If there's one thing that the Resident Evil franchise isn't known for, it's the puzzles. Most people seem to think that the puzzles in the series are mostly there to slow down speedruns that grant you game-breaking weapons, and for the most part, they're right.
The puzzles in the franchise aren't super difficult. Most of the time. When it comes to almost all of the puzzles in Resident Evil 3, they just aren't thought out in the clearest way. Obviously, they're puzzles and intended to be difficult, but for whatever reason, the objective isn't always clear. It seems they rely mostly on vague objectives. Let's have a look at some of the most difficult puzzles in the series.
10 The Water Sample Puzzle - RE 3
One of the all-time most annoying puzzles in the entirety of the series, the water sample puzzle featured at the end of Resident Evil 3 is terrible. Not only is the solution variable, but the puzzle's goal itself isn't explicitly stated. Instead, the player is expected to guess that they're supposed to match the top row of blocks on the sample indicator. There are four different possible solutions, which are as follows: Solution #1 - A: 4 right B: 2 left: C: 2 left. Solution #2: - A: 1 right B: 1 right C: 2 left. Solution #3 -A: 1 left B: 2 left C: 2 right. Solution 4 - A: 1 right B: 3 right C: 1 left.
9 The Ball Puzzle - RE3
Yet another infuriating puzzle from Resident Evil 3 is the clock puzzle located in the storeroom. The objective of the puzzle is to obtain the gold gear, which has to be used in combination with another item to signal the helicopter. The issue with this puzzle is that there are way too many variables. There are three different balls, amber, obsidian, and crystal. Each of them adds or subtracts time from the clocks. This one again has multiple solutions. There less than 10 possible options. In the order of paintings, the obsidian gives you back 2 hours, ahead two hours, or ahead 4. Amber is back 3, ahead 3, or ahead 6. Crystal is back 1, ahead 1, or ahead 2.
8 Music Box - RE3
The music box puzzle from RE3 is frustrating, but not too difficult if you have a good ear for matching tunes. One of the music boxes will make a sweet and harmonic melody, almost like a nursery rhyme.
On the other hand, the puzzle consists of making the discordant and out-of-tune music box match the other. Make sure to have the volume up if it proves to be more difficult than it sounds.
7 Vaccine Synthesis - RE 3
The final puzzle of Resident Evil 3 isn't quite the most difficult, but it's still a huge pain. While there have been tougher puzzles before it, that doesn't diminish the challenge that it presents, especially because it's one of the last obstacles. The correct order for the bards pictured on the screen is Mid, High, and Low, from left to right. Make sure to create the vaccine base out of the liquid-filled test tube and the culture sample before approaching the machine.
6 Crates - RE:0
No list of frustrating puzzles from any franchise would be complete without a super annoying crate puzzle, from The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess to Nier: Automata. Resident Evil: 0 is absolutely no different. Although you can't lock yourself out, leaving the room to reset the puzzle gets annoying quickly. Move the crate to the left of the silver chest as far right as possible. Switch to Rebecca and select Rot.R on the control console. Now push the silver chest to the top of the screen. Push the chest near the ladder to the opposite side of the screen. Then, select Rot.R again. Move the chest you haven't touched yet to the gate, and then to the right. Then, use Rot.R one more time, move the crate next to the others and fill the room.
5 Portrait Puzzle - Code Veronica
As is usually the case with puzzles in Resident Evil games, the point of the portrait puzzle is to get an item to inspect, to get yet another item. In this case, the Code Veronica puzzle sees the player pressing buttons underneath various paintings.
The specific order in which to press the buttons under the portraits is as follows: The woman holding a tea set, a middle-aged man with twins who have a tea set in front of them, a red-haired man holding a tea set, the red-haired man and a plate, a man with a vase, and a man with a white candlestick. After that, up the stairs is a painting of Alfred Ashford. This is the last button.
4 Slider Puzzle - RE4
While playing as Ashley in Resident Evil 4, there's a rather annoying sliding puzzle that the player comes across. If you don't know what you're doing, it can be extremely annoying, but if you know what to do, it's simple. Imagining the puzzle as a 3x3 grid in numerical order from left to right, you'll move 4,7,9,3,1,7,9. After this, there's a slot open for one more piece. Add the stone tablet picked up earlier, and complete the puzzle.
3 Fuel Gauge Puzzle - RE: CVX
Towards the end of Resident Evil: Code Veronica, there's an immensely frustrating puzzle. After the player is notified that the automatic option on the machine is broken and the player will have to provide the proper pressure to the bridge on their own.
The way to do this is by pressing the buttons on the gauges in the following order: 3, 3, 5, drain the 10, 5, 3, 3, and then it's solved!
2 Graveyard Puzzle - RE: Revelations 2
The issue with the graveyard puzzle in Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is that it uses words like "back" and "front" without telling you what those are in relation to. If you're judging the puzzle from where you picked up the note, the gravestones referred to won't be in the right spots. Instead, go to the other side and follow the instructions from there.
1 Hangman Puzzle - RE 6
In Ada Wong's run during Resident Evil 6, there's a puzzle where the objective is kind of overall unclear. The problem is that the objective isn't the one that makes sense. It seems like all there is to do is to take a shot at a rope from which a corpse is hanging. Wandering around the room for a little longer, Ada finds a switch, which is broken. The goal here is actually to make the body land on the switch, thus keeping the trapdoor open.