Deciding whether to destroy or release Elpis in Resident Evil Requiem is a pivotal moment in the game's story – nay, the series' story. This mysterious 'Elpis' is the reason Grace and Leon have found themselves in a whole bunch of trouble, and you hear the word a lot throughout the duration of RE9, but finally learning what it is and choosing its fate leads to one of two very different Requiem endings.
If you've arrived here having just paused Resident Evil Requiem in a panic, be sure you really want to know what happens when you choose either option. If you're planning on playing twice anyway, you can always pick either of them now and maintain the element of surprise. If you're sure you'd rather know, and you really, really don't mind having the endings spoiled, you're free to continue. You've been warned.
Should you destroy or release Elpis in Resident Evil Requiem?
We've got explainers for each of the endings below, but if you want the straightforward answer to which you should choose, then deciding to release Elpis is the best choice, resulting in the canonical 'good' ending.
By now, Grace has learned that not only is she not genetically special, nor the "key" to unleashing Ozwell Spencer's last great work – a virus capable of mind control – as Dr Victor Gideon and Wesker-clone Zeno might think, but she is privy to some vital information. Elpis means 'Hope', and the important vials are actually an antidote that cures all forms of mutating virus infection. With this in mind, destroying Elpis would be catastrophic and therefore results in the bad ending. Releasing it, meanwhile, gives you the chance to save Leon and Sherry with the antidote.
As we've explained below, though, destroying Elpis does allow you to jump back, or you can return to a previous save. So, if you'd rather ease your curiosity first, pick the bad ending before rounding your playthrough out via the good one.
Resident Evil Requiem endings
There are two Resident Evil Requiem endings:
- Destroy Elpis (bad ending)
- Release Elpis (good ending)
Don't worry too much about which you pick, as you can reload to a save just before the decision to see how the other choice might have panned out. But if you don't want the fuss, here's an overview of what goes down in each.
You've already been warned once or twice, but, again, there are serious spoilers here. Like, Resident Evil world-changing spoilers.
What happens if you release Elpis in Resident Evil Requiem?
Given what we know now, deciding to release Elpis is the obvious choice (unless maybe you're a chaotic-evil kind of person). You can pick up a vial of the cure and use it on Leon, returning the iconic hunk to his former self.
This ending is much longer than the short and punishing "destroy" ending, and it also ensures that everyone survives, including Sherry... as long as you can handle a chunky boss fight against a mutated Dr. Gideon after he unceremoniously beheads Zeno (aka Wesker 2.0).
When you do, there's a lengthy cutscene, and a post-credits scene, giving us (and Leon) the happy ending we all wanted, as Sherry and Leon are cured of their virus, and they also manage to bring Emily back from the dead, giving her a new life with Grace. Even Chris Redfield gets an honorable mention, and we can assume this ending has been created with a view to continuing the series, if Capcom decides they want to. After the reception to Requiem, it would be a no-brainer.
What happens if you destroy Elpis in Resident Evil Requiem?
If you choose to destroy Elpis despite what you now know (or haven't been paying attention to Spencer's big moment of videotaped redemption), Grace survives the destruction of ARK. Leon, however, sacrifices himself in the process, and gets murdered brutally by Zeno as the two plummet to the depths of the facility. Yes, you read that right, Leon dies.
The game ends on a painful cinematic, echoing the shattering hearts of Leon fans everywhere, but it's clear that this is not the canonical ending (phew!). What's more, after destroying Elpis, you'll be offered the choice to jump back to the crucial moment to do it right this time and get the good ending, instead.
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