Don’t worry about the story. They’re all pretty much disconnected, and it’s better to think of them as standalone stories with a shared (but ultimately inconsequential) universe.

If you haven’t played the RE 2 remake, start there. It’s IMO the best resident evil game of all time. I have a ton of nostalgia for OG RE1, but this remake is spectacular.

I beat both 7 and 8 but forgot the story, so there ya go. IIRC, 8 is a sequel to 7, with the same main character, so it might be smart to play 7 first. Both are great, but it’ll take a bit to get settled in with the first person view.