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Like so many of us, I began my journey at midnight when Resident Evil Requiem launched. Unfortunately, it took me longer than I anticipated to actually clear the game but I reached my end goal in 10 hours. Now, I get to write our official Resident Evil Requiem review. Let’s get into it.
Story
Let’s get into one of the biggest aspects of this game, the story. You start off as Grace Ashcroft, daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft, a (paid link) Resident Evil Outbreak survivor. A, somewhat, simple outing to a familiar hotel for an FBI analyst turns into much more when she is kidnapped by Victor Gideon and wakes up in the Rhode Hill Care Facility. From there, she starts her survival to escape and find answers.
On the flip side, we are reunited with Leon, a fan favorite from the series who you may recognize from (paid links) Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 6. He is back and he’s out for blood. This version of Leon is well trained with an arsenal of weapons ready. He is tracking Victor and henceforth, sees him taking Grace away on the streets. Soon, he goes to Rhode Hill to search for him there, and finds, you guessed it, Grace. He rescues her, gives her his Requiem gun and thus the real adventure begins.
Leon struggles with being infected, which we later find to be the T-Virus. Grace is thrown into this world without a clue as to why. The duo seems put of sorts but by the end, Grace proved herself to be an amazing new character within the universe, one who I hope we see return. Leon…well, I can’t ruin all the excitement can I?
The story delivers a gripping tale that keeps you wanting more. It’s filled with plenty of back story that you find through documents laying around and nods to the overall series if you look close enough.
Gameplay
The gameplay for this Resident Evil Requiem is split between two characters, Grace and Leon. Each focuses on different genres, horror and action. So, for this segment, I’ll divide it into two sections too, focusing on each character’s sections.
Grace
Grace’s segments are horror themed and that’s very clear from the beginning. You can choose to play in third or first person for either character but I chose to remain in first since it only amplified the horror around me. It feels like a mixture of what Resident Evil 7 was while going back to the series roots. Scarce ammo, limited inventory and having to decide what enemies to run past and which to fight.
The Girl a.k.a. Marie chasing us gave me the chills and I absolutely dreaded when I heard her chains. I knew I had to book it or potentially get my head butten off. This is just one of the many monsters Grace must face in her survival and sometimes, hiding really is the better option. You see the return of classic puzzles, funky doors that need unique keys or items to open and rewards if you dare to challenge what you’re afraid of.
Leon
Leon’s sections are all action and plenty of it. From the first time you play as him until the last, there’s always plenty to do and take down. He has an arsenal of weapons that you can buy via credits, which you get from killing the infected. Then you can further those guns via upgrades that increase rate of fire, accuracy, fire power and more. Then, of course, we have the hatchet.
This was such a cool weapon to have, especially when you could just swing it about when you wanted, which I did. It made for good parries and some quick damage. Leon faces some pretty big bosses and delivers some epic moments. Such as returning to R.P.D. Which was very cool and full of nostalgia. Leon’s gameplay offers players a breath of fresh air after all the tense moments with Grace, showing us exactly what this hardened veteran of the series is capable of.
Graphics
I opted for the Switch 2 version simply because I wanted to play in handheld mode but have the option of swapping to the TV if I desired. What I got was actually quite pleasing. The Switch 2 version holds up well and despite some minor setbacks, it’s worthy of being played either in handheld or docked. A majority of my playthrough was spent in handheld, which I found to be pleased with. The dips in fps never bothered me nor did they interrupt my gameplay.
Soundtrack
Requiem’s soundtrack is top notch, delivering just the right amount of action themed and horror. The music is unsettling when it needs to be, a soft tune when it should be and full of action when it could be. I especially found the melody we heard while exploring Rhodes Hill to be calming but very uneasy.
Controls
These feel tight and right where they should be, regardless if you’re playing with the (paid link) Joycons or (paid link) pro controller. They’re responsive, customizable and easy to get used to after a few minutes with not many wrenches thrown into along the way. Meaning, what you see in the first hour of the game is what you get, so get comfortable and enjoy.
Replayability
Resident Evil Requiem offers much replayability in the form of goals and unlocking more content and bonuses. For example, if you get enough CP, you can unlock an unbreakable knife, infinite ribbon for classic mode or infinite ammo. These achievements can be reached via doing playthroughs without collecting blood, healing or speed running the game in 4 hours. Personally, I don’t know I’ll even be able to do that myself but I find it incredibly fascinating that people have.
So this game becomes something you can easily replay 3-6 times before you finish everything, depending on how you handle it. For example, you could try to not heal and not collect blood in one playthrough or split it up and do that in two different ones, allowing you to not heal but to collect blood and vice versa. Then you have to add difficulties into the mix, so the possibilities for replay are plentiful and vast.
Even as i’m writing this Resident Evil Requiem review, I am still going through my 2nd playthrough, but near the end. I have at least one if not two more I want to do. The game offers so much replay value.
Scores
Story: 10/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 8/10
Soundtrack: 9.5/10
Controls: 10/10
Replayability: 10/10
Overall:
Conclusion
Resident Evil Requiem really left a mark. It’s the type of game you want to play again, over and over, just trying to see every piece of it come together. There’s secrets to find, lore to enjoy and gameplay that doesn’t quite get old. If you’re yet to buy the game, it’s available on Steam, (paid links) Playstation 5, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch 2. Make sure to stay tuned for future articles and thanks for reading our Resident Evil Requiem review.
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