Do You Need To Play The Resident Evil Games Or Watch The Movies To Understand The Netflix Show?

Netflix has done a solid job at adapting video games into movies or series by staying true to the source material instead of branching off to create an entirely different story that has no connection to the games whatsoever. Of course, we know that the Resident Evil Netflix adaptation is going to make its way to the streaming giant’s library soon. So, do you need to play the Resident Evil games or watch the Resident Evil movies to understand the Netflix adaptation?
There is no need to play the games or watch the movies before you watch the Resident Evil Netflix series. That’s because the series is an original story by Netflix but is set in the Resident Evil video game franchise. As such, while it might take elements from the games, the series is not related to them.
Streaming platforms have developed a habit of adapting video games into series, and Netflix has done a good job at it. While there hasn’t been a really good Resident Evil live-action adaptation, we are hopeful that Netflix can pull this one off. Of course, while it might help to have a knowledge of Resident Evil, the good news is that the storyline is original.
Do You Need To Play The Resident Evil Games To Understand The Netflix Show?
In the world of video games, one of the most popular franchises of all time is Capcom’s Resident Evil or Biohazard, which has been selling plenty of games ever since the first Resident Evil game was released in 1996. Since then, the games have been selling millions of copies worldwide and have been going strong. There are currently eight main-title Resident Evil games and several more spin-offs and remakes.
With that said, the popularity of the Resident Evil franchise has allowed it to permeate other forms of media as it has earned itself a live-action series adaptation from none other than Netflix, the largest streaming platform in the world.
Throughout the past few years, Netflix has done a good job at adapting video game titles into series. The best is no doubt The Witcher, which was directly adapted from its books rather than the video games. However, Netflix has also done a good job with animated titles such as DOTA and League of Legends. And Resident Evil is set to join the roster of the many different video games that Netflix has adapted into a series format.
Considering that the Resident Evil Netflix series is an adaptation of the video games, this makes some people wonder whether or not there is a need to play the games to understand the upcoming live-action series. After all, the animated Resident Evil movies and series on Netflix are all spin-offs of the events that transpired in the games.
The good news here is that the series is merely based on the video games. They don’t necessarily directly adapt the events of the video games or stem off from the events that happened in the many Resident Evil games that have been released since 1996. As such, there is no need for you to play all eight Resident Evil games to understand the events happening in the series.
There is also the fact that the Resident Evil Netflix series is going to have an entirely original storyline that may be based on the world of the Resident Evil games or has a few things taken from the video games themselves. In fact, the storyline follows a set of characters that are not in the video games.
Of course, it might be a good idea to learn more about the background of the video games, considering that the series follows the story of Jade Wesker, who is most probably related to Albert Wesker, who is one of the main antagonists of the entire Resident Evil video game franchise. But we are confident enough that the series will shed some light on Albert Wesker’s background and how Jade is related to him.
Knowing a thing or two about the video games will still give you an advantage, although there is a good chance that the series will retcon the entire Resident Evil origin storyline to fit its own original story.
Do You Need To Watch The Resident Evil Movies To Understand The Netflix Show?
For those who don’t know, the Resident Evil games actually received movie adaptations in the form of Paul WS Anderson’s movies starring his wife, Milla Jovovich. At first, the movies followed a similar format to the games in the sense that they were all about survival. However, it became clear that the movies were following a different storyline that wasn’t remotely related to the video games at all.
But what about the upcoming Netflix series? Do you need to watch the Resident Evil movies to understand the Netflix series?
For starters, the movies themselves aren’t the original source materials for the Resident Evil franchise as they also based the characters and some of the events on the video games. But those who played the games and watched the movies will know for a fact that, aside from the characters, these are entirely different worlds that are completely unrelated to one another.
Considering that the Resident Evil series on Netflix was adapted from the video games and not the movies, there is a good chance that it has nothing to do with the Paul WS Anderson movies, which true fans of the video game franchise did not entirely enjoy.
So, with that said, the Resident Evil series should be something that you can enjoy without watching the movies. Although we do recommend that you watch the animated movies that are connected to the Resident Evil games because they are more in line with the events of the actual storyline than the Anderson movies. And if you’re a fan of the Resident Evil games, those animated movies are going to entertain you more than the Paul WS Anderson films.