4 hours in, Resident Evil Requiem has already trumped Resident Evil 7 as the scariest yet

I've been taking my time with Resident Evil Requiem. It's hard not to. While the trailers have promised me plenty of rollicking action as super agent Leon Kennedy, the bulk of these opening hours have focused on newcomer Grace Ashford. An FBI Agent, she's usually a deskbound data analyst. When an investigation into a mysterious death at a derelict hotel goes awry, she's trapped in an old-fashioned care center during a lockdown, and must survive shambling undead while getting her mitts on special keys to unlock the way out – it's a classic Resident Evil set-up.

What's less classic about Resident Evil Requiem is the presentation of this depowered horror. Its first-person perspective builds on the one introduced in Resident Evil 7, itself a back-to-fundamentals take on the series that began with terrifying horror, seeing everyman hero Ethan Winters hounded through a southern American house by its evil residents. In Resident Evil Requiem, exploring the care center is just as scary, and so far it's managed to keep that tension up through several hours of exploration in a way I felt Resident Evil 7 moved on from a touch too quickly.

Meat the residents

As Grace, who has limited weapons, limited ammo, limited health, and limited capacity to speedily evade (switch from the recommended first-person view to third-person and she can even literally trip and tumble to the floor), every encounter feels dangerous. The best survival horror games often mix evasion with being able to fight back. It's not just special enemies I need to evade, but even the most basic T-virus shambling zombie can give Grace a bad time. Trapped in a mental loop of their activities in life, trying to weave between zombies in a cleaning spiral, or baiting away ones attracted to turning off light switches can be vital for conserving Grace's dwindling resources.

From larger groups to special infected, Grace's time in the care center has only gotten more dangerous as I've unlocked my way through its wings in my search for puzzle items. Hulking named enemies patrol certain areas, which seem to change as I get further in. A zombie chef, for instance, at first makes it tough for me to sneak through a kitchen, but I next run into him patrolling near the walk-in freezer just as I finally get an item that will let me inside. Not to mention a handful of weaker enemies that pursued me so relentlessly I had little choice but to blast 'em begin to get back up stronger and deadlier than before…

Sure, part of Resident Evil Requiem's fear comes from not knowing the limits to the horror that haunts me – but the added complexity and density compared to Resident Evil 7 makes it feel tenser than ever. Some enemies seemingly can't be killed, others seem to only be stunned by my strongest ammo. Would more shots take them out? Do I have the room to waste resources trying, and potentially attracting more danger? Where Resident Evil 7 ramped up the action fairly quickly after its stunning opening, the presence of Leon Kennedy's sections – sparse though they are at this point – means that Grace's can remain more horror focused.

Just after 4 hours into the game, Grace enters an extremely dark basement, full of relentless undead and one horrible hole-hopping stalker enemy who can't follow me into the light. The only problem is, down here, fuses are few and far between, and need to be ferried between areas to power them up to progress. It feels like a cross between Amnesia: The Bunker and Resident Evil 7's scariest Saw-like moments, and is probably the scariest section of Grace's playthrough yet. I've been spending plenty of time just standing in the light near the fuse boxes, collecting myself before I pop it out and half-sneak, half-jog to the next beacon of safety, paranoia gnawing at me because I can't decide if I can better handle quiet stealth or should just make a break for it.

As the exit to the care center draws closer, I get the sense I'm near wrapping up Grace's escape. I'm fully expecting – in typical Resident Evil fashion – for the back half to get more bombastic and action-packed, and for Leon to step into the scene more fully. I'm also expecting the horror of the first playthrough to lose some bite once I'm pushed at the boundaries some more on repeat runs. But, with the likes of Resident Evil 7, I began to get a sense of those limits even a couple of hours into playing it for the first time. Here, in Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom has managed to keep it up for much longer, and I'm hoping that can be sustained through its atmosphere for a long time to come. While Resident Evil can be a great action horror series, it's great to be reminded that the best Resident Evil games know how to chill you to the bone as well.

In our Resident Evil Requiem review we called it "a soaring piece of survival horror theater". The best Japanese horror games have scared me like nobody's business – so consider checking out some more if you like to feel the terror!