RESIDENT EVIL: Requiem - Review
Survival, action, bioterrorism, and nostalgia
André Ramos
3/2/26, 7:37 PM
Atualizado a
March 3, 2026 at 12:00:00 PM
Resident Evil is back, doubling down on every aspect
My journey with the Resident Evil franchise, I’ll admit, began with Resident Evil 5 — a game many might consider one of the weaker entries in the series. Back then, my PC could barely run it properly, often dropping to 15 fps. But that didn’t put me off; on the contrary, I dove headfirst into as many titles as I could, from Resident Evil HD Remaster all the way to Resident Evil Village.
RESIDENT EVIL: Requiem brings together the elements fans loved most from various entries in the series, particularly Resident Evil 7 and the Resident Evil 4 Remake — I’d even say it borrows some gameplay cues from Resident Evil 6. We get survival horror elements, puzzles, and the over-the-top action that’s become synonymous with Capcom.
In Requiem, we play as two protagonists: Grace Ashcroft and Leon S. Kennedy, each offering a distinct gameplay experience.
The story takes place nearly 30 years after the events at Ozwall E. Spencer’s mansion in the Arklay Mountains and the original Racoon City outbreak. Grace — daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft, one of the protagonists of Resident Evil Outbreak, a lesser-known entry in the franchise — is now an FBI technical analyst. She’s called to investigate a crime scene where yet another body has been found in a string of mysterious deaths with unexplained symptoms. The crime scene? The very place where her mother was killed eight years earlier, an event that left a deep psychological scar on Grace and is explored throughout the campaign.
Without spoiling too much, we end up trapped in a building, pursued by zombies and other creatures, while solving puzzles, advancing key narrative points, and exploring files that explain historical events and other details.
Leon’s story begins during the investigation of the same mysterious deaths the FBI is looking into. This leads him to the very same place Grace went to, and we witness an event that triggers a zombie outbreak in the city. At first, we navigate the streets trying to rescue civilians and take down bio-organic weapons — avoiding overusing the term “zombies.”
The game alternates between the two protagonists, but it’s clearly divided into two halves. The first half mostly has us playing as Grace, with gameplay reminiscent of Resident Evil 1, 2 (and 2 Remake), and 7, with occasional segments in Leon’s shoes. In the second half, we step into the role of the former RPD rookie — now a seasoned agent — and the gameplay shifts toward action, like Resident Evil 4 Remake. There’s no longer the limited inventory or the tense suspense felt during Grace’s segments — Leon brings decades of combat experience, and it shows immediately.
As shown in the trailers, Leon has black marks on his hand, a story element that we follow throughout the campaign.
It’s worth noting that the gameplay captured for this review was recorded after completing the campaign. Some HUD elements may appear in certain sections for that reason.
Diverse, tense, classic, and fun gameplay
Both gameplay styles are extremely fun, though I admit I have a bias toward the survival-horror, puzzle-focused side over the action segments. Of course, some players prefer the opposite, and I think that’s why Capcom decided to include both styles — to appeal to all fans.
The game allows real-time switching between first-person and third-person perspectives for both characters — though the recommended setup is first-person for Grace and third-person for Leon. I chose to play third-person for both. It’s important to note that Grace’s third-person and Leon’s first-person weren’t added as secondary options or afterthoughts; both perspectives were carefully designed to function fully and independently of the character.
Grace, despite being an FBI agent, is primarily a desk analyst with minimal field experience, and it shows immediately. Her service weapon is stored in her backpack rather than a holster, she experiences constant stress, questions her decisions, and often doesn’t know how to react. Her gameplay focuses on surviving with limited resources while solving puzzles and uncovering more about herself and the world around her. This translates into a limited inventory, where resource management is key to avoiding unnecessary run-backs, which in turn helps evade enemies and conserve bullets or healing items.
And this is important: in Requiem, as we saw in RE2 Remake, zombies are not fragile. Taking down a single enemy can consume an entire magazine, and ammo is scarce. To help with this, at one point, we find an item that allows us to collect blood from defeated enemies or from blood pools scattered around the environment. That blood, combined with other materials, can be used to craft ammo, medical supplies, or offensive items.
Personally, despite preferring this style, I would have liked resources to be even scarcer, encouraging stealth mechanics like in Outlast or certain sections of The Evil Within. After a while, resources become abundant enough that running out of bullets is no longer a concern.
The puzzles are intuitive and well-designed, but I missed a greater quantity — like in RE HD Remaster — or at least a puzzle difficulty selector, similar to the Silent Hill franchise. Optional puzzles or extra content would have been welcome for those wanting to spend more time immersed in the world.
When we switch to Leon, the game takes a twist and feels like one of the more action-oriented Resident Evil titles, such as 4, 5, or 6. While extremely fun, this section didn’t captivate me as much as Grace’s segments, but it’s probably the best action gameplay the series has ever delivered.
Leon has brief gameplay moments in the first half, but his full gameplay emerges when we reach — as revealed in the trailers — Racoon City: 30 years after the missile strike left it abandoned and destroyed. Here, the gameplay almost turns arcade-like: each zombie killed awards credits (or points) that can be spent to buy new weapons, upgrade Leon’s equipment, or acquire ammo and healing items. We can also find items in the world that grant credits, much like in Dark Souls.
Leon has access to a wide arsenal: pistols, shotguns, rifles, machine guns, grenades, and the iconic Requiem — basically a magnum revolver on steroids. Additionally, he wields a durable axe that never breaks permanently; it only loses durability and can be repaired on the fly. The axe can be used for melee combat or to deflect attacks. When an enemy grabs him, we can quickly free ourselves using the axe at the cost of some durability. Grace also has this mechanic, but all the knives she finds have low durability and cannot be repaired.
I’ll admit it took me a while to get used to the parry system, but once mastered, it becomes extremely useful and works against nearly all attacks.
One issue I noticed in certain encounters is the absence of a dodge button. Regardless of the camera perspective, some attacks are extremely fast, come off-screen, or have a very large hitbox, forcing us to run around arenas to evade them. It’s not very intuitive, especially considering Leon’s veteran pedigree.
Of all its elements, the ones that stand out most are the atmosphere, sound design, cinematography, lighting, the overall vibes — and yes, the nostalgia
The amount of effort Capcom put into cinematography and lighting techniques is remarkable. The RE Engine, despite being several years old, has continued to evolve, and it shows. The contrast between dark and light areas, the lighting in cinematics and set pieces, is absolutely chilling.
I might be exaggerating — or sounding a bit “old-school” — but there were moments that left me jaw-dropped. In certain areas, it felt like they were using technology akin to Unreal Engine 5’s Nanite — though I know that’s not the case. Some environments look astonishingly real. The photorealism of areas like Racoon City is simply surreal.
And it’s that surreal quality that makes me say, without a doubt, that Racoon City has never looked this visually incredible. It’s not just photorealism — the environment and level design of the city have a magical quality. The vibe it conveys is one of tension, abandonment, and destruction, but also, strangely, serenity. The soundtrack that accompanies these moments is breathtaking. I sincerely hope players experience this for themselves, because words alone don’t do it justice. The nostalgia of hearing themes by Masami Ueda, Shusaku Uchiyama, and Syun Nishigaki reimagined… spine-tingling.
But going back a bit: how are the interiors? Fantastic. Grace’s sections, inside buildings with claustrophobic corridors and closed rooms, are outstanding. Dark rooms are terrifying, while well-lit areas provide a rare sense of safety — one I haven’t felt in any other Resident Evil to date.
Grace’s voice acting is extraordinary. I love that Capcom went the route they did with Angela Sant’Albano — capturing the trauma of someone and watching it unfold in real time is no small feat. She’s definitely an actress who deserves more projects.
Matthew Mercer passed the torch to Nick Apostolides, who delivers an older, seasoned Leon extremely well. I still feel some of the one-liners are a bit out of place given the narrative tone they’re going for. Leon is more experienced, older, and worn down — yet, even as everything collapses around him, he still has energy to crack another joke. I understand the charm and appeal, but it could have been dialed back a bit.
Now, some aspects left me a little confused during my time with the game.
Of course, Grace’s sections are designed to be tense, with something pursuing us. But I can’t quite justify moments where the monster is clearly moving in the opposite direction, and the moment we trigger a scripted event while watching it, it teleports to its designated spot. It breaks immersion and makes hiding feel pointless.
While Grace lacks field experience and carries trauma from her mother’s death, she’s still an FBI analyst. I struggle to believe she wouldn’t have at least received basic agent training. There are situations that should be trivial for someone with minimal training, yet we see decisions — or a lack thereof — that don’t align with a federal agent’s profile.
I’ve already mentioned the issue of carrying her service weapon in a backpack, but also not identifying herself properly as an FBI agent, and lacking basic survival skills. I understand they wanted to make Grace similar to Ethan from RE7, but as a federal agent, she shouldn’t be — or at least, shouldn’t appear — so unprepared.
I would have loved to purchase the PS5 Steelbook physical edition, but with a 30€ price difference — making that edition nearly 100€ — just for the steelbook and a handful of in-game cosmetics, with no physical goodies included, it felt too expensive.
My time with RESIDENT EVIL: Requiem was spent on PS5, and I can’t point to any performance issues. Running on a base PS5, without the max graphics options a PC could provide, it’s undoubtedly one of the most visually stunning games in the franchise — and of the current generation.
Pros:
- Grace's sections are tense and well-executed
- Leon's gameplay is solid and extremely fun
- Visually stunning game
- Excellent atmosphere and art direction
- Well-crafted soundtrack and nostalgic touches
- Flawless performance on base PS5
Cons:
- Grace feels somewhat unconvincing as an FBI agent
- Scripted moments that break immersion
- Lack of a dodge mechanic in some of Leon's sections