Resident Evil Requiem

Resident Evil Requiem was provided by Capcom for review. Thank you!

Since I can remember, Resident Evil has been a consistent series I have always come back to. Even with more controversial titles, like Resident Evil 6, I have been a long-time fan. Then, we have the soft reboot with Resident Evil 7, which brought the series back to its horror roots in a new way, and Resident Evil 8, which took more inspiration from Resident Evil 4 and included more action. Now, the next mainline entry in the series, Resident Evil Requiem, is here, seeking to combine the elements of the previous two games into a dual-protagonist story that will be a joy to fans of the series.

Requiem gets us started quickly. We start off with Grace, who goes to investigate the hotel where her mother, Alyssa Ashcroft (from Resident Evil Outbreak), was killed. This gets her abducted and brought to a facility that has been overrun by infected. At the same time, series veteran Leon S. Kennedy is investigating deaths related to the survivors of the Raccoon City incident in 1998 and will ultimately cross paths with Grace at this very facility. As their stories intertwine, they will learn about how they are connected, what Dr. Victor Gideon is after, and the secrets behind Elpis.

Throughout the game, we will be swapping between the two, completing the compelling story from different viewpoints. The narrative itself was a treat, and for fans of the series, the multitude of surprises with the return of Raccoon City is going to be extremely fulfilling. I was jumping out of my seat as we made it back to Raccoon City, letting waves of nostalgia rush over me. This was a feeling I felt more often than I expected in Requiem, and it will be apparent why for those familiar with the series.

I enjoyed the swapping between Grace and Leon in the second half of the game, but the first half felt forced. There were multiple moments where we played as Grace for 1 hour, then switched to Leon for 5 minutes, and then back to Grace for another hour. I wouldn’t say it harmed the story or pacing, but it would have been more fluid if maybe we just played as Grace and skipped the couple of minute sections with Leon.

Grace and Leon also have wildly different mechanics between them, giving us two styles of gameplay that wouldn’t normally mix. Grace takes on the RE7 mechanics, focusing more on sneaking around, avoiding enemies, and completing puzzles in first-person. She is not built for killing, and getting cornered by just one zombie can be the death of us. It all makes sense given that she is a younger FBI agent who hasn’t had to face the horrors from previous outbreaks.

Luckily, we do have a couple of extra tools at our disposal to help. We do have a gun in case of emergency, and it’s really the only gun she will be using, but it will alert the infected to the sound it makes. So, to get around that, we can find broken bottles to throw and create diversions, along with Hemolytic Injectors that we can use to stealth-kill infected. The maps in Requiem are more open or have more pathways, which gives us ample opportunity to get by without killing, if we play our cards right.

Crafting also makes a return in a new, weirder way. We utilize this new type of technology where we can collect blood and combine it with scrap to create items like handgun ammo and injectors. It’s an odd system, but finding enough blood on the ground to absorb and craft with was almost never an issue.

Apart from that, we don’t have many ways we can upgrade Grace or her gun. We can find some Antique Coins to unlock some upgrades, like a Hip Pouch and stabilizer to increase our firepower slightly, but that’s about it. I like this minimal approach to Grace’s progression, and it makes a lot of sense in the context of who she is and what she’s capable of.

As for Leon, he is essentially the polar opposite. He’s a seasoned fighter with a gameplay style that matches his mechanics in RE4. He goes around killing infected left and right, using a wealth of guns, like his pistol, shotgun, or rifle, and his trusty new hatchet, in third-person. We will be disposing of zombies left and right in brutal fashion with plenty of ammo to go around. The action will be consistent and utilize his expertise in hand-to-hand combat and shooting that he has gathered from years and years of fighting against bioterrorism.

Some of his previous mechanics return, like melee attacks that can knock back or kill zombies, but we have some new moves in the arsenal that are greatly appreciated. Most of these revolve around his new hatchet, which can be used to decapitate some zombies that need it and parry attacks. It does have durability and will need to be sharpened from time to time, but it’s extremely useful against the more mutated zombies that start to pose a bigger threat (and lead to some awesome action scenes). We can also interact with larger weapons around the environment, like throwing makeshift spears, swinging large axes, and picking up chainsaws to attack whatever zombies are around us. And it’s all integrated nicely into the flow of combat, which is a treat.

With that in mind, zombies also tend to be a little smarter than usual in Requiem. Those makeshift weapons that I just mentioned? Well, zombies can pick up, use, and throw them as well. Some of them can come out of the ground, while others can play dead and grab us as we walk by them. They are still zombies and exhibit the usual characteristics zombies have, but I did find them marginally more challenging than in previous games. These zombies may also exhibit characteristics from when they were alive and be affected by light and sound, which will mostly affect Grace as she is stealthily moving around them, but it also affects Leon.

Requiem aims to balance both of these staple Resident Evil gameplay styles through Grace and Leon, and it does well. In a way, it feels like a swan song, showing the greatest hits of the different eras of the series. Grace’s emphasis on stealth and great level design to allow us to make combat optional drives up the horror element as we try to get through with limited resources. Leon goes all in on combat, reliving his glorious Resident Evil 4 days, with action-packed sequences, intense camera angles of zombies being smashed, and blood flying everywhere.

I also appreciate that it offers options to modify the playthrough how we want to, with a big nod to allowing us to change camera angles for Grace and Leon. We can choose whether we want first or third person, which is another nice nod to the newer and older styles of gameplay through Resident Evil past. I can't say I recommend changing them, the default angles fit perfectly for their respective gameplay, but I do appreciate the option.

Resident Evil Requiem - Steam Deck Performance

Unfortunately, we were not able to get a PC review code of Requiem before launch, so we will have our full recommendations for settings a day or two after release. However, you can check out some early impressions from our guest contributor on how it is running in the early areas of the game.

結論

Resident Evil Requiem finds a way to bring the newer and older gameplay styles that have defined the franchise into an exceptionally enjoyable experience that is perfect for fans of the series. The meshing of Grace's slower, stealthier gameplay with Leon's action-packed killing works wonderfully, giving us the best of both worlds. Combined with an exciting story with some fantastic twists and turns and a gorgeous setting with recognizable locations, Requiem stands above its minor issues to become one of my favorite survival horror experiences I’ve played.

Our review is based on the PS5 version of this game.

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