I really like being afraid, however I hate feeling powerless.
It’s a fragile steadiness that survival horror video games have struggled to nail down for years, and there’s no higher proof of that than the Resident Evil sequence. From the darkish halls of the Arklay Mansion and haunting aesthetics of the RPD in earlier RE video games, to the boulder-punching and zombie-suplexing motion of the sequence’ center years, we now discover ourselves at a crossroads the place even Capcom doesn’t know which approach to flip — so, someway, it went each methods.
Resident Evil: Requiem is the ninth mainline recreation within the sequence, and it’s without delay each a tense battle for survival and one of many silliest motion video games of 2026. The divide is break up straight down the center, too — whereas you’ll swap between protagonists Leon and Grace a number of occasions all through Resident Evil: Requiem, it’s clear that the primary half is meant to really feel fraught, and the latter half permits you to flex on the foes that gave you bother.
Virtually 30 years on from the Raccoon Metropolis incident, a number of of the survivors have both gone lacking or died below mysterious circumstances. FBI investigator Grace Ashcroft is put onto the case, and it shortly transpires that she is extra concerned within the scenario than even she is aware of, because of her mom, Resident Evil: Outbreak’s Alyssa Ashcroft. Whereas digging round for clues on the ruined Wrenwood Resort, Grace encounters Dr. Victor Gideon, and he or she is dragged right into a world of horror she’s not ready for.
The Rhodes Hill Care Middle could be very clearly impressed by Resident Evil 2’s RPD, and it has been functioning as an Umbrella experimental facility for years, with lead researcher Dr. Gideon following within the footsteps of the late Umbrella founder, Oswell E. Spencer. When Dr. Gideon finds Grace and sees Leon shut behind, he initiates the ultimate section for the Care Middle, freely infecting the employees and sufferers with a virus that sees them shortly rework into acquainted zombies.
By the point Grace will get free, the ability is already overrun with monsters, and he or she’s tasked with charting out each corridor to be able to discover the way in which out. There’s a zombie chef within the West Wing, a bloated monster within the East Wing, and a mysterious creature that’s all the time watching. Grace has to navigate all of those challenges whereas juggling junk between her restricted stock house and an merchandise field — similar to Resident Evil 2.
Different Raccoon Metropolis survivors quickly come into play, mainly Leon, who hits the streets searching for his personal solutions. Leon is daddy. He was babygirl, and now he’s daddy. I imply, it’s fairly unimaginable, actually, the character designers have managed to make a Leon so suave and charming that he even made me swoon in my seat and fan my face.
“Leon is daddy… the character designers have managed to make a Leon so suave and charming that he even made me swoon in my seat and fan my face”
If you’re taking part in as Leon, Resident Evil: Requiem is distinctly extra linear, with an motion focus. You would possibly typically be exploring the identical space Grace has already cleared via, however Grace could have already solved the puzzles and opened the doorways that you must rip and tear via any remaining monsters. Later, Leon returns to Raccoon Metropolis, tasked with gathering assets and upgrading the large arsenal inside his attaché case to seize a number of key gadgets whereas cracking skulls and parrying actually any assault that comes his approach — similar to Resident Evil 4.
Therein lies the issue. As a thematic arc, Resident Evil: Requiem is good, superbly utilizing the current remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 4 to indicate Leon’s development from naive rookie to assured agent, and now, virtually Captain America. He’s a wise-cracking, charismatic power of nature that’ll rip via any zombie together with his helpful new hatchet. The hatchet offers Leon a little bit of a brutal, survivalist aptitude, versus the tactical purposes of RE4’s fight knives.
However as its personal recreation, its personal entry into the mainline Resident Evil pantheon, it will probably really feel extra like a remastered best hits album. The Rhodes Hill Care Middle is a genuinely incredible surroundings to skulk round and discover, and it could be within the prime 5 Resident Evil places ever. However it takes heavy inspiration from RE2’s RPD, which could be the only finest RE location. Likewise, Leon’s hatchet parry and enormous arsenal are nice, however that’s as a result of they’re mainly the very best elements of Resident Evil 4, too.
In some methods, it acts as an unimaginable celebration of every part that Resident Evil is and has been up so far, simply in time for its thirtieth anniversary. In others, it appears like a retread that doesn’t dwell as much as its inspirations. Resident Evil: Requiem could be very actually a recreation of two halves, and whereas it’s a extra cohesive story than the likes of Resident Evil 6, its two distinct gameplay types and protagonists can typically really feel at odds with each other.
“In some methods, it acts as an unimaginable celebration of every part that Resident Evil is and has been up so far, simply in time for its thirtieth anniversary. In others, it appears like a retread that doesn’t dwell as much as its inspirations.”
The titular weapon, the Requiem, is the proper instance of that. Grace’s exploration of the Care Middle is Resident Evil: Requiem’s spotlight, and it’s simply when your nerves can be most fraught, however she will get gifted Leon’s Requiem instantly, which basically acts as a magnum that may merely take away essentially the most annoying foes out of your sight.
So long as you don’t spend your ammo aimlessly, the Requiem acts as a ‘get out of jail free’ card, providing you with an exit from any scenario you dislike immediately. Having it in Grace’s stock for the entire Care Middle could be an excessive amount of of a consolation in a piece that’s presupposed to really feel intense, having you battle to outlive amongst the horrors.
By the point the credit roll, Resident Evil: Requiem appears like a incredible addition to the sequence, if one barely hampered by its inspirations. For a numbered instalment, it’s a bit too protected, in a sequence the place so lots of the mainline video games have damaged the mildew and set the usual for each the survival horror style and over-the-shoulder shooter format.
It feels brutally unfair to match a brand new recreation to 2 which can be thought of to be genre-defining masterpieces, however these are the comparisons that Resident Evil: Requiem attracts. Capcom has as soon as once more delivered a sophisticated and good Resident Evil recreation, even when it’s not fairly amongst the perfect.
