Surprise! The first three instalments of Capcom’s storied Resident Evil franchise — 1996’s Resident Evil 1, 1998’s Resident Evil 2, and 1999’s Resident Evil 3: Nemesis — are now available to play on Steam.
From today, the games are available for $9.99 each, but all are currently for sale with 50% off, dropping the price to a collective $14.97 for the full OG trilogy.
The first game — which spawned not just a franchise, but an entire genre — sees you join the Bravo Team of Raccoon City’s Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS): Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, Joseph Frost, Brad Vickers, and Albert Wesker. Deployed to the Arklay Mountains, together they explore Spencer Mansion in search of the missing Alpha Team.
Resident Evil 2 picks up a couple of months after the events of the first and is our first introduction to Resident Evil: Requiem co-lead Leon Kennedy, and Chris Redfield’s sister, Claire. The third sees you reunite with Jill Valentine again and take on one of gaming’s most stubborn antagonists, bioweapon Nemesis.
Despite the initial excitement, however, some are reporting that the Steam editions have “unnecessary” DRM protections and don’t “work at all on Steam Deck,” mirroring issues that popped up when Capcom added — then hastily removed — a controversial new form of DRM from Resident Evil 4 Remake.
“I’m grateful for releasing classic on Steam, Capcom, but you need to remove DRM, these games have survived for years thanks to the community and modding,” said one fan.
Another added: “It’s exactly the same version as the one on GOG — I’ve compared them, and everything is identical, and the ‘new’ launcher displays exactly the same options. The only extra work Capcom did was to add its dreadful DRM and have the game download all languages instead of a single language, as is the case on GOG. Plus, you don’t get cloud saves or achievements. It also doesn’t work on the Steam Deck, whereas the GOG version works fine.”
If you’re still negotiating Requiem’s scarier moments, IGN’s Resident Evil: Requiem guide will help you every step of the way through RE9. Take note of these key tips and tricks before you get started, and focus on finding these important items early. Plus, our comprehensive walkthrough will make sure you don’t miss a single Bobblehead or file as you try to survive from the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center all the way to Raccoon City.
We thought Resident Evil: Requiem was ‘Amazing’, writing: “Grace Ashcroft, a technical analyst for the FBI, is ordered to inspect the Wrenwood Hotel as part of an investigation into deaths caused by an unidentified disease. What she finds there will lead her to where it all began: Raccoon City.” It returned a 9/10 in IGN’s Resident Evil: Requiem review.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
