Thirty years is a long time to keep a horror franchise alive without it becoming a parody of itself. Resident Evil has managed it — not by staying the same, but by constantly reinventing what it is. Classic survival horror, action blockbuster, co-op shooter, first-person nightmare — Capcom has tried most configurations, and the results have ranged from genre-defining to quietly forgotten. Requiem attempts something genuinely ambitious: combining the two most beloved gameplay formulas in the series' history into a single release. Whether you're taking a break from Win Beast or looking for your next long evening with a controller, this one is worth your full attention.
Gameplay — Two Characters, Two Completely Different Games
The central idea is straightforward. Two protagonists, two distinct playstyles, one interconnected story. In practice, it works better than it has any right to.
Grace is the first character — a young woman who is visibly, authentically afraid of everything around her. Playing as Grace means playing in survival horror mode: a strictly limited inventory, perpetual resource scarcity, and a slow methodical exploration of locations built on Metroidvania principles. Locked doors, key items hidden in adjacent rooms, shortcuts that only open from one side — the structure is deliberately familiar to anyone who spent time in the Raccoon City Police Department in RE2.
Resources are tight from the first hour. Ammunition runs out faster than you expect, and every engagement requires a decision: spend the bullets now or find another way through. Stealth becomes a genuine tool rather than an optional bonus, and the enemies reward careful observation. The first major location — Rhodes Hill Medical Centre — populates its corridors with zombies infected by a strain that hasn't fully erased their memories. A cook still chops. A maid still cleans. When they notice Grace, those same behaviors turn into attacks — the maid swings a cloth, the chef raises a cleaver. It's a small detail that does a lot of work in establishing atmosphere and making each enemy feel like a specific threat rather than a generic obstacle.
A new crafting mechanic built around collected blood adds another layer to resource planning. You'll rarely have enough of everything, which means constantly choosing between competing needs. The puzzles are simple by series standards — nothing that will stop progress for long — but they fit the pacing without feeling like padding.
Leon's chapters are a different proposition entirely. Where Grace is cautious and deliberate, Leon is kinetic. The gameplay formula here pulls directly from RE4: constant forward momentum, spectacular takedowns, a weapon shop that appears mid-game, and upgrade paths for both equipment and combat abilities. The knife has been replaced by an axe, which Leon uses for parrying, aerial finishes, and close-quarters brutality. It dulls with use — kept sharp by a whetstone he carries at all times — which keeps the mechanic from becoming trivial.
The finishing moves are flashy in a way that suits the character. Leon has always been the series' action lead, and Requiem leans into that without apology. Resource crafting, weapon attachments, keychain buffs — the systems stack into something with genuine depth, and exploring locations as Leon occasionally opens up new areas through Metroidvania-style traversal, keeping the two gameplay modes from feeling completely disconnected.
The camera is adjustable throughout — first or third person, switchable at will. The developers recommend first-person for Grace and third-person for Leon on an initial playthrough, and it's the right call. Each perspective amplifies what that character's gameplay is trying to do. First-person tightens the claustrophobia of survival horror; third-person gives Leon's combat the space it needs to read properly.
Story — Functional, Cinematic, Predictable
Resident Evil plots have never been the series' strongest suit, and Requiem doesn't break the pattern. The twists arrive on schedule, the villain motivations follow established series logic, and anyone familiar with the franchise will see most developments coming well in advance.
What saves the narrative is its presentation. The cutscene direction is genuinely cinematic — camera angles that feel composed rather than convenient, performances that carry weight. Leon's voice work in particular is excellent; the character has enough history in the series to justify a certain weariness, and the delivery captures it accurately. Grace's arc is less developed early on but gains momentum as her storyline converges with Leon's in the second half.
The lore connections to RE2 are frequent and clearly deliberate. For longtime fans they function as rewards; for newcomers they serve as recommendations. There are two endings — canonical and alternative — which gives a completed playthrough a reason to think back on choices made along the way.
World Design — Rhodes Hill Is the Best Location in Years
Level design is where Requiem earns its strongest marks. Rhodes Hill Medical Centre, the game's primary early environment for Grace, is the standout — a sprawling, interconnected space that gradually opens as you find keys, solve puzzles, and unlock shortcuts. The comparison to the RPD from RE2 is intentional and accurate; the structure follows similar principles of controlled discovery, where the map slowly becomes familiar through repetition and careful backtracking.
Optional areas exist throughout the game and consistently reward exploration. The shortcuts are well-placed — the kind of circular connections that feel satisfying to discover rather than obviously telegraphed. The game never feels like it's wasting your time in the locations it builds, which is harder to accomplish than it sounds in a genre where backtracking can easily become friction.
Leon's environments are more linear by design, which suits the pacing of his chapters. Boss encounters break up the action at appropriate intervals, and the escalation in enemy variety across both playthroughs keeps the game from settling into repetition. New enemy types appear regularly enough to maintain engagement without overwhelming the player with constant novelty.
Graphics and Sound — The RE Engine Doing What It Does Best
Capcom's RE Engine has been the backbone of the series' modern era, and Requiem demonstrates why the studio keeps returning to it. Character models are detailed at a level that holds up under close inspection — hair, fabric texture, skin detail under different lighting conditions. The graphical effects are strongest on high-end PC hardware with ray tracing enabled, where reflections and lighting interactions reach a level of fidelity that's difficult to match.
The PS5 version pulls back on some of those effects — reflections in particular show the compromise — but the trade-off delivers a stable 60 frames per second throughout, which matters more for a game built around tight enemy encounters and timed combat responses. The visual presentation remains impressive at console settings; the reduction is noticeable in direct comparison rather than in practice.
Sound design is excellent across the board. The ambient audio in Grace's sections does significant atmospheric work — distant shuffling, environmental noise that keeps you alert without being manipulative. The soundtrack earns its moments rather than using music to compensate for weaker scene direction.
Verdict
Resident Evil Requiem succeeds because Capcom made a clear decision about what it was trying to do and followed through without compromise. The dual-protagonist structure isn't a gimmick — it's the point. Grace and Leon represent two different relationships with fear, two different kinds of competence, and two different ways of moving through a hostile world. Keeping their gameplay philosophies distinct and then weaving their stories together in the second half gives the game a rhythm that neither character could achieve alone.
At 10 to 13 hours, it sits shorter than some players will want. The pacing is tight enough that the length feels intentional rather than cut short, but the quality of what's here makes it easy to wish there was more of it. DLC has been confirmed, and based on the foundation Requiem builds, that content has genuine potential.
Requiem is not without its minor imperfections — the story plays it safe, the puzzles could push harder, and Grace's character development takes longer to find its footing than Leon's. None of it significantly damages the experience. What Capcom has built here is a game that respects both halves of its audience without shortchanging either.
Rating: 10/10