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 has been 30 years in the making, and the ghost of each one echoes throughout. But for every moment of familiarity, there's a curious twist in the road – and I'm not just talking about Leon "hot uncle" Kennedy having aged like the finest bottle of Sanguis Virginis.

Combat and puzzle-wise, Capcom is on its A-game. This time, however, the story has me entranced. I know that sounds strange. Resident Evil is known for a lot of things, after all – scary monsters, gallant heroes and heroines, laying the blueprint down for the best survival horror games as we know them today – but it's not a game I play for the plot. Requiem spits at that notion. Or rather, it stabs it in the throat, guts it with a chainsaw, and spits on the viscera slithering out of its hollow corpse. I've been whipped between moments of pure terror, fist-pumping at some of the most ridiculous action I've ever seen, and become genuinely weepy as the characters' journeys entwine for moments of true, deep catharsis. A requiem, if you will.

Home to roost

The harsh lights of an office block; the moldering interior of a derelict hotel; a hardened special agent glancing at a fancy Hamilton wristwatch in the driver's seat of his Porsche (OK, the brand sponsors don't get in the way, but they do make me chuckle). Resident Evil Requiem delights in setting the stage for a soaring piece of survival horror theater. Desperate for a cure to his mysterious illness, Leon soon crosses paths with Grace Ashcroft – daughter of Resident Evil Outbreak's Alyssa – seemingly by accident. Both eventually get embroiled in the hunt for the mysterious Elpis, as familiar infected foes raise their ugly heads above the parapet to bring the series full circle.

Only, Requiem isn't nostalgia bait. It's simply tying up the many loose ends Capcom left in the rearview mirror. This hinges off the franchise's biggest modern day challenge: balancing action and horror while maintaining continuity, effectively merging the newer first-person horror of Resident Evil 7 with the more action-heavy Resident Evil 4 remake and the rest of the classic revivals. Survival horror has changed a lot throughout the Resident Evil timeline, making it tough for Resident Evil to define a consistent identity. Like a 12.7mm bullet blasted straight from its namesake revolver, Requiem is the solution we've been waiting for.

Simultaneous storytelling feels not only exciting and well-balanced, but highlights the core mechanical differences between its co-stars – depending on your point of view. Third-person mode as Leon feels sharper than ever, every bullet to the eye socket and fancy finisher move proving him a true action hero, while first-person puts you knee-deep in the carnage as Grace. (You can play both characters from either perspective, but these defaults are recommended for good reason). Both heroes make this feel like the best of Resident Evil's nightmarish worlds, evolving on the series' classic A/B route zapping while feeling seamless and cinematic.

The limited field of view as Grace in first-person makes every dark corner fill me with dread, straining my ears for the telltale foot-fall of an overpowered enemy I know I can't face. It reminds me of how I had to have a friend of mine chat with me over Discord while playing Resident Evil 7: Biohazard – which makes sense, given that both games are directed by the sadistically brilliant Koshi Nakanishi.

The good news is that even if you can't hack it for long, there's tension and terror aplenty to be found in third-person too, as getting to see around said dark corners means there's time to calm yourself and think strategically – though Grace will risk tripping and stumbling while running in this view.

Grace Ashcroft might be an FBI agent, but she's more the desk jockey variety. Her breath comes in ragged, hitched gasps as she swaps between her limited weapons or fashions makeshift shivs out of metal scrap. Her occupation means that she's resourceful in ways that outstrip Leon’s own capabilities. Where he needs gunpowder to craft bullets, a background in forensics allows Grace to use infected blood samples to make ammo, med injectors, healthpool-boosting steroids, and throwable items like acid vials and molotov cocktails as the story progresses. All that is atop my favorite tool in her arsenal: zombie-bursting hemolytic injectors for taking beasties out in stealth mode.

Even with her book smarts, Grace never feels powerful. Meanwhile, Leon Kennedy has never been more of an aggressively cool, professional badass. I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing him punch Blisterheads in the kidney from behind, pull them to the ground, and cleave their pustulent heads in two with a trusty hatchet one after another while muttering a one liner under his breath.

Leon's brutality is fueled by a propulsive urgency as he works against the clock. I've mentioned how his combat skill makes Requiem's combat feel closer to Resident Evil 6 at times, and this evolves the action star even beyond his prowess in Resident Evil 4 remake. Leon's limb blasting, melee clobbering, blade-to-skull combos are back and as fluid as ever, paired with a greater sense of improvisational awareness – he can throw exploding gas tanks at groups of oncoming enemies, pick up and hurl dropped enemy weapons right back at them, or just go carving-ham on zombies with his hatchet, never more than a quick sharpen away from use. Requiem is the goriest, most violent instalment in franchise history and it's delightful.

The feeling of being an unflinching, jaded hero is bolstered by how Leon goes slightly militarial. He has supply crates dotted around Raccoon City from which to purchase new guns, respective upgrade parts, ammo, and armor using credits earned from kills. A tactical tracker on his wrist gamifies the art of zombie slaying, with each kill corresponding to a number of credits to be redeemed at supply chests.

It's like playing a built-in Mercenaries mode, incentivizing players to mow down everything as Leon, contrasted by the fact that you simply can't do that as Grace from the off. He has a broad weapons arsenal to choose from, a seemingly unending assortment of punishing finisher animations to delight in, and as far as a character study into his traumatized mind, Capcom addresses his past with the care and attention he's so desperately deserved all these years.

Swansong

One of my favorite things about the best Resident Evil games is how they actively encourage repeat playthroughs. It's something I see in Requiem, too – the puzzles don't change between your first and subsequent playthroughs, meaning you get the same flow state feeling by simply memorizing puzzle solutions and location pathings.

Instead of a dedicated New Game Plus being created through loading into a completed save, as is the case in Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 Remake, subsequent new games will load in with a supply crate readily available for Leon from his first outing on the streets of Elbridge.

But while Resident Evil Requiem is my new favorite game in the series, it might not be one I replay as much as others. Now over halfway through my second Requiem playthrough, nothing has come close to that first fresh-eyed experience. There are multiple moments of nostalgic overwhelm that, as a Leon superfan whose first ever Resi game was Resident Evil 2, drove me to actual tears. On a repeat run, I'm still taken by the beauty of certain setpieces and the fine details therein, but I find myself chasing the dragon from time to time on hunt to recapture that earth-shattering crescendo.

Similarly, the emotions attached to the horror of Grace's sections feel far more manageable when revisited. That's a given, I suppose. So many of her segments revolve around memorizing enemy placements, knowing when to stealth, when to hoard bullets, and when to let them fly. It's still terrifying, don't get me wrong, but exposure therapy does wonders for the old nervous system.

When the sun sets on Grace and Leon's journey, it's impossible to deny the ambitious might of Capcom's latest. Resident Evil Requiem is a loving pastiche of the series' greatest hits without feeling derivative. It's a seesaw of terror and wonder, making it easy to suspend my disbelief when confronted with the zaniest of plot twists and somehow easier to savor more serious moments in turn. True to its Requiem name, there's pathos to be had here, and if spraying zombie brains over apocalyptic ruins isn't a great way to heal and move on, I don't know what is.

Somehow, it all sits comfortably beside a B-movie charm that's still present. After all, this is a game so anti-subtlety that its biggest baddest gun is also called Requiem. Just like that revolver that Grace struggles to even aim, it's well-worth pulling the trigger.