Resident Evil Requiem Review: Horror, Action, and Legacy

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La saga Resident Evil celebrates three decades in top form And Capcom has decided to celebrate with a release that doesn't just look to the past. Resident Evil Requiem arrives as the ninth numbered installment, building on the franchise's legacy but embracing very modern ideas, both in terms of narrative, gameplay, and technical aspects.

In its first few weeks, the game has shown that it is not just a simple tribute: more than five million copies sold In just a few days, and with an enthusiastic reception from both longtime fans and newcomers, Requiem has established itself as a true event for the series, blending first-person horror, third-person action, and a story that closes important chapters in this beloved B-movie universe.

A memorable start and a very personal premise

The story begins in 2026 with Grace Ashcroft, FBI intelligence analyst scarred by past traumaHer superior assigns her to investigate a series of murders at the Wrenwood Hotel, a place cursed for her: her mother, reporter Alyssa Ashcroft, was murdered there eight years earlier. The game quickly establishes itself as one of the best openings in the series, with a dark and deeply personal tone.

Meanwhile, Leon S. Kennedy enters the scene, sent to the same area to investigate the disappearance of a police officerThe first encounter between Leon and Grace occurs just as the scientist Victor Gideon, a textbook villain with mad scientist tendencies, kidnaps Grace in front of Leon and disappears towards the Rhodes Hill sanatorium, a sinister medical center linked to Umbrella and the omnipresent T-virus.

From that moment on, Requiem is structured as a Dual narrative that alternates between Grace and LeonThe story takes place decades after the Raccoon City incident, now a devastated exclusion zone, and links the events of Resident Evil 7 and Village to the series' classic past. It conveys a sense of "end of an era" or a significant shift in the timeline (see the chronological order of Resident Evil).

Capcom explicitly asks us to be careful with spoilers, and rightly so: The plot is full of nods, revelations, and fan service that close old arcs and sow new ones. Mysteries that have been hanging in the air for years are resolved, the legacy of Raccoon City is reinterpreted, and, without going into details, even Leon's health is toyed with, along with the possibility that the title "Requiem" itself alludes to his fate.

Narratively, the tone is sometimes reminiscent of what Metal Gear Solid 4 meant for its saga: before and after feeling, reaping all that has been sown and a partial farewell to certain storylines, without that meaning burying the franchise by any means.

Grace Ashcroft: survival horror in the flesh

Grace is the game's big surprise and, for many, the true protagonist. She is not a seasoned soldier or field agentbut rather an office analyst forced to confront a horror directly linked to her past. Capcom has built her as the complete counterpoint to Leon: vulnerable, frightened, but capable of facing her fear when necessary.

By default, the Grace sections are played in first person and embrace the purest survival horrorThe studio itself recommends playing it this way, and it shows: narrow corridors, rooms full of nooks and crannies to hide in, enemies that are difficult to defeat, and a constant feeling of vulnerability. Ammunition is scarce, and every direct confrontation seems like a bad idea.

One of the gameplay highlights is the device of blood draw that Grace carries with herWith it, you can collect blood from corpses and pools to synthesize ammunition, healing items, and various upgrades. This mechanic turns each defeated zombie into a potential "resource," incentivizing you to sometimes risk emptying your magazine because you can later recoup some of that investment in the form of bullets or medicine.

The system goes beyond simple crafting: through a biochemical analysis minigame, Grace unlocks special recipes and permanent upgradessuch as increased maximum health or greater firepower. It's an interesting twist on the classic Resident Evil resource management, somewhat inheriting the Genesis device from Revelations, but much more integrated into the progression.

In terms of gameplay, Grace feels clumsy and human. Her movements have inertia, His hands tremble as he points.His melee attacks are limited to desperate shoves, and his ragged breathing and nervous groans are constantly audible. In chases, he tends to stumble and fall perhaps too often, something some players perceive as a somewhat forced ploy to heighten the tension, but which also reinforces that feeling of utter vulnerability.

All of this shines especially brightly in Rhodes Hill, a gigantic sanatorium that stands as the grand central stage of Grace's campaignIt's a building-pastime in the style of a classic mansion: themed keys, shortcuts that open after hours, initially inaccessible areas that you revisit later much better armed and with new dangers.

The behavior of the enemies in this environment is another of the game's great successes. Zombies retain echoes of their former livesA cleaner who keeps trying to mop the floor, an orderly turning off lights as if he were cutting corners on the bill, a cook chopping meat tirelessly. Some of these special enemies have very defined routines; learning and exploiting them is part of the overall puzzle of the sanatorium.

Among them are figures like the gigantic cook of Rhodes Hill, armed with an enormous butcher's knife, or a disturbing singer who sings melodies while chasing you and lets out delirious laughs when she stops to look at you. Getting too close is usually synonymous with certain deathAnd the tension generated by these persistent presences is some of the best the franchise has seen since Resident Evil 7.

Leon S. Kennedy: precise action and great fan service

In contrast to Grace's raw fear, Leon's sections opt for a much more action-oriented third-person approachA direct successor to Resident Evil 4 and its remake, Capcom suggests playing with an over-the-shoulder camera, a suggestion that makes perfect sense: you fire a lot more bullets here.

Leon is now a veteran in his late forties, with years of combat behind him and a weary hero's attitude that he maintains, however, dark humor and signature jokesHis animations exude experience: firm hands when aiming, fluid reloads, spinning kicks, and brutal finishers that position him as the "John Wick" of the saga.

Their arsenal is extensive: pistols, shotguns, light machine guns, sniper rifles, and, as a major new addition, a multi-purpose axe which is useful for stealth, parries, and melee combatWith it, you can open cabinets and access points that Grace can't reach, finish off enemies, and deflect attacks at the last second to counterattack. The later sections require mastering this parrying system if you want to survive certain encounters.

Leon's progression revolves around a system of experience points earned by eliminating enemiesAt certain terminals in the environment, these points can be exchanged for ammunition, new weapons, and equipment upgrades. The merchant and embedded jewels from Resident Evil 4 are gone, replaced by a more direct and arcade-style system that better suits the frenetic pace of its campaign.

In contrast to Grace, The sections with Leon are less prone to meticulous backtracking and much more to the action spectacle. Its main maps are large and relatively open areas, with combat arenas designed for facing large groups, echoing the "fear of groups" that Mikami spoke of when defining RE4. The game rewards fearless shooting, as long as you manage your inventory well.

That doesn't mean Leon is invulnerable: if you get overconfident, Zombies are still able to corner you and wipe out half a health bar in a couple of hits. And although its campaign maintains a similar length to Grace's, many players have pointed out that it leaves you wanting more: its main section shines when the map is fully opened up, but it doesn't quite have enough time to display as much variety and progression as a full Resident Evil 4.

Playable duality: two games in one, interchangeable cameras, and a hybrid design

The great experiment of Requiem is its hybrid structure that alternates between horror and actionInstead of choosing a campaign at the beginning like in Resident Evil 2, the game itself switches you between characters as the story demands, maintaining an overall balance that is only slightly broken in the first half, with much more time spent with Grace than with Leon.

Both share certain common bases: inventory management with limited spaceResource crafting, special keys, and environmental puzzles are all part of the gameplay. But even there, Capcom introduces subtle differences to reinforce each character's personality. In Grace's sections, each item occupies an individual slot; with Leon, the inventory adopts the classic RE4 briefcase-style grid, with pieces of varying sizes and a constant, small-scale Tetris-like gameplay.

Another new feature is the possibility of Switch between first and third person at any time for both characters. In practice, the camera angles are so well implemented that they almost justify replaying the game with the perspectives reversed: first-person for Leon, third-person for Grace. The only downside is that the change is made through the options menu; a quick shortcut to switch between perspectives on the fly without breaking the flow is sorely missed.

The level design maintains that duality. With Grace, environments predominate. labyrinthine, vertical and full of shortcuts which gradually reveal themselves, with many doors locked on the first visit and secrets only found by exploring every nook and cranny. With Leon, the environments are designed to unleash his offensive potential, featuring wide-open spaces and waves of enemies that almost always appear after pressing a switch or collecting a key item—a tactic that loses its novelty after the third time.

In terms of puzzles, Requiem is somewhat conservative. The main puzzles are well-measured but not particularly challenging.as they block the story's progress. There are some more interesting secondary locations—safes with hidden combinations nearby (see the safe codesThere are some specific visual puzzles—but overall, there's less emphasis on making the player think than in other classic titles. The feeling is that the map design compensates for this lack of complexity with very satisfying exploration.

The length is above average for the modern series. Depending on the play style and difficulty, Finishing the campaign can take 13 to 20 hoursThose who go straight to the objective will take around 10-14 hours; those who explore thoroughly, investigate every corner and solve all the secondary puzzles can easily spend 17-20 hours, a remarkable figure for a Resident Evil focused on campaign.

RE Engine at its best: graphics, art design, and unforgettable enemies

Requiem pushes the RE Engine to its limits like never before. Capcom created this engine with the idea that its teams could bring any visual madness to life.And here it's clear they've spared no expense. The sets of the hotel, the sanatorium, and the other locations are overflowing with detail: unique furniture, believable dirt, dust particles floating in the light, reflections, and plays of shadow that create a truly unsettling atmosphere.

Artistic design is committed to a Dirty and oppressive realism, with constant nods to classic settings Without being exact copies. Old clinics reminiscent of the Raccoon City police station in their layout, sewers instantly recognizable to any veteran fan, endless corridors where each closed door seems to conceal something worse than the last. It's easy to feel a certain déjà vu if you've been following the series for decades, but overall, the line between homage and repetition is well-drawn.

The main characters look fantastic. Grace's facial expressions convey fear, anger, and determination. With an impressive level of detail, its actress, Angela Sant'Albano, nails both the voice acting and the motion capture, with stutters, ragged breaths, and a gradual evolution in her approach to horror. Leon, for his part, shows the passage of time in every wrinkle and every weary gesture, but he remains the same charismatic icon he's always been.

The specific animations are a delight. When Grace points, and her hands are visibly trembling.The game makes you feel his panic. When Leon reloads with his flashlight on, instead of magically disappearing, he rests it between his neck and shoulder so he can use both hands—a minimal gesture that adds enormous realism. The melee finishers, the feline dodges, and the kicks against walls or railings reinforce the feeling of controlling a professional.

The enemy roster is one of the best things about the game. The zombies show torn skin, grotesque deformities, and animations consistent with his "past life"Beyond their curious work routines, their combat behavior is surprisingly natural: they trip over each other, can push and throw one another to the ground, and if one fires erratically, they might inadvertently hit another infected. Blood and mutilation have gameplay significance: the classic pool of blood that forms under a corpse is once again the indicator that it is truly dead.

As for bosses and special enemies, Capcom allows itself moments of macabre beauty worthy of a feverish nightmareThe starkness of certain transformations, the use of brown and gray colors in a Raccoon City ravaged beyond recognition, or the constant presence of figures that seem to have come out of a John Carpenter film, all contribute to a very dark overall tone, even by the franchise's standards.

Sound, music and top-notch Spanish dubbing

The sound design is another pillar of the game, especially in Grace's sections. Requiem opts for a highly crafted ambient sound. It prioritizes creaks, distant footsteps, breathing, and thumps over an intrusive soundtrack. In many corridors, silence and occasional moans are more effective than any musical theme in keeping you on edge.

Playing with headphones makes a huge difference. Locate an enemy by the sound of their footsteps or a growl on the other side of a door It becomes part of the gameplay itself, especially when zombies are patrolling rooms and you have to time your movements based on what you hear. More than one memorable scare comes precisely from underestimating an echo or misinterpreting a distant sound.

The soundtrack comes into play at specific moments: secure rooms with classic chords from the sagaKey cinematic scenes and, above all, action sequences with Leon feature music where the intensity rises, making you feel like you're in the middle of an ultra-violent action film. The balance between oppressive silence and powerful music is very well measured.

As for the Spanish dubbing, Capcom has pulled out all the stops. Lorenzo Beteta returns to voice Leon S. KennedyLeon brings a touch of irony and weariness that perfectly suits this veteran character, while Grace delivers a compelling performance that reflects both his vulnerability and his growing strength. The supporting cast also boasts recognizable voices, with actors like Daniel García in smaller roles adding to the overall quality.

The audio mix is ​​meticulously crafted: The scares don't rely on excessive, jarring volume increases.The voices are clear without needing to touch the controller during each cutscene, and the ambient sound design remains prominent without overpowering the dialogue. It's one of those games where you can tell the sound team had the time and resources to polish every last detail.

Technical performance and versions: from high-end PCs to consoles and Switch 2

In purely technical terms, Resident Evil Requiem is a a marvel that pushes modern hardware to its limitsOn PC, the game offers a very extensive options menu, with support for DLSS, FSR, ray tracing, and full path tracing. The result, on a powerful machine, is a near-photorealistic image with hyper-realistic materials, accurate reflections, and global illumination that creates incredibly oppressive atmospheres.

In high-end configurations—for example, with an RTX 5080 and a latest-generation Ryzen processor—, It is possible to run the game at ultrawide resolutions with path tracing and DLSS while maintaining very high frame rates., around 170-190 FPS in quality mode and exceeding 350-400 FPS if the visual fidelity level is lowered (check the latest NVIDIA 595.76 driversHowever, VRAM consumption easily exceeds 15 GB when everything is set to maximum.

If path tracing is disabled and ray tracing is kept on high with DLSS in performance mode, The visual quality remains excellent.Although there is a noticeable decrease in fidelity in very specific elements, such as some mirror reflections that lose definition and look almost like watercolors, aside from those specific details, the game maintains a spectacular appearance even on more modest settings.

On mid-range PCs compatible with image reconstruction techniques, Requiem still runs with great dignity. at the cost of sacrificing some sharpness and shadow qualityIt's a title that scales well precisely because its scenarios are very focused and it doesn't need to render huge open worlds, which allows more resources to be dedicated to making the most of every corridor and room.

On consoles like PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, the game remains at 60 very stable FPSEven in areas densely populated with enemies or effects, loading times are minimal, and according to published tests, the experience is smooth and solid, without any noticeable stuttering. On Nintendo Switch 2, the version is surprisingly well-maintained despite the limitations of the handheld hardware, once again demonstrating the versatility of the RE Engine.

In addition, Requiem also arrives in services like GeForce Now and PC via Steamfurther expanding its accessibility. The overall stability, the absence of serious bugs, and the speed of shader compilation in most configurations reinforce the feeling that this is a very polished release from a technical standpoint.

Price, duration, modes, and value for the Resident Evil fan

Capcom places Resident Evil Requiem in the standard price range of current AAA gamesIt costs around €69,99 on PC, €79,99 as the official MSRP on consoles (although it's often sold in physical stores for around €65), and there's a slightly more expensive Deluxe Edition with cosmetics and extras. It's a significant outlay, but in line with other major releases on the market.

The question is whether it's worth it, and the answer, especially from a fan's perspective, is quite clear: Yes, there's content, care, and replayability here.In addition to the main campaign of more than ten hours, the game includes several difficulty levels, including two "normal" modes: a modern one, with abundant checkpoints, and a classic one, with limited saving via ink ribbons that fully recovers the tension of the old days.

The presence of unlockables, an extra difficulty mode after finishing the game And the option to replay by changing camera angles or focusing on improving times and routes reinforces the feeling that this is a game designed for more than one playthrough. For those who enjoy exploring every corner and discovering all the secrets, Requiem can easily extend beyond the first playthrough.

Beyond the numbers, what many veterans emphasize is that Requiem has brought back feelings they haven't had since Resident Evil 7Genuine fear around corners, nervousness at the sound of footsteps behind doors, the perfect blend of anxiety and adrenaline as you switch from Grace to Leon. Revisiting iconic, reimagined locations and sharing the adventure with an aging but still fit Leon carries a clear emotional weight.

All of this means that, even though it's in the high price range, it's one of those games that can justify every euro for anyone who loves the franchise or is simply looking for a robust survival horror experience, with balance between nostalgia and new ideas, and a level of audiovisual polish that is among the best the genre has to offer today.

In the end, Resident Evil Requiem feels like a work that celebrates 30 years of the saga without simply living off nostalgia: it unites in a single title first-person horror, stylized third-person action, a partial closure of important plot stages and a dazzling technical display, consolidating Grace as a new key figure, reminding us why Leon remains an icon and leaving the future of the franchise at a point as intriguing as it is promising.