Balancing horror and action isn't easy in a video game. Force the player to hide too much and it's hard to deliver catharsis. Give us too many weapons and armor, and there's no real sense of vulnerability. Many games have tried to find the perfect blend of these two apparently opposing concepts before, with a prime example of how not to do it being Capcom's 2012 dud Resident Evil 6.
But the developer has redeemed itself 14 years later with Resident Evil Requiem, a title that scares and thrills in generous but, most importantly, balanced measures. It takes the lauded tension of 2017's Resident Evil 7 and complements it with the pulsating combat of 2023's Resident Evil 4 Remake, and achieves this intoxicating mix by pairing two protagonists.
It takes two
Resident Evil Requiem review: "A soaring piece of survival horror theater that balances intense action with absolute terror across two heroes, and I can't pick a favorite"
Resident Evil Requiem's dual protagonist system means we have fear by the blood-filled-bucketload, while also offering plenty of action to enjoy. Both sides of this coin utilize a sense of large-scale chaos thanks to the scenarios each hero faces.
Grace Ashcroft's sections often encourage carefully treading through dimly-lit corridors, relying on stealth to sneak around or eliminate foes, even when dealing with rooms loaded with multiple monstrosities. On the flipside, Leon S. Kennedy doesn't need to be as stealthy, despite often being more outnumbered than Grace.
Armed with a litany of firearms, an easy-to-repair hatchet, and an array of martial arts moves that would leave John Wick envious, the former Raccoon City cop is a joy to play as in the most inhospitable situations, handling all threats with lethal action and cheesy one-liners. However, he's not invincible, and I've seen multiple 'YOU ARE DEAD' screens to attest to that.
By combining these two playstyles and punishing mistakes with gory death sequences, the result is that whether you're a skulking Grace or a swashbuckling Leon, the world of Requiem feels alive, enormous, and above all, scary. This sense of scale adds to the feeling of an impending apocalypse, something that Resident Evil 6 attempted back in 2012. Sadly, RE6 failed in part because it was never scary, regardless of who you played.
The game launched with several campaigns, and offered the choice of multiple playable characters. From returning veterans like Leon and Chris Redfield, to newcomers like Helena Harper and Piers Nivans, the various stories available to play featured no shortage of foes trying to destroy our protagonists. But none of them were ever scary. There was never any sense of claustrophobia or overwhelming odds, even when surrounded by reanimated corpses in a graveyard or under fire from bands of zombie gunners. (Ok, they aren't technically zombies, but the point still stands.)
Resident Evil 6 remains a low point for Capcom because of its inability to inflict fear, which is made even worse thanks to its dull combat being unable to compensate. The developer clearly attempted to adjust the balance from one end of the scale to the other, but the only direction anything moved in was down.
Victory through harmony
It wasn't the first time the Resident Evil series attempted to deliver a game that was both scary and action heavy. 2000's Code: Veronica also featured two protagonists sharing the spotlight, with the early game starring Claire Redfield before introducing her elder brother Chris later on.
The former begins at a disadvantage due to being imprisoned before attempting to escape an island overrun with zombies, while the latter swoops in to save the day. The different approaches partner well, in theory, but the limited gameplay mechanics of the franchise at the time – tank controls, fixed camera angles, limited inventory space – meant there wasn't a great deal of distinction between them.
So when the game swaps out Claire and hands you the keys to Chris, it's hard to fully invest in the notion that you're the reinforcements. Instead, you have more of the same – which is still good, to be fair – but it's a shallow alteration outside of the accompanying story beats. While later games like Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Village would better utilize multiple protagonists in a shared story, Code: Veronica's vision has finally been delivered in 2026.
Resident Evil Requiem takes the inadequacies of its ancestors and reworks them into meaningful, enjoyable elements. It throws you into creepy, labyrinthine spaces without removing your ability to fight, while also offering explosive set pieces and action-focused combat sections without sacrificing the horror. It finds the balance in a way RE6 and Code: Veronica never could, and the result is a celebration of what makes the series so compelling.
So as I start another run of Requiem, I'm grateful for what Code: Veronica and RE6 each tried to do, and I appreciate Capcom for sticking with these ideas. With the rough comes the smooth and, when all said and done, isn't that what balance is all about?
How many of these Resident Evil Requiem Easter eggs did you catch?
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