Resident Evil is a sprawling video game franchise that (as of this writing) will reach the incredible milestone of its 30th anniversary next year. Rumors are circulating online about the development and release of Resident Evil 9 (as well as additional remakes of earlier titles such as Resident Evil: Code -Veronica- and Resident Evil 0). In particular, one of the franchise’s most potent (and most endearing) elements is its harrowing selection of truly insidious and monstrous enemies.

10. Hunter (Resident Evil, 1996)

Premiering in the original Resident Evil game from 1996, the Hunter is a seemingly amphibious/reptilian creature with frightening speed, maneuverability, and endurance: a stark contrast to the slow, awkward, and frail zombified humans that players will have already easily adjusted to by the midpoint of their playthroughs. The “Hunter” series of bioweapons – primarily armed with extremely sharp claws – have appeared across numerous titles in the franchise in multiple variants, giving them poison and (even more alarmingly) camouflage.

9. Licker (Resident Evil 2, 1998)

Effectively replacing the Hunter’s role as a faster and stronger counterpart to the zombies in Resident Evil 2, the Licker appears to be a skinless humanoid with a long, frog-like tongue (hence its name), as well as no eyes, an exposed brain, and an even bigger set of claws than the Hunter series before it. While the Licker has actually appeared less than the Hunter throughout the game franchise, it is arguably the more iconic (and terrifying-looking) monster of the two, even appearing multiple times in the schlocky live-action Resident Evil movies directed by Paul W. S. Anderson.

8. Crimson Head (Resident Evil Remake, 2002)

Introduced as a new mechanic to dealing with the human zombies in the phenomenal 2002 GameCube remake of the first Resident Evil, the Crimson Head – so-called because of its completely blood-soaked skin – is a startling “metamorphosis” that will occur if a defeated zombie’s head isn’t destroyed (or its body isn’t doused in kerosene and burned). The re-resurrected zombie will actually get back up and chase after the player with now-sharpened fingernails in a brutal frenzy (even across different rooms): as later confirmed, a Crimson Head is in the process of becoming a Licker.

7. Lisa Trevor (Resident Evil Remake, 2002)

Yet another new element in the 2002 remake to throw off veteran players of the original game, Lisa Trevor – a disheveled, hunchbacked woman wearing a disturbing mask made of stitched together human faces – will appear at certain points to stalk and attack the players. While completely terrifying in appearance (and utterly dangerous due to her seeming invincibility), Lisa’s backstory, disclosed through various in-game documents, is actually one of the saddest bits of Resident Evil lore – with the way she’s finally “defeated” (which I won’t spoil here) being genuinely heartbreaking.

6. Karl Heisenberg (Resident Evil Village)

A controversial choice in lieu of the objectively more popular Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village antagonist Karl Heisenberg is a wonderfully hammy and eccentric character who boisterously speaks with a voice that’s an odd mixture of Hunter S. Thompson and Nicolas Cage. Demonstrating the unusual ability to directly manipulate electromagnetic fields like Magneto from X-Men, this flamboyantly over-the-top villain is revealed to actually have an entirely separate agenda which he is preparing to enact by building and weaponizing an entire army of monstrous man-machine hybrids.

5. Regenerador (Resident Evil 4)

A ghastly, almost absurdly disgusting, creature with only the vaguest hint of a humanoid form, the Regenerador (“Regenerator”) is still considered one of the most unnerving Resident Evil enemies due to its unique ability to indefinitely regrow its biomass unless players utilize a special infrared attachment for the sniper rifle to target multiple parasites living in its body. The Regenerador is also notorious for the infamously creepy wheezing sounds it makes when left idle, as well as its “Iron Maiden” variant that is utterly covered in very long needles.

4. Jack Baker (Resident Evil 7, 2017)

Appearing as a sickly but otherwise average-looking older man, Jack Baker from Resident Evil 7 is actually a completely insane, virtually immortal mutant that simply refuses to stay dead and – as players will quickly find out – can only be temporarily stopped with heavy damage. Absolutely terrifying due to his inhuman endurance and strength while also being darkly hilarious due to his off-kilter banter and mannerisms, Jack Baker’s morbid antics just have to be seen to be appreciated (including a climatic showdown involving chainsaws that’s equally intense and ridiculous).

3. Tyrant (Resident Evil, 1996)

Serving as the final confrontation of the original game, the Tyrant – an abnormally tall humanoid with greyish, almost rock-like skin and an exposed secondary heart – was created as a hideously strong and durable “super soldier” sporting a massively engorged arm tipped with long, extremely sharp claws to completely tear its victims into shreds. In the ongoing series lore, the Tyrant became a mass-produced bioweapon model that made multiple appearances, including the notorious (but oddly sharp-dressed) “Mr. X” introduced in Resident Evil 2 as a reoccurring threat.

2. “G” (Resident Evil 2, 1998)

Continuing on from my previously stated admiration for Resident 2 and its enduring legacy as a PS1 classic, the monster simply codenamed “G” remains one of my all-time favorite antagonists of the entire franchise due to its seeming inability to stay dead, as well as its continually mutating form that culminates in what might be one of the series’ most disgusting enemy designs. Formerly Umbrella scientist Dr. William Birkin, after injecting himself with a vial of his patented G-Virus, “G” spends the game becoming less recognizably human – and, worse for the player, much larger and stronger.

1. Nemesis (Resident Evil 3, 1999)

Whereas I prefer “G” in regard to its ongoing mutations and infamously grotesque final form, Nemesis T-Type (a.k.a. “The Pursuer”) – a modified Tyrant unit designed to seek out and terminate the surviving S.T.A.R.S. members from the first game – tops the former in sheer presence, intimidation, tenacity, and (unique at this point in the series) cunning. Nemesis is clearly capable of utilizing weaponry, making strategic ambushes, blocking off escape routes, and (in one of the few elements I actually liked about the 2020 remake) giving its targets a cruel sporting chance.”