The Best Water Monsters in Resident Evil, Ranked

Important takeaways

• Water monsters in Resident Evil are diverse, from infected animals to man-made beasts that hide beneath the surface.
• These creatures provide some of the scariest and most memorable boss encounters throughout the franchise.
• From Irving's transformation in RE5 to Moreau's sea creature form in Village, these aquatic enemies offer intense battles.

Throughout the long term Resident Evil franchise, Chris, Leon, Jill and the rest of the main characters have encountered many bioorganic weapons during their adventures. Most of these enemies will appear in invisible view for players to see when they encounter them, but this is not always the case, as there have always been some aquatic monsters that prefer to hide beneath the surface and only lunge when they is ready to attack.

Most often, these types of enemies will be water-based animals that have been infected with a virus and turned them into nasty beasts. At other times, however, a human may transform into a giant aquatic creature to gain an advantage against their enemy when surrounded by a pool of water. Regardless, it's time to look at the very best water-based monsters from Resident Evil games based on their memorability and how fun they were to face.

8 Ricardo Irving

Irving transforms from a cowardly arms dealer into a giant water monster in seconds

Irving doesn't start out as the leggy kraken-like BOW he would eventually become. In fact, too much of Resident Evil 5he is a shy and cowardly arms dealer who constantly taunts Chris and Sheva while hiding behind a mysterious masked figure for protection. When they finally catch up with Irving, he decides to inject himself and turns into a hideous monster that immediately throws itself into the ocean.

Thankfully, Chris and Sheva just happen to be on a cruiser that has been outfitted with gatling guns, resulting in a hectic boss fight where players must aim for the glowing spots along Irving's scaly surface. The unusually freaky design, along with the spectacle of the fight makes this one of them Resident Evil 5s more memorable executive meetings overall.

7 CHAOS

A humanoid behemoth lurking in an underwater facility

HAOS is an arc that can only be encountered at the end of Chris's campaign i Resident Evil 6. Although this humanoid creature can function on land, it was specifically placed in an underwater facility to facilitate its growth, and since it has large tentacles sprouting from its body, it would have no problem moving through the open ocean if it ever was unleashed.

HAOS size makes it one of the strongest monsters of all Resident Evil. As a result, the only way Chris and Piers can even escape the hold is for the latter to inject himself with the C virus to do the least amount of damage so that Chris can escape in an escape pod. The large number of managers in Resident Evil 6's multiple campaigns mean that HAOS sometimes goes under the radar, but as far as aquatic monsters go, it still deserves kudos for its uncanny appearance and how difficult it was for the protagonists to take down for good.

6 Moreau

Moreau uses his swamp to outmaneuver Ethan in his grotesque sea monster form

Unlike the other three gentlemen in the Village all of which have very nice and well put together home bases, Moreau can be found living in a damp and dirty swamp that is packed full of obstacles and debris for Ethan to navigate through. However, the odd choice of setting makes a lot more sense when revealing Moreau's true form, a grotesque sea creature that can move through the water at terrifying speeds.

As a result, Ethan finds himself in quite a predicament when the fight with Moreau begins, forcing players to carefully time their moves between each stance to avoid becoming Moreau's next snack. This is undoubtedly one of the creepiest designs for an aquatic creature that Resident Evil has ever produced, but it also gets bonus points for the intense boss fight that makes good use of water crossing and easy puzzles.

5 Hunter Gamma

The hunter Gamma stays in deep water before unexpectedly striking his prey

The Hunter Gamma is an alternate form of the original Hunter designed for aquatic environments. Therefore, they can mostly be found lurking in puddles or appearing in the sewers beneath Raccoon City. While some of them have long arms to help them catch their prey, others will simply attack Jill and try to eat her whole with their giant mouths.

Not only do they look incredibly nervous, but Hunter Gamma's tough skin and surprising speed also make them one of the most formidable opponents Jill encounters throughout. Resident Evil 3. They may not be quite as popular as the original Hunters, but the Hunter Gamma is still a memorable foe from both the originals Resident Evil 3 and its remake.

4 Malacoda

The series' largest bow could have destroyed entire cities if it reached land

Too much of Resident Evil Revelationsplayers will travel through an enormous ship called the Queen Zenobia, although no one could have ever expected on a first playthrough that one of the game's final bosses would be a creature even larger than the ship itself. Malacoda, the biggest arc in the entire series, is a worm-like parasite that sprouts from the sea to try and take down the BSAA for good.

What's most disturbing about this ocean-based monstrosity is that it continues to grow indefinitely, meaning that if Chris and Jill hadn't stopped it in its tracks, it might one day have reached the surface and wreaked havoc across the world. The size of this beast, along with its terrifying design, and the epic combat that accompanies it, results in it being one of the very best aquatic creatures players will encounter in any of the games.

3 Giant Alligator

Alligators may already be scary enough, but making them triple the size increases the scare factor considerably

The Giant Alligators is a violent boss enemy that appears not long after players make it to the sewers Resident Evil 2. Seemingly out of nowhere, this giant semi-aquatic creature will lunge at Leon and attempt to snap him in two while navigating its awkward body through the cramped corridors of the sewers.

While the design is certainly something to behold, another reason the giant alligator stands out is how unexpected it is. While there are a few small hints that something big lurks beneath the surface of Raccoon City, seeing this thing come around the corner without warning is enough to scare the pants off even the most seasoned horror veterans.

2 Neptune

A somewhat more normal looking water enemy that is still extremely terrifying

It's hard to ever forget the moment when Neptune tries to crash through the glass while trying to empty the water in the first one Resident Evil game. Although Neptune may look quite normal compared to the other aquatic monsters that appear in the series, this is mainly because he was considered a failure by the scientists who experimented on him with the Clay Virus.

Nonetheless, it clearly made him much more hostile and aggressive, as evidenced by how hard he will try to reach the player by any means necessary, even if it ends up damaging his own body in the process. In order for players to get rid of him for good, they must interact with a few panels before finally electrocuting the big heist once and for all.

1 Del Lago

Del Lago is a prime example of how parasites can transform innocent animals into unrecognizable monstrosities

Believe it or not, the giant sea creature Leon encounters as he tries to cross the village lake was at one point nothing more than a salamander. Once Saddler and his cult members infected the village and its inhabitants with Las Plagas, the infection spread to the wildlife, with this particular salamander becoming a huge version of its former self with razor-sharp teeth and a voracious appetite.

It's even shown early in the game that the villagers will occasionally feed Del Lago dead corpses in an attempt to satisfy his hunger. Del Lago becomes one of the trickiest bosses in Resident Evil 4 as players must try to take it down with a barrage of harpoons while it drags Leon's little boat around an obstacle course. It's a creature that stands out not only for its size, but also because it's a prime example of how viruses and infections seen in the series can mutate innocent animals beyond recognition.