To mix things up in this year’s edition of Resident Evil Week, I thought I would try something a little different. I’ve made no secret of my obsession with 2002’s fantastic Resident Evil remake, having dissected all manner of its positive qualities over the years.

The next logical step, then, is to break down those elements into their own rankings, and where better to start than with those soul-saving safe rooms? There are 10 in total dotted across Spencer Mansion and its surrounding areas, and like all things in life, some of them are much better than others.

To be clear, I am using the term ‘safe room’ liberally in this list, and including any room that possesses a typewriter. By most distinctions, a true safe room must be accompanied by the relevant save room theme, however that leaves some honorary mentions unloved. It will affect their standing in my rankings though, and for the purists out there, I’ve explicitly stated what is contained within — so you can ignore any safe rooms that don’t meet your personal criteria!

10. Stairway

Save Room Music: No
Item Box: Yes

We kick off our list in inglorious fashion, with a safe room that is utilitarian in every way possible. After hours spent wondering what might be behind the octagon-locked doors in the main hall, you throw open the path to find… a narrow stairwell. Oh, that’s a little underwhelming, isn’t it?

There is a typewriter at the top of the stairs, and an item box down a little bit lower, but that’s it. No recovery goodies to speak of, no pretty things to look at, and worst of all, no save room theme to bless your travels. In all honesty it’s mostly there in case you were ill-equipped to handle Lisa Trevor at the altar that lies ahead, or if you neglected to grab the medals to access the laboratory.

Worse still, you probably already saved when you emerged at the cabin after ascending from the caves, making this feel quite redundant. It’s just there, and that’s all there is to say about it. Entirely functional, without any of the fun.

9. Mansion dining room

Save Room Music: No
Item Box: No

As a Resident Evil location, the dining hall is about as iconic as they come. It’s where your adventure begins, and a peaceful anteroom that you’ll be frequenting in your travels.

It’s also the place where many new players will likely waste an ink ribbon, by using the typewriter near the door. Unless you happen to die at the hands of the very first zombie (like I did), you really shouldn’t bother.

Its biggest misgiving is that it is an awkward mismatch of a save point with no item box. What this means is that, unless you happened to have an ink ribbon with you at the time, you won’t even be able to take advantage of the typewriter for the most part. It’s a safe room for sure, but hardly qualifies as a save room.

Plus, the dining room music is menacing, and that’s completely against the rules.

8. Lab entrance

Save Room Music: No
Item Box: Yes

This is a bit of a weird one. As fundamentally sound as it is for there to be a safe room at the entrance of the final section of the game, its most beneficial feature is its item box — with no shortage of knick-knacks to pick up, you’ll surely be ferrying back and forth to dump off excess curios.

Its location is actually rather dubious; sandwiched between the stairway and the lab lounge, rendering it convenient without ever feeling truly critical. Personally, I would have preferred the risky proposition of an item box here with no typewriter, akin to the courtyard’s waste treatment plant.

But above all else, it’s not a particularly nice place to save your game. It more closely resembles a dilapidated prison than a distinguished laboratory, and you’ll be happy to leave it behind.

7. Courtyard B1

Save Room Music: No
Item Box: Yes

If we’re talking about immersion, the safe room you find once you first enter the caves is arguably the worst one. It’s weird enough that there are so many working typewriters in one place for a game set in 1998, but honestly, who the fuck needs to type anything down here?! Was this how mining staff would log in and out for the day?

Visually drab and sparsely decorated, this safe room is almost certainly nobody’s favourite. It outranks the much more appealing dining room, however, because there are several booby-traps down here that can end your run prematurely if you’re not careful.

Down one pathway, there’s runaway boulders and gargantuan spiders. In the other direction, ravenous Hunters and a showdown against Lisa Trevor. It’s likely newbies will mess up at some point, thankful that some weirdo left a typewriter here for their benefit.

6. Room 003

Save Room Music: No
Item Box: No

In much the same way as the dining hall, Room 003 is guilty of being a safe room in name only. Positioned directly outside of Point 42 where you will duke it out with the enormous plant of the same numeral, this would be a handy save point were it not for the damning absence of an item box.

Compounding things even further, there is a fully fledged safe room just on the other side of the dormitory that comes complete with an item box and that sweet, sweet save room theme. Most players probably would have already saved there, and will never bother to use the typewriter in Room 003 — making it potentially the most useless safe room in all of Resident Evil.

On the plus side, it is quite visually striking, adorned with sinister vines indicative of the trials yet to come. There’s even a bed described as “high-quality”, which technically places this amongst the cosiest of the game’s safe rooms.

5. Residence storeroom

Save Room Music: Yes
Item Box: Yes

At last, an honest-to-god save room, with the music, the resources, the whole works! Holding the only item box in the entire dormitory, the storeroom lives up to its name and boasts a convenient location, to boot.

It proves especially helpful for those hapless souls who meet an untimely end in the aqua ring, respawning them alive and well to muster their courage before diving back down into those dreaded waters below.

The only reason why it ranks so low is because it’s not as iconic as its mansion contemporaries, and isn’t particularly grand, either. With its cold, sombre brick walls, it is akin to an unemotionally unavailable parent figure that is constantly disappointed by you. And hey, how come we can’t take the ropes off the shelf? When I ask for rope, I expect to get rope!!

4. Cabin

Save Room Music: No
Item Box: Yes

This is bound to cause controversy amongst the Resident Evil safe room community, should such a community actually exist. The dank and musty cabin trumps the residence storeroom in the rankings, despite two distinctive shortcomings: not only is there no save room theme to put your mind at ease, but this safe room… is not even safe.

That’s right, once the denizen comes through the front door, all bets are off as Lisa Trevor stalks you relentlessly (a stark contrast to how she placed you politely in front of the fire while you were unconscious). After walking out the front door, the threat is gone and the cabin returns to a conventional safe room, but still, it betrays the expectations a lovely typewriter usually provides us.

In the end, it’s because of this twist that the cabin remains impactful as a safe room. It was unnerving in the first place, leading you to wonder who lit the fireplace prior to your arrival, and it just looks fabulously ramshackle. It’s not what a safe room should be, but it’s very much what a safe room can be.

3. Lab lounge

Save Room Music: Yes
Item Box: Yes

Feeling the crunch of the claustrophobic Arklay Laboratory? Then the lab lounge will be a sight for sore eyes, serving as the final safe room in Resident Evil. It’s everything the lab entrance isn’t, generously equipping you with supplies and reinvigorating your spirit with its aesthetic.

I mean, it’s not exactly the Ritz, but it’s very much in line with the classic safe room. It evokes a sense of escape, of tranquility, of freedom on the horizon — perhaps the kind of emotions those beleaguered researches experienced before returning to their gruelling work day?

The main difference between them and you, is that you will take this opportunity to withdraw every destructive weapon you had been hoarding in preparation for the Tyrant boss fight ahead. I doubt Dr. Sanders in R&D was quite so heavily armed.

2. East wing storeroom

Save Room Music: Yes
Item Box: Yes

Unless your playstyle is suspiciously devoid of exploration, the east wing storeroom will prove your very first true safe room. At last, a reprieve from the horrors of Spencer Mansion, where you can recon your items, save your progress, and relax in the warm glow of a lantern.

Its location is also key, because for most first-time players, there is going to be some serious shit brewing just outside the door. There could be a pair of Crimson Heads left unchecked by those who failed to burn corpses — think you should pick up that fuel canteen while you’re here? — and later on, Hunters eager to separate your head from your shoulders.

Even better, your colleagues will use this room as a dumping ground for valuable resources to aid you on your quest. Did Barry… just ignore all of those zombies wandering about? No wonder he ranks so highly amongst Resident Evil’s greatest heroes, such a larrikin!

1. Medical storage room

Save Room Music: Yes
Item Box: Yes

If the east wing storeroom is Resident Evil’s safe room 1-A, then the medical storeroom stakes its claim as a convincing 1-B.

This room is host to its own unique features that set it apart from its rivals, housing the serum that you need to save the poisoned Richard, and subsequently becoming the preferred recovery zone for himself and Rebecca — despite being on the opposite side of the mansion from where he was injured. While they’re here, the plucky medic will mend Chris’ wounds, free of charge. What a boon!

Even without these benefits, the medical storeroom’s most defining quality is in its details. There’s a bed to rest in, shelves loaded with salves and potions, and a charming desk in the corner where the typewriter sits snugly. It has all of the hallmarks of a safe room, providing you a place to retreat from your woes and access your items.

Many will attest that its eastside contemporary deserves top accolades, but I put this down to primacy bias, since it’s most players’ first safe room. Its stark features and troubling lack of Rebecca Chambers render it inferior in all ways except sentimental, so I think it’s time for the medical store room to ascend to its rightful place at the top.