I've said it once and I'll say it again: Resident Evil Requiem doesn't need Leon Kennedy. Get him out of here! Director Koshi Nakanishi has said from Resident Evil 9's announcement that the series should "scare the hell out of you," and I'm sorry, but I'm a lot less scared when I'm playing as someone as hot, cool-headed, and unstoppable as Leon.
As someone who suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, I relate to new protagonist Grace Ashcroft after seeing the Resident Evil Requiem trailer that dropped during Gamescom Opening Night Live 2025.
The trailer shows Grace working from her laptop in a hotel bed when her mom, Alyssa Ashcroft, one of the playable characters from Resident Evil Outbreak, appears and urges her to go to sleep. Grace gets a mysterious phone call, the power goes out, and Alyssa mouths to herself, "they're coming."
Just breathe
As Alyssa guides Grace toward the exit of the hotel, they witness the building's manager get suffocated by a hooded figure, an understandably anxiety-inducing event for Grace, who appears to experience a panic attack as Alyssa tries to slow her breathing.
Compare that to Leon, who's never appeared to be even visibly shaken in the face of absolute abominations like Nemesis and Mr. X, Lickers and G-creatures, and a giant, mutant alligator. Leon just doesn't give a shit, which is undoubtedly cool as hell but also pretty boring after decades of playing as him.
It's less about Grace's anxiety and more about Leon's lack thereof, no matter how dire the circumstances. Yes, I'll probably relate more to Grace as someone who would collapse into a puddle of my own making in a similar situation. But in general, isn't it just more scary to play a horror game as someone who's, you know, scared?
Shake with me
Resident Evil 7, also directed by Nakanishi, is one of the scariest games I've ever played, in large part because it places you in the shoes of a relatively normal human being thrust into unimaginably horrific situations. But even Ethan Winters shows some impressive resilience in the face of adversity, perhaps aided by regenerative abilities and superhuman strength granted to him by his Mold infection. So, in hindsight, maybe not such a normal dude.
But that's my point! I want to feel vulnerable, outmatched, even defenseless, in Resident Evil. Remember the one scene in Resident Evil Village with the giant baby you can't fight back against? Terrifying! That's what I want all of Resident Evil Requiem to feel like. Helpless, desperate, claustrophobic.
Cry in the face of danger
Just imagine playing through a nightmare scenario dreamt up by Nakanishi, determined to make the scariest Resident Evil yet, as someone who isn't a supercharged mutant or fearless series mainstay laden with inches-thick plot armor. That's what I'm hoping we get in Resident Evil Requiem, and by all accounts, that is precisely what we're getting.
We don't know a whole lot about Grace's backstory yet. We know she's a rookie FBI agent with some field experience, but otherwise she seems to be a reserved, timid Raccoon City survivor traumatized by her mother's death and prone to pretty severe anxiety attacks. I'm not saying she doesn't know how to empty a clip, but she definitely seems like the most human Resident Evil protagonist we've seen so far, and that relatability elevates the fear factor to a whole new level.
I was already on board with Grace as the new face of Resident Evil before, despite my persisting suspicion that Leon will ultimately steal the spotlight as a surprise playable character, but this latest trailer putting her precarious mental state on full display makes me all the more nervously hyped for Resident Evil Requiem and the future of the series.
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