Resident Evil Requiem Review

At long last, it’s here. Gaming fans often point to the Resident Evil fanbase as one of the most satiated in the industry, with new games dropping back-to-back across the past few decades, but to be fair, we’ve been waiting a while for this one. It’s been 3 years since the remake of Resident Evil 4 released, and since then, fans have been waiting patiently for the release of Resident Evil Requiem, the newest entry in the mainline Resident Evil franchise. Now, after an abundance of trailer drops and showcase events, we finally have our hands on Resident Evil Requiem, and I can’t wait to talk about it.

It’s time for our Resident Evil Requiem review. I’ve loved this franchise for years now, so I was very excited for this release. We’ll be avoiding outright spoilers with this review, so feel free to read ahead if you’re only considering purchasing this game for yourself. Now, let’s get down to business – it’s time to dive in to our Resident Evil Requiem review!

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Resident Evil Requiem Review

Image by Capcom

It’s no secret, given my score above, that I think that Resident Evil Requiem is a phenomenal game. There were times that I had my doubts about this project, especially when Capcom seemed to be relying on their golden boy, Leon S. Kennedy, to promote the game. Ultimately though, deep down, I knew that Capcom wouldn’t let us down with this title – but let’s talk about why. The greatest strength of Resident Evil Requiem is its diversity when it comes to gameplay. Resident Evil has gone through quite a few evolutions as a franchise, so much so that it feels impossible to make a game that encapsulates everything that the fans have come to love about it, and yet, Resident Evil Requiem does just that. Whether you enjoy Resident Evil games for their horror, their action, their puzzles, their open-area exploration, their stealth, or their chase sequences, Resident Evil Requiem has something to offer you, and manages to deliver a truly remarkable quality experience in each of these areas.

Resident Evil Requiem is an innovative title for the series from the jump in how it handles the player’s dual control of both Grace Ashcroft, a newcomer to the franchise, and Leon S. Kennedy, the series’ most iconic protagonist. Capcom have had the player control multiple protagonists in past Resident Evil entries, notably Resident Evil 0, and the Resident Evil Revelations games. However, what Resident Evil Requiem does remarkably well, is separate Grace and Leon’s respective sections in such a way that makes the player feel like taking control of each of them is necessary to conquer the game.

Resident Evil Requiem places the player in first-person mode when controlling Grace, allowing her sections to feel far more tense and stealth-focused than Leon’s. Grace’s sections feel like a direct homage to the adventures of our faceless hero, Ethan Winters, in Resident Evil 7 and Village, and as such, when the player takes control of Grace, they know that they’re in for a horror-focused experience. On the other hand, Leon’s sections are played with a third-person camera, and focus on action over horror, as he mows through hordes of zombies with relative ease, a shoutout to the older generation of Resident Evil games. The reason that this system works so well lies not only in how it diversifies Resident Evil Requiem‘s gameplay, but in how each character’s gameplay system works hand-in-hand with their characterisation.

Image by Capcom

At this point, I think it’s impossible for Leon to star in a Resident Evil game that feels truly scary. After everything he’s been through, zombies simply aren’t threatening anymore when the player assumes control of him. This is where Grace comes in, an anxiety-ridden FBI agent, who is certainly in over her head when it comes to tackling the haunted hallways of Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center. Playing as Grace, particularly when she first finds herself separated from Leon in the center, feels like true, nitty-gritty, survival horror. I would find myself wandering the halls of the center with caution, and when I would run into a group of zombies, I would immediately run in the other direction, because I simply didn’t have the kit to take them on. Grace starts from nothing, and gradually builds herself up throughout Resident Evil Requiem, and this gameplay system really allows the fear to set in in those times where you’re running low on supplies.

With that in mind, Grace also stars in the game’s opening sequence, which I absolutely loved. The first half an hour or so of Resident Evil Requiem is pure horror mastery, and genuinely had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire thing. As of late, Resident Evil games have sort of taken a ‘haunted house’ style approach to their opening sequences – players will wander through desolate areas, knowing that they won’t be expected to fight anything just yet, but constantly jumping at even the smallest of sounds around them. I really wish we got to spend more time in Wrenwood than we did, because the opening was so incredible. Dare I say, this is my favourite opening sequence in the series so far. Bravo, Resident Evil Requiem. Bravo.

Now, it should be noted that Grace’s gameplay does have a couple of issues, nothing that derails the experience, but just stunts it a little. Firstly, her run speed is ridiculously slow. I understand that we’re not expecting her to have the physical prowess of Jill Valentine, but the way that she borderline comically prances away from bloodthirsty zombies in this game is a little irritating at times. I also found my immersion suffering, particularly in the opening sequence, thanks to the game constantly shifting from the first-person gameplay to third-person cutscenes. Despite the first-person camera being the intended mode of play for Grace’s sections, the constant interjection of cutscenes felt like you weren’t meant to be in first-person mode at all.

Image by Capcom

It’s no secret that Resident Evil Requiem uses stalker enemies in its gameplay system, and again, it’s Grace that goes head-to-head with most of them. I will say, that while I absolutely adored the design of each and every stalker enemy I ran into, I think I got a little unlucky with the encounters on my first playthrough. I remember player Resident Evil 7 years ago, and each time I did a run through the game, the Jack Baker stalker section played out differently for me. Sometimes, it was absolutely terrifying, and sometimes, I barely saw him. Unfortunately, on my first run through Resident Evil Requiem, my experience was in line with the latter. The initial reveal of a new stalker enemy would always scare me, and my initial escape was always blood-pumping. Then, the enemy would sort of disappear, only reappearing to directly block my path, which resulted more in frustration than fear. I ended up feeling either completely safe, or impatient, as I waited for them to move on from the spot I needed to go to. It should be noted that this was my experience on standard difficulty, in which case, I can’t imagine how these encounters play out on casual.

However, as Capcom clearly believes themselves, enough about Grace! Let’s talk about Leon! On a serious note, Resident Evil Requiem does confirm the fear that some people had going into it. Yes, Leon being here does undermine Grace as a protagonist. She has plenty to do, and she is a likeable character, but it’s hard to not gravitate towards Leon over her, and the game is fully aware of this. His presence is justified though, as if he wasn’t here, I don’t think we could’ve had some of Resident Evil Requiem‘s greatest action sequences. Leon’s gameplay feels like all of the best parts of the recent Resident Evil 4 remake smashed together, without any of the unconvincing horror sections – come on, we know Leon isn’t scared of these things anymore! I am, admittedly, a little surprised by how early he shows up in Resident Evil Requiem though. This isn’t a Chris Redfield in Resident Evil Village situation, Leon is a fully-fledged playable character, from start to finish.

In a slightly strange turn of events, Resident Evil Requiem has a somewhat jarring feeling to it. On their own, Grace and Leon’s sections are absolutely incredible. However, the experience gets a little muddled when you keep bouncing between them, mainly because Grace feels so overwhelmingly horror-oriented, while Leon’s sections aren’t scary in the slightest. The lack of horror in Leon’s sections isn’t simply because the character is perceived as brave either. His gameplay segments are distinctly less horror-focused by design, with him rarely even exploring dark areas. Though this may worry some of you reading, his sections actually remind me of Resident Evil 6 in how much they neglect horror as an element. In the meantime, Grace is fighting for her life in segments that rival the scariness of Resident Evil 7. Diversity is certainly Resident Evil Requiem‘s greatest strength, but sometimes, it works against its feeling of fluidity.

Image by Capcom

From a combat perspective though, Resident Evil Requiem is a phenomenal accomplishment. Not only are the shooting and the melee combat smooth and responsive, but this game introduces a whole new dimension to how zombies in the Resident Evil franchise are perceived. The Ethan Winters duology had already started to push the limits of what could be considered a ‘zombie’ in the Resident Evil franchise, but Resident Evil Requiem goes all the way in giving life and personalities to these undead monstrosities. Fighting off hordes as Leon feels particularly exciting when certain zombies decide to approach you in unorthodox ways, grabbing weapons, spinning around frantically, and even stealthily attacking you from behind. The personalities of these zombies extend into Grace’s sections also, with her encountering chef zombies with butcher knives, singing zombies who dance around pianos, and even housemaid zombies, that attack her by scrubbing her face. I love Resident Evil Requiem‘s approach to its enemies, as Grace and Leon encounter hordes of zombies that feel less like zombies, and more like haunted, ghost-like spirits.

As far as how the game runs, I’ve run into minimal issues in my time playing through Resident Evil Requiem. The game runs like a dream on PC, which is a relief, especially considering other recent horror releases have really struggled on that front (looking at you Silent Hill f…). The graphics are also phenomenal, the best in the series so far, and that’s really saying something considering how consistently impressive the RE Engine is. I have to admit, I did encounter a couple of glitches during my playthrough, but I can overlook these, as they were so minimally invasive. One instance saw me unable to pick up a chainsaw as Leon, an inability that would go on to get me killed, as the section clearly called for the chainsaw’s use. After I died, I was able to equip the weapon, and go on my way. Nothing I ran into ever crashed the game, or soft-locked me from progressing, so fans can rest easy in that sense.

Not all of you can rest easy though, because for those of you out there who are squeamish, I’ve got bad news! This game has the gore turned up to the max. The death scenes are absolutely horrifying, and multiple scenes throughout the story left me feeling distinctly uncomfortable. Also, this may be breaking my spoiler rule a little, but I do feel the need to say this. Arachnophobes, beware! There is a gnarly spider enemy in here that got under my skin, and I don’t even have arachnophobia. Unfortunately, Resident Evil Requiem doesn’t seem to have a filter for this, so you’ll have to fight through! Well, that, or you can find a mod to mod the beastly spider out. Seriously, beware of this thing!

Image by Capcom

Before I wrap this review up, there are a couple more things to cover, albeit briefly. Let’s talk about the story, without any spoilers, don’t worry. It’s not all that. Now to be fair, it did keep me entertained throughout, but will it weigh on my mind in the aftermath of completing Resident Evil Requiem? Absolutely not. Ultimately, this doesn’t bother me all that much, considering Resident Evil games have never had phenomenal stories. However, for those of you looking forward to the narrative side of Resident Evil Requiem, maybe temper your expectations a little. There are certainly some really fun moments in the story, but overall, the strengths of Resident Evil Requiem are all in the gameplay. Length-wise, I’m happy with the game, and it actually feels beefier than a lot of the other Resident Evil games out there. Yes, as always, you can sprint through the game in minimal time, but on your first playthrough, your experience will easily exceed the double-digits in hours.

So now, for the final question. As always, when reviewing a horror game, I like to leave this for last. Is Resident Evil Requiem scary? Well, it’s a tough question to answer. Grace’s sections are terrifying, and really put the player under immense pressure to survive against horrifying stalker enemies, and hordes of unbeatable zombies. Leon’s sections are not scary at all, at least not unless you have certain phobias. As is always the case with Resident Evil, the horror gradually dwindles as you go on, but the starting areas are truly, deeply scary. So, I would say it’s about on par with Resident Evil 7 in terms of scariness, albeit a lot less jumpscare-reliant. A solid horror experience throughout.

So, that’s our review of Resident Evil Requiem! This is a truly phenomenal horror game, and a fantastic new entry in an already stellar series. As of right now, it sits in my top three of the entire Resident Evil franchise, but of course, this could change with time! With that in mind, keep an eye out for a new series ranking in the near future… What do you think of Resident Evil Requiem? Be sure to let us know, and thanks for reading!

See also: Ranking Every Trial in The Outlast Trials

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