Resident Evil Requiem is the ninth core entry in Capcom’s long-running survival horror saga, steering the series back toward its classic roots. After a two-part detour into the grim ordeals of Ethan Winters, the narrative once again tightens its focus on the shadowy schemes of the Umbrella Corporation, weaving a story more directly bound to the franchise’s central menace.
The game follows FBI Agent Grace Ashcroft, daughter of Resident Evil: Outbreak’s Alyssa Ashcroft. Grace is assigned to investigate what looks like a late emergence of the Umbrella T-Virus among survivors of the Raccoon City incident, now twenty-eight years in the past. Her search draws her to the Wrenwood Hotel, putting her on a collision course with returning favourite Leon S. Kennedy, who is conducting his own inquiry into a string of unexplained deaths.
The appearance of former Umbrella scientist Victor Gideon leaves both Grace and Leon held hostage inside the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center. The facility’s broad atrium, central staircase, and long, shadowed corridors echo the Spencer Mansion from the original 1996 game. From there, the story carries players through a tense, unnerving journey from blood-soaked hospital rooms to grimy sewer tunnels and finally into the ruined remains of Raccoon City, a place still hiding secrets decades after its fall.
The plot is strong enough to pull you back into the core Umbrella Corporation and T-Virus storyline. It does, however, lack some of the more distinctive narrative elements of the last couple of entries.
Grace serves as the main protagonist, though Leon steps into the spotlight at certain points in the game. Whilst Requiem returns to the series’ earlier two-protagonist structure, it maintains the modern Resident Evil gameplay style that proved so popular in Biohazard and The Village, as well as in some recent remakes.
The game supports both first and third-person perspectives, with Grace defaulting to first person and Leon to third, though you’re free to switch between them at any time. It’s a sensible choice, as each character’s play style is distinct enough to benefit from a different viewpoint.
As Grace, the experience leans closer to Biohazard and Village, delivering a more psychological style of horror built around stealth and puzzle-solving. The atmosphere is pushed even further by Grace’s constant gasps and strained breathing, which could have felt intrusive but instead land with a natural, convincing edge that makes the whole game just that bit more unnerving.
Leon’s sequences lean back into the action-driven style of the 2000s Resident Evil games, built around melee weapons, firearms, and carving a path through waves of zombies. Playing as Leon feels more like a deliberate action-focused interlude, and I think that was Capcom’s intent.
The two gameplay styles, with Grace stealthily avoiding the zombies and Leon shooting and bashing his way through them, don’t really complement each other. But that’s intentional. After the prolonged tension of guiding Grace through situations where a single mistake means death, shifting to Leon provides a welcome release and lets you decompress before the next spike in pressure. This contrast is especially effective after the intense escape from the hospital, when the game hands control to Leon, sniper rifle in hand, picking off zombies from above as overwatch, whilst Grace runs for shelter in a nearby church.
Switching from Leon’s third-person view back to Grace’s first-person perspective works as a sharp reminder that charging in after smashing zombie skulls as Leon is a fast way to get Grace killed. She does have access to firearms and even carries Leon’s powerful Requiem revolver for a stretch, but the game punishes anyone who tries to clear every encounter by force. After a while, downed zombies mutate and reanimate, and at that point, they can only be put down with the Requiem or a shot from a hemolytic injector. Getting caught between several of these reanimated mutants can become extremely dangerous very quickly.
Jump scares have been a staple of Resident Evil ever since those zombie dogs smashed through the windows in the first outing. Expect things to go south very quickly as the game catches you off guard.
The game also throws a handful of formidable creatures into the mix, including the massive, misshapen entity known as The Girl and a grotesquely overpowered zombie chef. These enemies stalk players or patrol key areas, and they’re taken down either during scripted story moments or by unloading a significant amount of firepower.
Good use is made of the finely crafted environments. There’s a bit of backtracking, but enough progression to keep things interesting. Both characters also revisit key locations, but each can unlock additional areas and items the other can’t, which helps those returns feel purposeful rather than repetitive.
The puzzles follow the familiar Resident Evil template. Expect elaborate locking mechanisms that demand multiple key components, each tucked away behind its own esoteric contraption. Keycard readers, security panels, and power units block access to new areas. For completionists or anyone wanting the best chance of survival, there are safes that require specific codes and drawers that need to be picked open. With limited space, storing items becomes essential. You can access these stored items at any time across the save rooms (yep, with typewriters) in the game.
Crafting is more than just combining objects. A blood collector can be used to draw puddles of infected blood from “dead” zombies or from buckets of blood just lying around. This can be used to craft ammo and other useful items. Of course, there’s plenty of green herbs to boost your health when things get dicey.
Atmosphere does its utmost to disturb the player, building tension until you’re wondering what might be waiting behind every closed door. Every noise and every distant moan grabs your attention and keeps you on edge. It also tries hard to unsettle you in a more visceral way, with plenty of gore, from bursting zombie heads to vats of blood, and a touch of body horror thrown in for good measure.
The PC visuals are stunning, with almost photo-real environments. The locations are full of detail, making exploration particularly rewarding. The character models still retain a CGI look that reminds you that you are playing a game, not watching a movie. Whilst the game relies heavily on psychological horror, some big-budget set pieces elevate it to AAA-cinematic blockbuster levels.
Lighting is excellent throughout, creating a genuinely unnerving atmosphere. Grace’s lighter throws out just enough illumination to navigate while still leaving plenty of shadow for your mind to fill in. Leon’s flashlight works much the same way, lighting only what you need to see and keeping the tension high. If your machine can handle it, ray tracing is a worthwhile addition, adding an extra layer of realism.
I was also surprised by how well the game performed on the ROG Xbox Ally X handheld. With the help of AMD’s FSR, I could play the game whilst out and about. And with little discernible impact on performance compared to my RTX 4090-equipped desktop PC, which was nice.
Resident Evil Requiem draws on the franchise’s legacy and the lessons learned from its more recent entries to deliver a genuine high point. The game’s well-paced blend of tense psychological horror, puzzles, gore and punctuations of action kept me both engaged and on the edge of my seat.
Rating: Great!