Resident Evil Requiem is a video game about looking backward. After nearly 30 years as a franchise, Resident Evil has defined and redefined what horror games are time and time again. The latest release, out today on PS5, PC, Xbox, and (shockingly) Nintendo Switch 2, is in conversation with that legacy every step of the way—but whether it ends up being fresh enough is in the eye of the beholder. As someone who has been on board since Resident Evil 4 on the Nintendo Wii, it was more than enough for me.
Requiem, the ninth mainline title in the survival-horror series, is polished as hell, but it feels more like a sequel to the franchise’s successful series of remakes than a sequel to 2021’s Resident Evil Village. Instead of creating new icons, where Village succeeded in spades, Requiem relies on fan-favourite monsters and callbacks to old characters. That makes for a bloody fun ride that blends action and horror in equal measure and ties together some long-dangling plot threads along the way. Let me be clear: If you’ve never played a Resident Evil game, this probably isn’t the right place to start. But if you picked up the series in 2019 with the stellar remake of Resident Evil 2 (and subsequently loved the remakes of 3 and 4), Requiem will feel like a homecoming.
In the roughly ten- to 18-hour campaign, you switch between two main characters, newbie Grace Ashcroft and not-so-rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy. The action begins when Grace, a budding FBI agent, is assigned to investigate a series of strange murders at Wrenwood Hotel, the site of her mother’s death. Before she died, reporter Alyssa Ashcroft, originally a character in the PS2 spin-off Resident Evil: Outbreak, left her daughter a vital clue about the truth behind Umbrella, the corporation responsible for the outbreak that started this whole mess nine games ago. It’s at the hotel that Grace is kidnapped by Dr. Victor Gideon, the game’s decrepit, steampunk, goggle-wearing villain, and taken to the town of Rhodes Hill. Meanwhile, Leon plays hero and is tracking Gideon’s every move as he searches for a cure to the mysterious disease that ails him—eventually leading them both back to Raccoon City.
Grace’s gameplay is more horror focused (it’s recommended you play in first person, and I absolutely concur), providing you with extremely limited resources and making each encounter feel like a scrape for survival. The bulk of her sections are taught, tense, and overwhelming. Enemy zombies outnumber your bullets by a ratio of five to one. This is also where the game puts its fresh twists on the Resident Evil formula. Thanks to a ton of smart choices from Requiem’s developers, the item crafting feels meaningful, and some of the nightmarish monster designs are truly inspired.
Grace’s half of Requiem is no cakewalk. Right out the gate, it’s quite challenging, especially if you (like me) choose to play on the Classic difficulty. Really the only difference between what is called Standard (Classic) versus Standard (Modern) is that—like every title prior to 4—you’re required to use ink ribbons, a limited resource, to save your game at a typewriter. If you die, you go back to the last time you used an ink ribbon.
The twist Requiem puts on it is giving you the ability to craft ink ribbons and forcing your hand to do so often. In addition to the real threat of lost progress, this diminishes the resources that players on Modern can use to craft ammo and healing items. Frequently I found myself choosing between turning a weak green herb into a more powerful healing item or saving my game. It’s not a stress that’s for anyone but the series veterans, but it’s one I love. I was happy to see it as a viable option for a first playthrough.
Speaking of series veterans, Leon’s sections see him returning to Raccoon City decades after the atomic bomb wiped everything out. It’s a gray, apocalyptic backdrop to your action-heavy time as Leon. The highs are high. Wielding shotguns, rifles, and a trusty hatchet, you shred your way through crowds of zombies and a number of bosses sure to ring your nostalgia alarm. It’s a high-octane ride every moment Leon is onscreen. There’s one major set piece in particular that rivals some of the best action-movie moments in recent years, but I won’t spoil it here.
I found myself often thinking that these sections felt like what a true sequel to Resident Evil 4 would look like—albeit now with the stellar graphics and mechanical flourishes of the remake. I know many fans would love to hear that—but at this point, the DNA of the beloved title is all over the series. As much as I love Leon’s precise gunplay and action-movie quips, all the fresh ideas were clearly used on Grace.
The back half of Requiem falls quickly into playing the hits. Leon’s best moments are fan service, plain and simple, but they hit the right celebratory note without being too indulgent. Requiem doesn’t care that it serves as a 30-year highlight reel and does so with such gusto it’s hard not to get swept up in the whole thing. Once the dust settles, though, a clearer picture comes into view: Requiem just might be the end of an era.
Resident Evil is on top of the world again, and Capcom has seemingly cracked the formula for making banger after banger. With a new film adaptation coming from Zach Cregger, the director of Weapons, the franchise seems ready to shake things up. Requiem is one final opportunity to hit all the notes that have made the series shine for the past decade before it starts to sing a new tune.
