Leon S. Kennedy returns as the fearless hero mowing down hundreds of zombies. The latest Resident Evil is already a contender for Game of the Year, and it's only February.
Players haven't visited the famous Raccoon City, where the zombie outbreak of the Resident Evil universe started, in this millennium. That changes with Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth main installment in the successful horror-action series.
Returning to the zombie-ravaged city is Leon S. Kennedy, the face of the series and protagonist of Resident Evil 2, 4, and 6. For Leon, it's a tough return, as he's spent his life regretting his inability to save more people during those fateful days in Raccoon City. When he goes back, something there surprises him. What that is, you'll find out in the game, as developers from Capcom have banned journalists from writing more about the second half of the game.
That's what Resident Evil is about
The story takes a few surprising turns, but overall, it's not as exceptional compared to other installments. It's a traditional, chaotic tale with illogical character decisions and many unresolved plot mysteries. This time, it's particularly noticeable since the creators don't even answer multiple major questions posed throughout the game. What's interesting is the return to Raccoon City and the wrapping up of some plot lines with the Umbrella organization, responsible for creating the zombie T-Virus.
Few people play Resident Evil for its intricate story, though. What's most important is the gameplay and ideally, the blend of horror and action. Following fantastic previous games in the series, it's no surprise that Capcom nailed it once again here.
It's amazing how they manage to release a new Resident Evil almost every year, and nearly every single one is fantastic. For comparison, since 2018 when Rockstar Games released its latest game Red Dead Redemption, Capcom has released five outstanding Resident Evil games (Village, remakes of 2, 3, 4, and Requiem).
The new Requiem offers enough new elements to attract new players while still surprising long-time fans. The game is divided between action and horror segments. The action is controlled by Leon, while you experience the full horror as FBI agent Grace Ashcroft. She's investigating a mystery of a strange infection killing people who survived the events in Raccoon City 30 years ago.
Newbie Grace and the Amazing Horror Atmosphere
Grace finds herself at a special clinic, facing mutated humans, zombies, and other creatures. Capcom offers the possibility to switch views with both characters. For Grace, the first-person view is more engaging and intensifies the horror atmosphere.
Grace is new to the series and lacks experience fighting monsters, making her sections more tense and challenging. Players will sometimes have to choose retreat, hiding, stealth, and avoiding zombies since they might not have enough ammo.
An interesting novelty is that with the latest zombie virus, people retain some of their traits. For example, one zombie constantly turns off lights, while another, who used to be a janitor, keeps scrubbing the bloody floor. Such things can be used tactically in stealth.
Apart from some harmless knife attacks, Grace can't engage in close combat or dodge. She gradually gains more ways to destroy enemies, but she never turns into Rambo. Some players may not like this, but it's a pure survival horror experience, which is even more intense in Insanity mode (more on that later).
Gameplay Innovations
A big new feature is blood collection from zombies. It remains on the ground after a fight, and Grace can use it to craft useful items for defense and attack. As is usual in Resident Evil games, you’ll need to unlock it in a safe, which requires a password found after a mini-boss battle after unlocking a door with a hidden key.
It's a classic survival horror formula that these game creators have mastered. In the first half of the game, you'll be running around the clinic trying to find all items and secrets. The focus on puzzles is reduced this time, and they're more straightforward, but that's not much of an issue.
Special Agent Leon S. Kennedy
On the other hand, there's Leon, who can definitely go full Rambo mode. Leon starts with a wider arsenal of weapons and is very effective in close-range combat. Unlike Grace, he can silently take down zombies from behind (Grace needs a special injection for that), thanks to an axe that replaces the knife from Resident Evil 4.
This opens new combat possibilities since you can sharpen it anytime, and it never breaks. It can block most attacks and is used for brutal takedowns of staggering zombies. Animations change based on the angle of attack.
Leon starts with a large inventory, unlike Grace, who must gradually find expansions to carry more items and ammo. With each segment played as Leon, he becomes an increasingly unstoppable hero who can tackle even huge monsters, especially in the second part of the game set in Raccoon City.
Leon can upgrade weapons and purchase ammo, but creators balanced this with more zombies. Since they’re almost everywhere in Raccoon City, it won't be easy. The segments in this city are extensive, and although it’s not entirely open-world, you can expect interconnected parts of the city and a return to the legendary location – the police station from the second installment.
There are a few other areas or mini-locations, but most of your time is spent at the clinic with Grace and in the city with Leon. Playing as Grace represents a perfect balance between action and survival horror, highlighting atmosphere and the tense design of narrow corridors. The combat system’s complexity flourishes in Leon’s sections.
Leon is agile, quick, strong, with specific animations that make fights a feast for the eyes. His control is intuitive, very smooth, and most importantly, fun. Playing as Leon means diving into a horde of enemies, blocking attacks that would kill other characters, and feeling cool while doing it.
Besides Leon, you'll also enjoy another character from previous games, although the creators decided to ignore the rest for some reason. It feels unnatural since almost all main characters in the series are connected with Raccoon City. The issue is that Leon and the other character don’t even mention them, even though they've survived hell in identical locations as in the new game.
It feels like a situation in the Marvel universe where a hero faces the threat of universe or city destruction, but no other hero comes to help because it's a solo movie, not an Avengers team-up.
Diverse Locations and Level Design
Rhodes Hill Clinic is polished to perfection. There are narrow corridors, halls, secret rooms, chambers, and underground areas with hidden threats. There's room for stealth, exploration of secrets, combat, and plenty of horror moments that will give you goosebumps.
The design and layout of the levels in devastated Raccoon City are well done. With its post-apocalyptic look, it almost feels like a new location rather than a recycled one. The game significantly changes here, not only in the environment and gameplay but also in pacing. Later, you'll encounter some dull and slow sections.
Resident Evil Requiem is a series known for its replayability, and Requiem is no exception.
However, there’s no traditional New Game Plus. Instead, there’s an Insanity mode that changes the game so much I thought it was bugged. Right from the start, you’re surprised by different zombie placements and items (including weapons you won't see for a while), significantly increased difficulty (sometimes six headshots won’t kill a zombie), and much fewer supplies. Insanity is a mode for true and experienced survival horror fans that will make you sweat.
PS5 Pro at Maximum, Gorgeous Visuals, and Near-Flawless Technical State
You’ll also sweat at the gorgeous 3D models of zombies and characters. They’re the most detailed in the series yet, best enjoyed on PC or PS5 Pro. We reviewed it on the currently most powerful console on the market. The PS5 Pro offers two graphics modes. Quality mode gives you 4K 60fps, while Performance mode targets over 90fps at 4K resolution but without ray-tracing.
Visually, it meets high standards, focusing mainly on lighting and detailed textures. During the review, we encountered two technical glitches. In one case, the sound of a character communicating with Leon via radio didn't work, and in another, some gun stocks were stretched to over a meter. These are issues that might not even be present on release day and don't detract from an otherwise flawless technical state.
A Few Negatives Keeping It from a Perfect Score
However, some shortcomings are present. The game lacks several extra weapons, the aforementioned legendary series characters, and even basic NPCs or non-playable, side characters. Apart from certain villains and the prologue when Grace and Leon are on the streets of the city, you won't meet almost any other living soul aside from a brief conversation with one character.
A slight disappointment is also a third, yet-to-be-revealed location, which is repetitive within the series, and the creators couldn’t come up with anything new for it, so it might as well have been cut from any previous installment without noticing a difference.
The content that is in the game is nearly perfect. The factors pulling the game away from a perfect score are what we wish were included, meaning more weapons, more characters, perhaps another interesting location, and ideally the popular Mercenaries mode for the series. Rumor has it that some DLC might come out this year, hopefully offering something more substantial.
Resident Evil Requiem is a game that plays beautifully, looks amazing, and does everything we want from it perfectly. It offers a thrilling and adrenaline-pumping mix of action and horror, leaving you feeling tense in one moment as you wander in the dark alley full of monsters and then blowing their heads off with shotguns in the next.
The title has a sufficient story that is of standard series quality and brilliantly designed game environments that will delight series fans. If you watched the trailers, you've only seen a little because thoroughly exploring the game can take you over 12 hours. Requiem is a must-play that will undoubtedly compete for Game of the Year awards alongside GTA VI, Saros, and other titles. 9.5/10
