzzle (Resident Evil 0)
It's one thing to come up with a puzzle that's difficult, but it's another story when it just takes a long time. Towards the end of Resident Evil 0 there's a frustrating puzzle that's both tricky and laborious. Players need to raise water levels and frequently rotate a gate as boxes get pushed to form a path.
It’s a pain to adjust water levels and move boxes, but even when the solution is clear it's still a process that takes a long time and can lead to unnecessary hiccups. It's one final frustration before the end of the game.
2 Vaccine Base Puzzle (Resident Evil 3)
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis features its share of confusing puzzles, but one of the worst is right at the end of the game. After players have created the vaccine base, they need to put it into a device to synthesize the solution. The key here is to adjust the temperatures of the three gauges.
The real problem is that Resident Evil 3 really doesn't offer any guidance to how to balance these temperatures and it's just a lot of trial and error until the right balance is achieved. There is a set solution, but it's one that's far from obvious from the first glance.
1 Water Sample Puzzle (Resident Evil 3)
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is a fantastic entry in the Resident Evil series, but beyond the hulking biological weapon that follows players through the game, the thing that gamers are most likely to remember the most is the infuriating water sample treatment puzzle. This puzzle is known to scare more gamers away from Resident Evil 3 than Nemesis ever could.
This puzzle requires the replication of a pattern, but there are a lot of options to shift through and at no point is the process very clear. To make matters worse, the solution to the puzzle randomizes, which means it can't just be trained to memory either. It's an easy way to throw off someone's perfect game.