Overview

Resident Evil Requiem I’m going to come out of the gate swinging, saying that Resident Evil Requiem is one of my favorites in the series, combining the survival-horror that underpins the RE7 and 8 and even the RE1 and 2 remake strangely. Then the flipside is Resident Evil 4’s levels of unrelenting badass action.

But in a lot of ways, Requiem feels like a game that delivers on the premise and promise of what Resident Evil 6 was initially designed to be. This attempt to create an all-encompassing marriage of the different genres the series came to inhabit, with both a survival-horror and an action focus.

But unlike its predecessor, Requiem walks this tightrope between genres in a way that feels near perfect. The tension and vulnerability you feel as Grace gradually gives way to empowerment, culminating in the catharsis of burying a hatchet into a zombie as Leon. It’s one that won’t dethrone the classics for many, but stands among them as one of the best new games in this series we’ve seen in years, and it is an absolutely incredible homage to the legacy of this series and a fitting celebration of the series' 30-year anniversary.

Ultimately, what this all results in is what has been one of the most satisfying and entertaining Resident Evil games that I have played, so without further delay, let’s get into my review for Resident Evil

Story

Overview

The story follows Grace Ashcroft, an FBI agent sent to investigate the Wrenwood Hotel, a place tied to her past. The narrative takes several wild turns, which I’ll avoid spoiling. At a high level, Requiem introduces new characters and villains while weaving them into long-standing threads from the original game. The game takes big swings. As someone relatively new to the series, I found them hugely entertaining. Long-time fans will likely appreciate the callbacks and full-circle moments, especially after the Ethan Winters saga. Grace and Leon are both fantastic leads. Each has a clear arc, a strong personality, and is easy to invest in. The game’s constant ping-pong between their stories works brilliantly, not just for gameplay variety, but for maintaining suspense and cliffhangers that keep you eager to return to the other perspective.

Resident Evil Requiem’s narrative is also a return to the broader world of Resident Evil that we haven’t seen in a mainline series since Resident Evil 6, and Requiem has been the first new game in this world that isn’t a remake or more confined to the Ethan Winters saga. I think Requiem absolutely nails this new entry; it retreads some old threads while setting up some new ones.

Gameplay

Grace Gameplay

Combat

For this section of the review, I’ll be delving into the gameplay loop for both Grace and Leon as two separate segments, which I’ll be starting with Grace. You’ll be spending the majority of the first half of Requiem playing as Grace, and her playstyle feels like a mixture between RE2 and RE7, where you’ll initially be weak, have very few resources and have to sneak around enemies. As you progress, you’ll be given access to two weapons, three if you look hard enough. But the two main weapons you’ll be using are your standard pistol, which will take many shots to down an enemy, and the primary heavy hitter, aptly named Requiem, which fires haymaker shots that will pierce through multiple enemies like a laser beam out of Dragon Ball Z. It does devastating damage, and downing more formidable zombies that stalk the floors. The catch, the ammo and resources to craft this ammunition are scarce, and on the subject of crafting, you’ll be able to craft different injectors, one that can restore health and another that can explode an enemy, permanently killing them.

Crafting

In Resident Evil Requiem, crafting is a major component of the overarching gameplay loop, and whilst available to both characters, crafting definitely feels like it lends itself more to Grace’s gameplay. Throughout Grace’s segments, you’ll be picking up different kinds of items to craft injectors that can permanently kill an enemy, having a similar function to the lighter and gasoline in Resident Evil 1 Remake. Grace can also unlock items to craft at research stations in specific rooms in the hospital. This unlocks new items to craft, including scarce bullets for your Requiem pistol, as well as ammo and healing items. I discuss the crafting for Grace, particularly because this system heavily interplays with both the resource management, a staple in these games, and your ability to engage or avoid combat.

Puzzles

Resident Evil Requiem, in series fashion, features a variety of different puzzles, with one major overarching puzzle that ties the first location together, and pushes Grace to the next location of the story, think the masks from RE1 remake or the medallions from RE2 Remake. If you’re familiar with the series and the methods of deduction, then you’ll be right at home with Requiem. Many of these puzzles are baked and interwoven into both the Level Design of Grace’s segments, along with the way many of the enemies work in Requiem, which we’ll touch on soon. But many of the traditional puzzles are more tied to the Grace elements earlier in her side of the game, and whilst there are puzzles throughout, the puzzle aspect does become a bit lighter in the later hours.

Level Design

The level design of Rhodes Hospital, which you’ll be primarily exploring as Grace, feels like one of the iconic labyrinth-like locations that the series is known for, think the Spencer Mansion or RPD. Similar in structure both in the sense of puzzle design, and also with its inclusion of the stalker-pursuer that will show up and cause you to think on the spot how to navigate this environment. I’ve mentioned this in both my videos for RE1 and RE2, where these locations create a sense of place that etches its halls, rooms, and item placement into memory. On top of these variables in many of the iconic games, Requiem includes distinct enemies that follow strict routines, with particular abilities that you’ll need to navigate around or confront head-on with your limited gadgets and resources to make the level traversal easier. An element of Resident Evil’s problem-solving has always been an equation of which rooms I frequent, which enemies I should kill, and which enemies I will avoid. Requiem’s level design, as Grace, is always built around more sophisticated enemies that Grace will have to deal with, making each Grace segment’s environment feel like a different puzzle that you need to understand and solve.

Enemy Routines

Further on the point of enemy routines, these distinct enemies are built around a particular gimmick: zombies still retain ingrained routines from when they were human. These can include turning off the lights, cooking in the kitchen, or cleaning in the bathroom. These different routines serve as puzzles in and of themselves that factor into the way you’ll navigate around the hospital as Grace, especially early on when you’re low on supplies and aren’t too familiar with crafting. The different enemy routines are part of what makes this hospital interesting to explore, and they felt like an element new to the series, but that fits well within the foundations of the survival-horror blueprint. It adds a level of unpredictability to the hospital, making the first playthrough, especially, feel much more mysterious and tense.

Another interesting mechanic that feels like a callback to the original Resident Evil is the inclusion of enemies that you’ll encounter later in your playthrough, known as Blister Heads. These enemies are similar to Crimson heads, returning and evolving from regular zombies that you’ve killed before. There are two ways to prevent a zombie from turning into Blister Heads, which calls upon the crafting system. I’m excited to see these types of enemies return, and it is one of the many surprises that spice up the game.

As you progress later into the game, these elements do take a backseat for a more traditional purser type of character that you’ll encounter, but overall, this inclusion is something that I would love to see fleshed out and make a return, and it is something that makes the hospital feel distinct, but still Resident Evil.

Leon Gameplay

Combat

Leon’s combat is the polar opposite of Grace’s, feeling snappy, action-focused and mechanically built around empowerment. The tools that Leon has at his disposal are a variety of unique weapons and firepower. Couple this with Leon’s new signature hatchet that enables him to parry oncoming enemy attacks, as well as rip into stunned enemies amidst combat, which makes his segments of the game feel like the perfect power fantasy that balances out the helpless and underpowered feeling you get playing as Grace. It contrasts two sides of gameplay, further illustrating just how strong and skilled Leon is as a fighter. The weapons that you get to use in the Leon section are all excessive and extremely satisfying, and have special, unique execution kills you can perform, such as lug a shotgun barrel into an enemy's mouth and spin-kick another into a chainsaw. It feels like a love letter to the combat of Resident Evil 4, along with borrowing lessons from its recent remake, which is extremely satisfying.

Another feature that will work for some is the inclusion of a scope or reticle for Leon in weapon upgrades, which will allow him to switch to first-person when shooting enemies which can be turned off in settings if you don’t enjoy, but is a neat mechanic that bridges first and third person and adds another dynamic to the combat and aiming if that is your preference.

But beyond all the feelings that playing as Leon evokes in the player, it is simply a matter of his gameplay being fun to play. The gunplay feels weighty, weapons like your shotgun feel chunky with each shot you fire, the hatchet feels swift and smooth killing enemies, with a parry animation that feels slick and satisfying to pull off each time, and finisher attacks that never wear out their welcome. One thing I believe many will be clamouring for once they finish Requiem will be both a chapter select to replay these sections, and a mercenaries mode, that can give all of these mechanics and combat more room to play with, because it’s incredibly satisfying.

Tune-ups and Progression

The backbone of what makes Leon so satisfying to play as is the amount of weapons that are available, and not only the weapons alone, but the modifications that enhance the handling of each particular weapon. In Leon’s side of the story, you’ll accrue points for each zombie that you kill; these points are traded for new weapons and upgrades similar to Resident Evil 4, minus the iconic merchant. The progression for Leon is entirely different when juxtaposed to the Grace, where you have streamlined upgrades, not only to your weapons, but even to the damage you take with body armour, which can decrease the incoming damage you take, and allows you to purchase items like ammo and health, prioritising combat over the survival elements. The resource management in Leon is also a mirror of Resident Evil 4, with the return of the iconic suitcase that functions exactly as it does in both the original and the remake, with suitcase size increases as an upgrade option.

Open-Levels

Leon will get his own area to explore throughout Requiem, which offers up its own plethora of enemies and puzzles to solve. These puzzles and mysteries differ in structure from Grace’s offering, set in a more open-hub area with side objectives and rewards you can acquire by fully exploring these areas. There are items that you can pick up to craft ammo, and there are new weapons and tools that you can also find. Leon’s side of the experience really does embody many of the highs that you’d want from an action RE experience, with bombastic action and grotesque enemies that lunge towards you. There are action set-piece moments, and some environmental design and interactivity that make for some creative kills when you’re looking out for them.

Synergy and Catharsis

The masterstroke of Resident Evil Requiem isn’t solely in Grace of Leon’s combat alone, but in how beautifully synergised both these forms of combat meld together. Grace is a Survival-Horror that feels foundationally familiar yet new and fresh, giving you moments of power, but ultimately leaves you feeling like David vs Goliath, facing enemies that are menacing and tough to take down. Then there is Leon, a complete flipping of the script, where you inhabit the monster, and the enemies that stalk these halls become the hunted. It makes you want to unleash on these enemies that caused you grief as Grace, and it is absolute catharsis seeing these monsters that felt indestructible fall, and it’s not just the power fantasy that Leon inhabits, but the amount of stylish finesse that comes from pulling off a successful parry, or landing one of his signature execution kills. Resident Evil Requiem’s loop never feels like it has shown all of its cards or that the experience is played out. It is constantly fresh and keeps you on your toes, evolving and expanding into two distinct forms of gameplay that come together into one experience that feels extraordinary from start to finish.

Visuals, Sound and Performance

Visual Performance

Now I’d like to break down and discuss the visual, sound and game performance for Resident Evil Requiem, beginning with the visuals. Resident Evil Requiem uses the RE Engine, and it looks absolutely incredible here. The introductory moments of the game, where I was walking the streets as Grace at the start, looked incredible, with the fine details of Wrenwood and the rain immediately immersing me in this world. The Rhodes hospital feels finely detailed, with each ward and room distinct in its look and feel.

Then there are the places you’ll be exploring as Leon, which offer a complete tonal shift in terms of setting, lighting, and time of day. You’ll have moments crawling through dark tunnels and others where you’re caught in a shootout on a rooftop. Also, the new enemies look incredibly spooky and grotesque in their designs, from the big lumbering monsters like Chunk to the deformed girl.

But it isn’t solely in the visual flare, there are so many moments very early into this game where the lack of lighting creates a mood and atmosphere that is completely tense and frightening, and the early moments of exploring the Wrenwood hotel, to the moments of evading the girl, make for some of the best pure horror that I’ve experienced in a while.

Sound Performance

The sound presentation for Resident Evil Requiem is absolutely excellent here in Requiem and is especially outstanding when you’re playing as Grace. Hearing the girl's pursuer is the easiest way to keep track of where she is.
But this is applicable across the board, for many of the distinct zombies that you’ll encounter during the Grace portion of the game, with zombies who still have some semblance of their routines and memories from when they were human, uttering phrases, notifying the proximity of the enemies based on sound. It makes stealth and navigating around these enemies much more effective.

On top of the enemies and the sound design and proximity, the overall gun feel can be largely attributed to the sound design of these weapons, whether it is the thumping buckshot of a shotgun or the devastating haymaker of a shot from your Requiem pistol, piercing through enemies. The music, especially in the Leon segments, is accompanied by the weapons and larger swarms of enemies that you’ll be facing at a given time. Leon’s weapons all sound incredible, whether it is the crunchy punches of your hatchet executions or the sound of popping a zombie from a distance with your rifle.

Game Performance

The performance for Resident Evil Requiem is incredibly solid. I played this on a PC with a 4080 Super, and throughout my whole playthrough, I didn’t encounter a single bug, crash, or significant or noticeable performance drop. The game ran the whole way through smoothly, and reports suggest you can get Requiem running on a Steam Deck, too, on lower settings. Many other reports have stated that the game is performing well on other platforms, including the Switch 2 version, but I would suggest checking with other reviewers for console performance. But Resident Evil Requiem is an incredibly smooth experience to play through on the performance front.

Conclusion

Resident Evil Requiem is an exhilarating rollercoaster ride from start to finish, with no downtime. It’s the first new Resident Evil that isn’t a remake in almost five years, and Resident Evil Requiem feels like a return to the world of this series, its iconic characters, whilst introducing new ones.

It’s a distinctly new and original experience that is a culmination of everything that has come before, and I know that this may sound contradictory, but the way it blends many new ideas with the collection of old makes an experience that is absolutely incredible the whole way through. The Grace segments offer a refined and incredible spin on the survival horror formula that Capcom has been refining since returning to its roots in 2017, and Leon feels like a true evolution of what people loved in RE4 and I think going forward it will be interesting to see where Capcom goes from here, because Resident Evil Requiem is a special game, and one that I absolutely loved. It’s insanely fun to play through, with moments that would make me hyped, jaw-dropped, and say “no way” many times, whilst also being tense and on the edge in other parts of the game.

If you’re a fan of Resident Evil, then Resident Evil Requiem is an easy game to recommend and an early contender for game of the year for me personally in 2026. I absolutely adore this game.

Thanks for watching.