Resident Evil Requiem is out, and I’ve been playing it non-stop. If the title of my post didn’t give it away, I absolutely loved it and think it was one of the best in the series. I want to go beyond that and talk about what makes it work so well, and why I am confident the future of the Resident Evil franchise is brighter (and bloodier) than ever.
But first, I want to share with you all my personal connection and feelings toward this zombie-filled horror franchise so you can understand exactly where I’m coming from with my Resident Evil: Requiem review.
There WILL be MILD spoilers throughout this piece. I’m not going to give the whole plot away or anything, but you’ve been warned!
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My Resident Evil Street Cred
I’ve been a Resident Evil fan since nearly the beginning of the series. The first game I played was Resident Evil 2 (1998). I still remember going to Gamestop (then EB Games) at my local mall and picking up a pre-owned copy for my PlayStation 1.
Not long after beating it, I found myself back at the same EB Games to trade in old games so I could get my hands on Resident Evil 1 and 3, and those games were all AMAZING. The zombies and other monsters were terrifying, the puzzles were a blast to solve, and the memorable characters paired with the cheesy dialogue were unmatched. I was so happy to see these versions of the game resurface again on GOG. They were an instant buy.
Note: Not sponsored, I just love Resident Evil! (Editor’s Note: But if anyone horror-relevant would like to sponsor HorrorFam.com, let me know! -Lauren*)
From that point, I was hooked. I played every spin-off and mainline game, with some of my favorites from the early days being Resident Evil 3, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, and Resident Evil Outbreak (File 1 + 2).
Then, in 2005, we all had our collective minds blown when Resident Evil 4 came out for Gamecube. It was action-packed, more over-the-top than any game before it, featured an over-the-shoulder camera angle that replaced the fixed cameras from the previous entries, and the zombies/monsters acted and looked VERY different.
I think of this as the ‘action era’ of Resident Evil, which includes other games in the series like Resident Evil 5, 6, Revelations (1+2), and the insanely fun multiplayer Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. I loved the change of pace that brought us hilarious scenes (like the one I recorded below) but, of course, I missed the traditional survival-horror elements.
The next arc of the Resident Evil series is, quite honestly, my personal favorite. Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4 were completely remade from the ground up in the RE Engine and ultimately became action games with mild survival horror elements, like item scarcity and sometimes just needing to run from whatever mutated monsters are shambling your way.
Being able to revisit these games in such an amazing-looking setting has been top-notch nostalgia. The new twists and angles on the story, as well as a totally reworked system, meant the games still felt new, even if I was grinning ear-to-ear because of how close it looks to the originals.
Around the same time, they released Resident Evil 7 and 8, which are very different from the action-oriented Resident Evil games. Instead, they have the skeleton of the very first mainline Resident Evil Games, but with tons of upgrades and quality of life features. Resident Evil 7 is strictly first-person, and Resident Evil 8 is first-person by default, but a third-person option was added. Those two mainline games put us in the shoes of a brand new protagonist with one of the characters’ most interesting stories.
I enjoyed both of those games quite a bit and felt like they were a fun new direction for the series. I’m particularly fond of Resident Evil 8: Village because the people and monsters are essentially callbacks to all of the Universal Monsters (I think I’ll write about that soon!)
So, yeah, Resident Evil has had quite a few gameplay arcs over its 30-year run, and I firmly believe that it’s currently in its strongest era. Now on to the big question: How does Resident Evil: Requiem fit into this picture?
My Review of Resident Evil: Requiem
In Resident Evil: Requiem, there are two distinct characters you get to play as through the campaign.
First, there’s Grace Ashcroft, daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft, who is an investigative reporter and playable character in Resident Evil Outbreak and Outbreak File 2, as well as mentioned in Resident Evil 7.
I was very curious to see how her story would unfold because the main takeaway from the trailer was that Grace needed to go back to where her mother was murdered 8 years ago. It was clear she wasn’t going to have a good time because some dude with a serious skin problem kidnaps her because he thinks she is “The Chosen One.”
The second character is Leon S. Kennedy, who is (for good reason) a fan-favorite who first showed up in Resident Evil 2 (1998). This was particularly exciting because all of the Resident Evil: Requiem trailers showed a destroyed Raccoon City Police Department, which is where the vast majority of the 1998 and 2019 versions of Resident Evil 2 took place.
What makes this different from all of the other Resident Evil games with two playable protagonists is that both Leon and Grace have totally different playstyles! I’m going to go over key details about each character and how they play, and bring it all together at the end.
Saving Grace
Grace has a really fun and compelling character design. She is clumsy, anxious, determined, eager to do the right thing, and all-around likable. She feels very…human, which matters because Grace is the “survival horror” character.
By default, every section with Grace is in first person. You feel like you ARE her, trembling in the dark, looking at that lumbering monster growling in the darkness. Her sections are terrifying, and some parts will have you holding your breath, waiting for what’s next.
There’s an option to play as Grace in third-person, but I would strongly recommend against it for your first playthrough. The story and scares are best experienced in first-person.
Welcome to Survival Horror
Due to the nature of her character, Grace starts with very limited inventory space, with the option to expand it slightly. This structure forces you to think carefully about what you pick up, when you decide to craft, and what stays in the item box while you’re out exploring. She also isn’t great with guns and, by default, can only use a handgun and the game’s namesake, the Requiem.
Much like the survival horror era of Resident Evil, ammo and health are limited, so you have to take your time and think about what you’re doing. This forces you to methodically make your way through her sections so you don’t find yourself short on bullets or healing herbs when things get tough.
All of this is amplified by the chilling atmosphere that will have you literally jumping when the wind blows too hard. I play a ton of horror games, and very rarely do I feel genuine tension when playing. Resident Evil: Requiem is an exception to this rule in the best way possible.
The Best Traditional Resident Evil-style Zombies in YEARS
Resident Evil: Requiem has some of the best zombies in the entire franchise, along with the zombies in the REmakes. The new virus taking hold allows people to still remember what they did in their day-to-day lives. When you consider that most of Grace’s sections take place in an asylum of sorts, that ramps up the creep factor significantly.
You’ll see zombie maids trying to clean until they spot you. Zombie-turned singers screeching and bellowing from the balcony above you. Patients hooked up to IV bags will slam and clatter their way down the hall, threatening to beat you with the pole attached to their arm. Even a short walk down a hallway feels like a journey. It’s a tense, nerve-wracking experience. Each enemy/zombie is so unique and they way they interact with you is bone-chilling stuff that sticks with you long after you’ve put them out of their misery!
While you for sure see more creature variety playing as Leon, the zombies in Grace’s early section steal the show.
Puzzles You Know and Love
The puzzles, as both Grace AND Leon, are exactly what you’d expect from a Resident Evil game. Find the named key for the named door, collect a blood sample, examine items to locate hidden key items, and locate medallions to unlock doors. None of it is really remarkable, but it’s well done and definitely evokes nostalgia for people who have played any of the previous entries.
If this is your first time playing a Resident Evil game, the puzzles are fairly simple to figure out and add to the tension because you’ll likely need to go into an extremely dangerous room to, for example, find a vial of acid that will break a lock that “looks like it could be dissolved with some sort of corrosive.”
Nothing about the puzzles felt unfair or overly difficult, and many were fun to solve.
Leon Kennedy, Action Hero
I was overjoyed when I saw that Leon would be one of the two playable characters, as he’s one of my personal favorite characters in the Resident Evil franchise. I’m happy to report Leon is back, and he is better than ever.
After everything he’s been through in the previous games, Leon has become a hardened fighter whose playstyle is a far cry from Grace’s survival setup. One of the major differences is that his sections are in third-person, with a first-person option. Along with this switch, the tone changes from traditional survival horror to the intense action of some of the later games in the series.
From a personality standpoint, the difference between Leon and Grace is night and day. Leon is totally fearless and has some of the best quips in the entire franchise that make me laugh out loud every time he says them.
One of my personal favorites is when you’re riding a makeshift elevator with zombies dropping from the building nearby. You turn and blow one of the zombies’ heads off, and Leon casually says, “Sorry, you’re going to have to take the next one.”
Nearly every line he delivers comes with this level of humor that had me grinning the whole time I was playing.
What are Ya Buyin’?
Instead of using an item box, you have access to a box that’s essentially a storefront that allows you to buy equipment and upgrade guns, all with currency you earn every time you kill a monster.
Leon has access to handguns, shotguns, sniper rifles, machine guns, grenades, and more. Each can be progressively improved through the aforementioned store.
I really like the way this works because it adds a system to the game that I didn’t even know I wanted. Grace’s inventory management is a treat and is a real throwback to the original games, but Leon’s system is an engaging remix of what we saw primarily in Resident Evil 4 and 8.
Back to Raccoon City
The trailer made it a point to show that we were going back to Raccoon City, so I won’t try to hide that fact here. Some of his gameplay happens before and after this point, but the vast majority of your time with Leon will be spent in Raccoon City 20 years after it was bombed during the G-Virus outbreak.
Despite it looking like a scene from Fallout, there are a ton of landmarks that you’ll recognize if you’ve played the REmake of Resident Evil 2. You’ll recognize quite a few even if you’ve only played the original, though it’s worth mentioning that the sets and easter eggs are primarily geared towards Resident Evil 2 (2019).
Speaking of which, I absolutely loved how many easter eggs they managed to jam-pack into the second half of Resident Evil: Requiem, with most being in Raccoon City. I don’t want to spoil most of them here, because there are some truly special ones in the mix that genuinely had me smiling the whole time I was playing those sections. Here’s an example I found in Resident Evil: Requiem‘s version of the Raccoon City Police Department in the ‘Licker Hallway,’ which you’ll recognize from Resident Evil 2 (1998 and 2019).
I promise this is just the TIP of the iceberg! There are a shocking number of special guest appearances from people, monsters, and puzzles that are all directly pulled not just from Resident Evil 2, but the series as a whole.
Fun Factor and Replayability
Now, I was intentionally a little light on details when it comes to Resident Evil: Requiem‘s story and non-zombie monsters because I don’t want to ruin that magic for anyone who finds this review and is interested in playing.
But as for the fun factor, this game is an absolute blast. So far, I’ve beaten Resident Evil: Requiem at least five times across all difficulties and have 100% of the achievements on Steam.
I believe this illustrates just how fun and replayable Resident Evil: Requiem actually is, because in most cases, I don’t beat a game more than once. Another factor that adds to the replay value is the challenge and rewards system that’s been included in the past several games. Essentially, you have a list of very specific challenges that allow you to unlock points, which you can use to buy permanent upgrades for future playthroughs.
I managed to complete all of these, too!
Through this system, you can unlock keychains that provide buffs, new weapons, insanely fun features like unlimited ammunition, and more. I kind of think of this as its own puzzle. For example, one challenge requires you to beat the game without healing. So I figured, with unlimited ammo for my shotguns, I could make it so most monsters would have a hard time hitting me.
All of this means that after completing the main story, which I would say takes between 8-12 hours on your first playthrough, there’s a whole lot more to do after the credits roll.
The Future of Resident Evil
As for Resident Evil: Requiem, it has been a massive success. Currently, it has sold over 5 million copies, and the team confirmed they’ll be adding more content to the game in the future, including mini-games and full-fledged story campaigns, which I can’t wait to play and review right here on HorrorFam.com!
The only additional content they’ve added at the time of this writing is a photo mode, which can help you take some goofy screenshots like this:
I’m relieved to hear Resident Evil: Requiem did so well and that there’s still a strong audience for single-player survival horror games. I firmly believe we need to keep buying (and reviewing) these GOOD games so they’ll keep making them!
With that in mind, based on some of the easter eggs within Requiem, I have my fingers crossed that we’ll be seeing REmakes of Resident Evil 1, 0, and Code Veronica in the coming years!
The Bottom Line – Resident Evil: Requiem is AWESOME!
If you’re a fan of Resident Evil or survival horror in general, I’m confident that you’ll love what Resident Evil: Requiem brings to the table. I was pleasantly surprised by so much in this game, ranging from how each character plays to the overflowing pile of fun easter eggs spread across the second half of the game.
For me, Resident Evil: Requiem was an amazing experience and a strong 10 out of 10!
If you’ve played Resident Evil: Requiem, tell me what you thought of it in the comments! Either way, I’d love to hear both your first and favorite Resident Evil games in the franchise!
Images for this review were provided by Frank Spear and are screenshots from his personal playthrough(s) of Resident Evil: Requiem. The Featured Image is a screenshot Frank took of one of the zombies he was fighting and then Lauren edited it with GIMP so the zombie was eating the title of his review rather than the lead pipe weapon he was originally chomping down on.
