Review: Resident Evil Requiem: A love letter to Capcom’s Survival Horror franchise

MANILA, Philippines – For nearly three decades since it began as a third person horror game on the original PlayStation, Resident Evil has continued to shamble its way through each console generation and evolve like the undead creatures and monstrosities that continue to plague players with significant challenges. 

The franchise that helped coin the term “Survival Horror” has grown beyond its fixed camera angle and pre-rendered background days one of the most recognizable action adventure series today, and it’s thanks in no small part to its recognizable brand of presenting relatable heroes who go through tooth and nail to survival bioweapons and other creatures born from unethical viral experimentation.

It comes as no surprise that Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth mainline installment in the series, acts as an absolute love letter to the franchise. 

Greatest Hits

Playing very much like a greatest hits collection that has elements straight from an X-Files episode thrown in for good measure, Requiem has all the pieces of an enjoyable adventure game experience that celebrates 30 years of what makes the series so good in the first place

Combining the best elements of several installments, this brand new entry features aspects of both survival horror and survival action and weaves them together into an experience that charts a new path forward while also dipping heavily into the nostalgia food train. 

This sequel ties up some loose ends and serves as the culmination of a huge chapter in the series, while also leaving behind some burning questions for fans to consider once the final scenes play and the credits roll.

A Requiem for Survival Horror

Set a couple of years after the events of Resident Evil Village, RE Requiem centers on two dual protagonists, a new female lead and FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft (Angeka Sant’Albano) and fan favorite series veteran and DSO agent Leon S. Kennedy (Nick Aposolides), as they uncover a conspiracy that threatens the safety of humankind once again. 

After being sent to investigate a series of deaths that may have ties to the murder of her mother 8 years ago, Grace is abducted by a mysterious scientist who has ties to the Umbrella Corporation. 

At the same time, Leon is on his own personal quest to investigate those deaths and their paths converge – leading to a requiem that literally brings the ghosts of Raccoon City and Umbrella back to the forefront.

Two Heroes, One Unique Story

Players take control of both Grace and Leon through the course of the story, dividing segments between Grace’s playthrough that places emphasis on traditional survival horror elements like stealth and item preservation while the battle-hardened Leon goes all-out with his Resident Evil 4 style action and artillery wielding gameplay. 

Your primary object for most of the game is to get from point A to point B and solve numerous puzzles to progress through, but there’s a cache of weapons and equipment at your disposal that you can find and craft to help defeat enemies and improve your chances at survival.

If this is your first time playing a Resident Evil game, Requiem will show you the ropes and hold your hand every step of the way to ensure you’re well equipped to dive into the world of survival horror. 

Different perspectives to choose from

Thanks to the success of the new sequels and the remakes, players have access to two different perspectives and modes of play from the get go: First Person and Third Person. 

While the default recommendation for Grace’s sections of the game are first person and Leon’s the traditional over-the-shoulder third person, the developers have given players the option to change it at any time through the options menu and play Requiem however they see fit.

I personally enjoyed playing this game in third person mode as it’s traditional like the older games, but if you want a challenge and to be scared easily? Play it first person and prepare for those jump scares when huge monsters like The Girl start chasing you.

Pushing the RE Engine to its limits

Once again using Capcom’s proprietary video game engine powerhouse in the RE Engine, Requiem brings together all of the gameplay styles and features that have been present since Resident Evil 7 Biohazard with state-of-the-art graphics that look beautiful and seamless when running on PC and consoles. 

Environments are and translate into some of the most realistic looking graphics seen on modern hardware today. 

The first act in particular brings the Chicago-esque looking streets of Wrenwood to life, and when you reach the desolate ruins of Raccoon City and revisit the destroyed remains of the R.P.D, an overwhelming feeling of loss and nostalgia consumes you with its breathtaking visuals.

Character models look so real that you can even see the strands of hair and sweat flow from their faces, and each zombie is so unique they show off their grotesque designs down to the blood and bits pooling out of their bodies. 

This is a beautifully rendered game, pushing the RE Engine to its strongest capabilities and bringing out one of the best looking video games to date on modern consoles. 

Requiem was even built to utilize the PS5 Pro’s PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) and raytracing tech. Despite being rendered in 360p on handheld and 560p docked, the Nintendo Switch 2 version looks very impressive and takes advantage of Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) to upscale the graphics for each mode to a lovely 720p and 1020p respectively.

Final Thoughts

Resident Evil Requiem isn’t perfect by all counts and is a relatively shorter game compared to past installments of the franchise, but it definitely is a fitting celebration to three decades of survival horror that began with the original’s release on the PS1. 

This game feels very much in the same vein as Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. With a bit of nostalgia, fanservice, and a lot of witty quips from Leon S. Kennedy, it’s ultimately a culmination of many events that have transpired throughout the saga while also serving some juicy and intense action sequences to put a footnote in the history of the series. 

It’s definitely what Resident Evil 6 should have been, and in many ways Requiem acts as an apology tour and improvement of that very misunderstood sequel.

That being said, Requiem’s canonical ending leaves a lot of questions looming for the future of the series. 

Besides unlocking more achievements, bonus features, and a new “Insanity” game mode, there’s not that much replay value yet for the game apart from future DLC Capcom has promised to release soon. 

However, fans will certainly be satisfied in welcoming Grace Ashcroft into the fold to satiate the thirst for more adventure, so I can safely say that the future of Resident Evil is bright and wonderful with this release.

Resident Evil Requiem is now available for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.