The 10 BIGGEST Resident Evil Plot Holes

10 Biggest Resident Evil Plot Holes

We’re all for suspension of belief, but this is a little ridiculous. Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at the biggest plot holes and lore inconsistencies found within the “Resident Evil” series!

Sturdy Heroes

First up, something that we can’t realistically fault only “Resident Evil” for, as there are plenty of zombie-related video games that do the same thing. That being said, it’s still guilty of it. We watch plenty of NPCs get turned into flesh-eating monsters whenever they themselves are bitten. But as for us? Just heal up with some first aid spray or an herb and you’re good to go. From Jill to Chris to Leon, we’ve all been chewed on by a zombie while in control, and walked away without fear of ever actually turning into the undead. We suppose none of the viruses are 100% contagious. But it’s curious that we always happen to be immune while everyone else is not.

Too Much Mass

We’ve seen it time and time again; someone is infected by a virus, mutating into this hulking monstrosity with extra limbs, and dwarfing you in size. It makes sense from a gameplay standpoint; it often serves as an intimidating final encounter, and it looks terrifying to boot. But when we think about it, the immense size for some of these encounters is questionable. Where does all this body mass come from? Because people like William Birkin aren’t exactly imposing before they mutate. And mutation doesn’t necessarily mean the body should grow to such an extent. Admittedly, it can be waved away by fictional science as a means to an end. But it still doesn’t make much sense.

Carla’s Creation

“Resident Evil 6” (2012)

Now, let’s get into some specifics. The problems with “Resident Evil 6” have been talked about to death. But the fact remains, its story is full of plot holes. For starters, Carla Radames as a fake version of Ada Wong. As we come to learn, she was a virologist responsible for the c-Virus, a project started by the foundation of Derek Simmons. It was meant to be a commercially viable bioweapon, but it could also theoretically be used to create a clone of someone by splicing it with their DNA and injecting it into a host. Simmons, obsessively in love with agent Ada Wong, experimented on and mutated over 12,000 people in an attempt to create a clone. And it only worked on Carla, the person who just so happened to be the scientist behind the virus. We know “Resident Evil” has some wild plotlines, but that is absolutely batshit. It was only a way to keep Ada in the shady backstabber role, but it’s way too convoluted to make any actual sense.

Rebecca’s Characterization

“Resident Evil 0” (2002)

“Resident Evil 0” is a prequel to the original game. It tells the story of Rebecca Chambers before she heads into the Spencer Mansion, a set-up that brings some big problems. She goes from fighting off some pretty horrendous threats on her own in “0,” only to be in need of rescue from a minor enemy in the next game. She also learns some fairly useful information about the Umbrella Corporation that she neglects to tell Chris after the two meet up, which would have been pretty handy for him to know. What made her characterization such an obvious plot hole was that “Resident Evil 0” was released the same year as the original game’s remake. So comparing the two versions of Rebecca was painfully easy to do.

Chris’ Motivations

“Resident Evil Village” (2021)

There are a lot of things to love about “Resident Evil Village,” though Chris Redfield’s behavior isn’t one of them. He essentially acts villainous to maintain an air of mystery for the player, which is not only completely out of character, but ends up making the situation harder than it needs to be. From gunning down who we assume to be Mia, to kidnapping Rose without explaining that it wasn’t Mia, but Mother Miranda, to constantly scolding Ethan despite us doing a pretty good job all things considered…we know mischaracterization isn’t necessarily a plot hole. Even still, Chris’ choice to withhold vital information feels like a forced way to hide a plot twist.

Jake Muller’s Existence

“Resident Evil 6” (2012)

Back to “Resident Evil 6,” and unfortunately not for the last time, we have Jake Muller, the secret son of villain Albert Wesker. Setting aside how lazy the ‘secret relative’ plotline is, as is the fact that Jake’s blood holds highly useful antibodies for vaccines because of who his father was, there’s a bigger problem with his existence. As we’d seen countless times, Wesker was one of the most intelligent and resourceful men on the planet, with access to a global intelligence network. You’re telling me he never once learned about his secret son, with the profitable blood that he would without a doubt exploit? Yeah, I’m not buying it.

The Outbreak

“Resident Evil 2” (2019) & “Resident Evil 3” (2020)

The timeline of the second and third game have their stories overlapping with one another; “RE 3” shows the beginning of the outbreak in Raccoon City with Jill Valentine, while “RE 2” shows the city 24 hours later, when Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield arrive. Here is where a minor plot hole arrives, one that’s more obvious in the remakes. The situation is, understandably, heavily televised, yet Leon and Claire are completely caught off guard when they make it to the city. You’d think that one of them would have heard about it. Or, at the very least, that there would have been blockades set up around the city, keeping the damage from spreading further.

Umbrella's Endless Resources

The Umbrella Corporation has long been an overarching source of villainy throughout the series. We know it was started with the generational wealth of its founders. But with so many well-documented catastrophes, we have to wonder how it has managed to hold onto the seemingly endless resources that it uses for shady bioweapons research. To be fair, the Outbreak of Raccoon City did have a significant fallout, as stated in “RE 4,” and Umbrella has had less of a global impact in later games. Yet we’ve seen retcons that have expanded on the lore, making it clear Umbrella should have been questioned long ago, and there have been several offshoots, concerned with their own experiments, showing that the well will never truly run dry.

Chris Doesn’t Know Ada

“Resident Evil 6” (2012)

One last time for “RE 6,” we have a small detail that actually makes Chris look a lot worse at his job. Although it’s really Carla in disguise, Chris meets Ada Wong for the first time in this game. While it’s true they had never met in person before, he should still absolutely know who Ada is and not be caught off guard when she starts acting like a villain. She played important roles in two games starring Leon Kennedy. And even if Leon never directly told Chris about her, the events of the fourth game were documented in something called the Kennedy Report. This was given to the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, or BSAA, of which Chris is a member, and so would have read.

The Effects of the Mold

“Resident Evil 7: Biohazard” (2017)

By the time Ethan arrives at the Baker house in “RE 7,” the Mold has long taken hold of the family’s minds and bodies. Produced by Eveline, a genetically modified human, the Mold makes her victims powerless against her control. But as far as the timeline goes, how long it takes for someone to be brought under her influence, it’s a little messy. In the base game, you find notes explaining that it took some time for the Bakers to be fully lost; there’s even a note that states Marguerite went to see a doctor. But in the DLC chapter, ‘Daughters,’ we see when Eveline first arrived. And the Mold appears to work far more quickly; immediately, actually. Either it happened right away, or it was gradual, but it can’t be both.

Do you know of any other problematic plot holes in “Resident Evil?” Share them with us in the comments, and we’ll see you next time!