Do You Need to Play Resident Evil Before Seeing the New Movie?

Do you need to know anything about the Resident Evil games before seeing the new Resident Evil movie? I wondered that myself before seeing it, as someone who has never played the games or knew anything about the lore. The good news is that non-gamers can enjoy this movie just like any other horror or thriller zombie movie. There are no spoilers here.

The new Resident Evil movie has Easter eggs for fans of the games

The film does have many Easter eggs that fans of the games would know, and I couldn't point them out myself while seeing it.

Austin Abrams plays Brian, an original character who isn't in the games

The main lead is an original character who isn't in any of the games. Unlike previous adaptations that tried to incorporate some of the game characters, this film centers on Brian, played by Austin Abrams. Brian is an ordinary medical courier. He knows nothing about bioweapons, the Umbrella Corporation or tactical combat, so the audience learns about the outbreak as he does throughout the film.