Resident Evil Requiem: Game Review: A Terrifying Return to Raccoon City
The wait for a brand-new entry in the Resident Evil lineup has been quite the long one, but finally, Capcom is ready to unleash its next big hit: Resident Evil Requiem. While a proper review is in order, fans have already been blindly jumping into the game because of Leon’s return, which is fair. With this new entry, Capcom’s goal was to appeal to both fans of the older RE games and fans of RE7 and RE8. They accomplished this by giving us two characters this time: Leon and the brand new protagonist, “Grace Ashcroft”. Let’s see what Capcom’s ambitiousness has cooked up for us this time.
A Nightmare 28 Years in the Making: Setting the Stage
The series goes back to where the trauma originally began: Raccoon City. The story drops players right into the dark, destroyed streets of Raccoon City, about 30 years after the original disaster. But there is a scary new problem called “Raccoon City Syndrome”. This sickness affects anyone who survived the original T-Virus outbreak in 1998, acting a lot like radiation poisoning or cancer. It is slowly killing the survivors.
On the other hand, an old researcher from Umbrella Corps named Victor Gideon has his eyes set on Grace. Apparently, Grace is the key to unlocking the last Virus Oswald E. Spencer created before his death, called “Elpis,” which Victor wants his hands on. Leon’s story begins with investigating the Raccoon City Syndrome, which turns into a wild goose chase for Elpis and preventing Victor from obtaining it.
The New Cast of Characters
Requiem changes things up by giving us two very different main characters.
Meet the New Face of Fear: Grace Ashcroft
Grace Ashcroft is an FBI tech analyst investigating some grisly murders at the Wrenwood Hotel—a building she actually has some heavy personal baggage with. Capcom went out of their way to make her a total coward, and it fits her gameplay loop perfectly. Angela Sant’Albano plays her, and she totally sells the panic. Grace hyperventilates. She screams. If you try to aim a gun, her hands physically shake on screen. It’s a grounded, ugly kind of fear.
Playing as her is straight-up RE7 survival horror. You’re never going to have enough ammo. You have to use this gross “Blood Collector” tool to harvest enemy blood just to craft meds or bullets. Most of the time, you are just hiding. You’ll be running from “The Girl,” a massive shadow-ghost that Kool-Aid Mans her way through solid walls, or trying to distract “Chunk”, a giant, mutated glutton, just long enough to slip past him.
Leon Is Back and Better Than Ever
Leon S. Kennedy is officially back and reporting for duty, but the years have been tough on him. He is older, has a rougher voice, and is sadly also dying from Raccoon City Syndrome. He is tired and pushed to his absolute limit. Even so, he still finds the energy to drop his classic, funny one-liners while fighting.
Two Protagonists, Two Completely Different Games — The Dual Gameplay System Explained
The game weaves these two characters together perfectly. Instead of a massive open world, the game uses tight, closed spaces. You can switch between first-person and third-person camera views to match how you like to play. The level design is clever. For example, Leon can easily blast through the Care Center in minutes while dropping his cheesy one-liners, while Grace has to spend hours sneaking through those same rooms.
Grace’s Sections: Pure Survival Horror, Resource Scarcity, and Heart-Pounding Evasion
Grace’s side of the game is all about slow-paced tension like RE7. Ammo is incredibly hard to find. You have to use a “Blood Collector” tool to gather enemy blood and craft healing items or special ammo.
Most of your time is spent hiding from huge stalker enemies. You will try to escape “The Girl,” a giant shadow ghost that literally bursts through the walls. You also have to sneak past “Chunk,” a massive, food-obsessed monster that you can only get around by using clever distractions.
Leon’s Sections: Run-and-Gun Action That Channels the Best of RE4
Leon plays completely differently. It’s basically the RE4 Remake, but much faster. He is dying. His voice is wrecked. But he still cracks awful jokes anyway. You get a hatchet to block chainsaws and trigger brutal melee finishers. Inventory is the classic 7×10 grid case. The guns hit hard. The MSBG 500 shotgun and the “Requiem” revolver just delete enemies. He is old, but he wrecks things. It’s basically RE4 gameplay but on steroids.
Raccoon City Has Never Looked This Good — Visuals, Atmosphere, and World Design
The RE Engine still looks incredible. The lighting is dark and realistic. Walking through Raccoon City again feels crazy, especially when you trip over old spots like Kendo’s shop or the RPD building. It is a highly bloody game. The gore makes sense, though. It shows exactly how beat up Leon is after doing this his whole life. If you have a PS5 Pro, it runs at a locked 60 FPS with ray tracing. PC players with heavy rigs can push path tracing. No stuttering. It just works.
Final Thoughts — Requiem for the Dead, a Triumph for the Living
Requiem is exactly what it needs to be. It jams RE7’s dread into RE4’s shooting gallery. The guns feel heavy. The plot doesn’t drag. The nostalgia isn’t annoying. The gameplay, plot, and level design are solid. No complaints there.
RE Requiem takes about 7 hours to beat. You’ll probably want more, but honestly, there is zero dead weight here. It is a top-tier entry. Although we would have liked to see it stretched out a bit more, the quality of these 7 hours is enough to make us come to the conclusion that Resident Evil Requiem is one of the best games in the franchise to date.
Verdict: 9.5/10
