Do I need to play previous Resident Evil games to enjoy RE5?
Yes, and no. The story takes place after a very long and convoluted series of events throughout the franchise. Characters like Jill and Wesker may be unfamiliar to those that haven’t played previous games. However, it appears that the story of RE5 is nowhere as heavy-handed as the ones in previous games. There are far less cutscenes to watch, and far less text entries to read.
