There are arguments for Resident Evil being an action series, and there are arguments for it being a survival horror series. While elements of both genres are woven through every game, I’m of the opinion that the series ended when they dropped the bomb on Raccoon City. This is where the puzzles died. This is where Leon got buff and gruff. This, to me, is where Resident Evil left the realms of survival horror and, for the most part, became an action series. The fundamentals that made RE so iconic were no more, and Resident Evil became Resident Evil in name alone.
This is why, as soon as it was revealed that the RPD would return in Resident Evil Requiem, my eyes widened, and my ears perked up. I was in. Has Capcom finally realized what I’ve always considered to be its biggest mistake with the series? There are two halves to Requiem, with Grace’s sections focusing on survival horror, while Leon’s are all-out action. Having now played around four-and-a-half hours, I can safely say the RE2 inspiration is clear, and we’re back to the series at its best with an entry that strikes a perfect balance between the two faces of Resident Evil.
The first thing that really struck me about Requiem is that, by default, Grace is set to first-person gameplay while Leon is in third. We already knew the game featured both perspectives, but I wasn’t aware that the default settings differed for each character. This immediately demonstrates Capcom’s intentions for each half, and I played as intended. Despite my love for the earlier games and their fixed-camera perspective, I was excited to play Grace’s segments in first-person and to better immerse myself in the horror – I wasn’t disappointed.
Playing in first-person as Grace allows you to admire the grisly details on the new, more diverse zombies and other enemies, while emphasizing the fear and danger of close combat. Light also plays a huge part in the stealth elements, and this again is felt on a greater level in first-person. Leon’s gameplay, meanwhile, features unique melee finishers, which can only be fully appreciated from third-person. For both characters, the animations, setting, and even the gore hit real highs.
I haven’t experienced RPD yet, and I’m glad to keep its place in Requiem a surprise until release, but, despite being entirely new, the Rhodes Hill Clinic feels familiar. Like the police department and Spencer Mansion, the clinic is vast and complex, full of dead ends and elaborate puzzles. Glittering trinkets are required to unlock doors. Cryptic clues are hidden in collectible documents. Even the layout of the entrance area and the location of the main exit somewhat mirror the mansion. While Requiem is a game of two parts, a crossover between old and new, Rhodes Hill feels intentionally similar to the locations of the first and second games.
As you explore this familiar yet fresh environment, there are more than just simple zombies standing in your way. Enter the kitchen, for example, and a hulking great rock of a chef will come after you with a giant blade. Later, a huge, monstrous foe smashes through a wall. Both stalk the corridors of Rhodes Hill indefinitely in a similar fashion to Mr X.
I was so in my element here that I automatically assumed that these larger bosses were invulnerable. These corridor-filling beasts reminded me so much of the series’ stalker enemies that I just thought they were to be avoided, not fought. Only after I finished playing did I learn that, even as Grace, you could, in fact, kill them. Here I was saving my precious ammo, preserving my health, avoiding the enemy, and taking my time when I didn’t need to. Arguably, this contradicts a lot of what we learn about her character.
Let’s go back to Resident Evil 2 for a second. In my opinion, Claire is one of the most interesting Resident Evil characters. She’s the series’ first civilian protagonist. She’s not trained in combat like Chris or Leon. This is a young woman simply looking for her older brother in all this turmoil, who turns out to be a strong, capable protagonist, saving not only herself but also Sherry, a girl caught up in the disaster.
Grace was the perfect opportunity to revisit this idea. She’s FBI, sure, but she’s a desk jockey. Instead of making her as capable as Claire, though, Grace appears to be a weak, timid girl in need of saving. While Claire soon blossoms into a hero, Grace puts herself in dangerous situations, seemingly for no good reason. Sadly, I can’t expand on that point right now, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. Even in-game lore portrays Grace as a sad, lonely recluse.
While this could be a mistake, and a missed opportunity to create another celebrated female protagonist, I think this decision is very deliberate. Again, we have these two genres in play: action and survival horror. While Leon was a newbie in Resident Evil 2, he’s older now, stronger, more grizzled, and forever changed from the events of the previous games (and everything in between). He is the action hero now, and having his female counterpart, a young woman with far less experience, being as capable would undermine that. Instead, he needs to come to Grace’s rescue to cement his role in Requiem, as well as hers.
This still works while maintaining the feel of classic Resident Evil. Or, at least, it’s probably the best way to keep Resident Evil alive in 2026. The later games started to feel like they were relying on a name, while the actual lore became tenuous and subject to change. Here, we’re returning to RPD, Leon is back, and there is a sense of history there. Of course Leon has changed, and of course he’s more resilient. He’s also dealt with these horrors countless times before. With repetition, though, comes desensitization. Pairing this iconic character in a stronger role with this younger, weaker new character allows Capcom to recapture that feeling of fear from when the T-Virus was still fresh, without straying too far from the original story and ideas.
We also see the same marriage of old and new in other, smaller, but equally important gameplay elements. Inventory management feels as tough as ever, and I regularly ran out of space when playing as Grace. When your storage starts getting tight, it’s time to buy a hip pouch. Yep, that’s a returning feature from Resident Evil 2. While you can find some in the wild, there’s at least one you can purchase from an in-game cabinet using ancient coins, similar to Resident Evil 7’s system. The currency mechanic is minor, and weapon upgrades are also dotted throughout the world, with coins only being used to unlock a small number of additional items. Mr Raccoon also makes a return in Requiem, and while I don’t yet know if shooting them all unlocks new gear, I would certainly assume so. Again, this is a mechanic from the 2 remake, but I’ll take it.
Ink ribbons are interesting. As I referenced in my earlier Requiem preview, I found an empty ink ribbon, seemingly a collectible homage to the original save-game mechanic. However, I didn’t see a single one this time. Then, during the recent Resident Evil Showcase, it was revealed that ink ribbons return as a save-game item in an optional difficulty mode. I’ve reached out to Capcom to clear this up, but, sadly, it seems to me that empty ink ribbons may no longer be a thing. Or maybe there’s just a single one to be found in that earlier segment. In whatever capacity they appear in Requiem, it’s yet another return to the Resident Evil of old.
While Leon’s sections may feel more like RE4, I think Requiem’s enemies, locations, and mechanics are more in line with the original trilogy than anything we’ve seen since. Capcom has finally revisited what made the series what it is today, crafting a fresh nightmare that both old and new fans will eat up.
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