🧟‍♂️ Resident Evil 25th Anniversary on Linux

Let’s celebrate Resident Evil’s 25th anniversary on Linux

I love Resident Evil. The first one came out when I was about 11 and it was my first time discovering the survival horror genre with what a zombie apocalypse would be like on my PS1. I remember the days playing RE1 - Director’s Cut with my best friend. The fear, the tension, the tank control, the Manor, the cheeky intro cinematic and all that together.

Now, 25 years later with an arm long list of games in the saga, there is no better time than now to test them under Linux. Especially since all of the main games are on Steam and work with Proton. Some of them do need a little fix but they work great. The only one that I’m not able to test here is Resident Evil - 0 as I don’t have it in my collection right now.

If you visit this site often you know that I always provide footage of how the games runs on my system. Once again, here we go:

Prelude

Before testing all of these games yourself, here is what you need to have on your system beforehand to start quickly:

have wine installed
have winetricks installed
have protontricks installed
Proton Custome GE, 5.9 and 5.21

Now, let’s dive in the survival horror.

Resident Evil - REmake

This one was released several time, first on the Gamecube in 2002 and then got ported on multiple systems (Wii, PS3&4, Windows, Xbox 360 & One and lately on the Switch). If you loved the original game, this remake is a mark of love from Capcom and Shinji Mikami as they really did a beautiful remake rather than just a port of the initial game.

The only “problem” that this game has running on Linux is the need of Windows Media Player to display ingame cutscenes. Unfortunately, without it you are not going to be able to start a new game.

To run on Linux with Steam you’ll need to do 2 things:

Force the use of Proton 5.0-10
Run the game a first time. You should see the Capcom logo and then a black screen
Install WMP11 via this command:
```
protontricks 304240 -q wmp11
```
Run the game again and meet the cast for the first time

Resident Evil 2 - Remake

This is one of the most recent remake of the game released in 2019 on the most modern systems. Just like RE1 - REmake, it’s considered as being a faithful remake of the original with new implementations that make the game even better than it’s original.

For this one I didn’t have to use a custom Proton, just installed and played the game.

Resident Evil 3 - Remake

Ok, this one is definitely not a fan favorite and I get why. The original RE3:Nemesis is absolutely one of the best game ever made for me. Playing as Jill again, this time in Raccoon City, about at the same time as the event in RE2, having Nemesis chasing you around town with the option to fight or flee… That was a blast to play this game.

Now the remake. Well it’s made with the new RE Engine, it’s a beautiful game. But they changed the physics compared to RE2 (no more dismembering zombies). The original gave you the choice to fight or flee in front of Nemesis but now you just, follow the scripted event. Anyway, it’s still a good game but it really feels like a downgrade both from the original and from what RE2-Remake proposed.

To run it on Linux:

use a version of Proton anterior to 5.0 and use DX11
or use a Proton GE above 5.11 with DX12

Resident Evil 4 - Ultimate HD Collection

I remember playing this game for the first time on the Gamecube. The new look of Leon, the change from tank control to third person, the new setting in Spain, the new zombie types. At first I was a little bit wary and didn’t quite like it. Then it clicked, and I had a really, really good time. The decision made by Capcom to evolve the game into something more action oriented was a surprise at first but they nailed it with RE4.

Now on Linux, it runs out of the box with Steam Proton.

Resident Evil 5

This one clearly is not one my favorite. I didn’t like the way Capcom made it to be very action orientated and less survival. However the addition of the co-op was a really good way to enjoy the game, as well as the buddy system with Sheva. However, at the time it came with the atrocious “Game for Windows Live” and I don’t know why, for the love of god, to this day you still need to manually fix this horror with a fan made patch…

To play it on Linux follow the same instruction as for RE1-Remake:

use Proton version 5.0-10
run the game a first time and enjoy the black screen
install WMP11 with this command line:
```
protontricks 21690 -q wmp11
```
use this patch to remove Games for Windows Live, which is just a matter of replacing the original files with the patched ones in the install directory

Resident Evil 6

This one is strange for me. It felt like a conclusion to the saga were Capcom gave you the opportunity to play as some of the main protagonists one last time. The scenario is not that great, the gameplay is not that great but it’s visually good and the co-op is still present so you can suffer through it with a buddy at least. Anyway, is it running on Linux ? Same as for RE1-REmake and RE5:

use Proton version 5.0-10
run the game a first time and enjoy the black screen
install WMP11 with this command line:
```
protontricks 221040 -q wmp11
```
if you have audio crackling you can add this launch options to Steam:
```
PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=150 %command%
```

Resident Evil 7

So, your wife disappeared 3 years ago and all evidences led you to look for her in the Louisiana Bayou. Ever wanted to spent a nice and relaxing time in a beautiful mansion far from everything. Having colorful hosts that will take care of all of your needs. Maybe have a little taste of the Cajun food? Do you wish to experience that all in first person for the first time in a main Resident Evil game? Then get RE7!

Now what about Linux? I just had to force the use of Proton 5.9-GE-5-ST to be able to pass the loading screen. Test on your system as there are several reports on protondb with people using other version or no custom Proton.

Written on March 23, 2021