Resident Evil Requiem Is The DMC 5 Of Resident Evil Games

It feels as though every modern Capcom game is one of two games: It's either the Monster Hunter World, an incredibly welcoming genre re-examination that simplifies in the name of reaching out to new players, or the Devil May Cry 5- the culmination of years of storytelling making for a game thats narratively weighted in past experiences- yet still somehow playable on its own. 

With Resident Evil Requiem we're clearly in the second category. While not a direct sequel to any previous Resident Evil games, the return from two games worth of Ethan stories has brought a much bigger focus on the Umbrella storyline- specifically the aftermath of so many bio-shenanigans. It feels like one of the biggest swings Capcom has taken with Resident Evil since 7- but it's a swing made with full confidence. 

Title: Resident Evil Requiem

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2

The Double Act That Could

While it's no secret that Leon makes his return in Resident Evil Requiem, it's impressive just how different they've made their double-act with new character Grace Ashcroft. I fully went in expecting her to be like Mia from Resident Evil 7- the character stripped of combat ability in the name of making things scarier. Instead, what Capcom's done with Resident Evil Requiem is create a best-of situration: Grace's levels are these intricate, compact spaces that Resident Evil 7 and 8 excelled at, while Leon's feel much more action driven, with bigger stages to compensate for how easy it is for him to mow everything down. 

Grace's stages are actually incredibly compelling because they're also some of the hardest content I've seen in a Resident Evil game in recent years. Her inventory management is much more strict, and stages even use this against her- like having to pick up multiple parts of a machine to open a door. Suddenly, your 10 slots have shrunk down to 7, and then your equipment cuts it down even further as you decide on whether or not you really need some of the guns in her section. 

Leon's stages, naturally, feel much closer to the remake of Resident Evil 4 in comparison. His combat is fast and intense, as you do the time-honored tradition of parrying zombies and throwing them into each other to save ammo. Despite playing on the standard difficulty, everything about the way Leon plays from his ammo drops to his overall ability to handle big crowds of enhanced zombies makes him feel like he's playing a different game. Even his inventory management isn't as much of an issue- he's got his fan-beloved Attache case, and now I'm carrying so many Green Herbs you'd think I had a greenhouse in here. 

What's cool about these dual protagonists is that each one of them feels like a full Resident Evil game in their own right. Grace basically goes through the trifecta of Resident Evil locations (Village, castle, lab) all on her own, and by the time you've cleared them you've hit the usual completion time for a Resident Evil game. 

Even Leon's setups always feel so alien to Grace that even when they're in the same area, it feels like a totally different perspective. The enhanced zombies, for Grace, are nightmares where even one zombie getting a hit in can throw off all your resource management if you don't have the tools to deal with it quickly. Leon? He is the tool that deals with them quickly. Heck, watch him take on three at a time with nothing more than good parry timing and somehow come out of the whole ordeal ammo-positive. 

A Send Up To The Past

While it never feels like Resident Evil Requiem is explicitly a sequel to any entries, you can definitely see the weight of the past entries hanging over Requiem. There's a lot of narrative rhyming going on even before you ever get to Raccoon City, though it never feels like it's something you're supposed to know. 

Umbrella is still evil and zombies are still meant to be shot at, and Capcom does a good job of making sure no character ever appears that you don't need a previous game to understand their deal. Even without playing Outbreak or Resident Evil 2, you get what's going on in Requiem. Leon doesn't have to be your best friend from years of adventure, he can just be a hot old dude who really hates zombies. 

 But still, if you have that emotional baggage on you it's really cool to see what Resident Evil Requiem is setting up. It's a very sincere love letter to the franchise, and hits a kind of emotional rawness that's a lot more than just "I clapped when I saw the thing". It helps that the game also does this on a mechanical level- you can feel exactly where they're developing ideas from, to the point that it feels like a declaration of love for decades worth of Resident Evil games. 

Resident Evil Requiem Verdict

Resident Evil Requiem is one of the most complete-feeling and solidly constructed entries in the Resident Evil series yet. Everything about it feels properly rounded, like it was designed knowing exactly how far they wanted to go with each of its key features. From its impeccable levels to even the story, it feels like everything works towards the exact story it wants to tell- and it has made every step of the journey enjoyable. 

As someone who comes at these games from the survival horror enthusiast side it's an utter delight- getting to explore every facet of the Survival Horror fantasy for exactly as long as you'd want to. This game isn't just two excellent Survival horror games taped together- Grace and Leon complement each other in a way that makes every session feel extremely engaging. 

So, you know. Like Devil May Cry 5. 

Game reviewed on PS5. Review code provided by Capcom.