Resident Evil Requiem (RE9) Review – Has CAPCOM Delivered a Masterpiece?
Resident Evil Requiem might be the best Resident Evil I’ve played since RE4, and simultaneously exists as a fresh new entry as well as a bit of a ‘Greatest Hits’ all in one.
Is Resident Evil Requiem good, worth buying and/or worth playing? Let’s take a look.
WATCH THE VIDEO REVIEW (or keep reading below)
You might also be interesting in checking these out:
- Silent Hill 2 Remake Xbox Series X/S Review
- Silent Hill F Spoiler-Free Review
- Resident Evil 4: Remake Video Review
- Resident Evil Village Review
- Resident Evil 7 Biohazard Gold Edition Review
- Resident Evil 2 Review
- Dead Space Remake Review
Once Upon A Time…
Resident Evil Requiem is a story about a young FBI analyst named Grace Ashcroft whose mom was also FBI – but died. To be precise, she was brutally ******** with a huge *** to the **** right in front of ***** before ******* in a fire.
Glad I could clear that up for you.
Years later and after what is quite frankly a blatant dick move by her boss, Grace is asked to investigate a case at the Wrenhood Hotel, the very same location where her mom cancelled her subscription to being alive.
Grace discovers an 8ft-tall walking Optometrist’s chair called Victor – who isn’t just up to no good, but also sounds weirdly like Heath Ledger’s Joker.
At around the same time, newly-signed Porsche brand ambassador and Resident Evil veteran Leon S. Kennedy arrives on the scene to get to work. He finds himself embroiled in a mystery around who this big baddie is, who Grace is, and how she’s involved. More importantly, Leon is investigating just how rugged and handsome he can look while kicking ass and dropping glorious one-liners.
Eating Their Cake and Having It Too
CAPCOM made the bold choice to go with dual protagonists in Resident Evil Requiem, and not like some Resident Evils of the past, where you could play with either one character or again with the other. You play as both Grace and Leon during different sections of the game, switching as the story progresses and even interacting in scenes as the story begins in one city and heads to… that other one.
Grace delivers the familiar survival horror sections of the game. You’re saving ammo, avoiding scuffles where you can and hiding while scared out of your wits. When playing as Grace, you’re doing your more traditional save rooms with typewriters and storage from the get-go – whereas Leon’s sections are mostly set sequences early on, with item management and store goodies only opening up a little later to deliver the kind of progression and item systems that fans of Resident Evil 4 will love.
CAPCOM really did try to eat their cake and have it too with this idea that the game will be playable in both first- and third-person, but they’ve really pulled it off, and they’ve also given each camera mode their own unique traits. For example, Grace in third-person will visibly stumble while running, and some set-pieces or jump scares display differently depending on if you’re in 1st or 3rd person.
Make no mistake; when playing with Grace, Resident Evil Requiem is scary as balls, especially in the first-person mode. It’s reminiscent of the scarier bits of Resi 7 and 8, with masterfully-handled scares, timing and framing. And many of the sequences aren’t just scary – they’re genuinely exhilarating. I finished a few sections in the game that had me properly feeling like I was on a high afterwards.
Progress on to one of Leon’s sections and the vibe changes heavily, especially if sticking with the games suggested first-person view for Grace and third-person for Leon. Leon delivers a great release of tension, especially if you move through areas that tormented you with Grace, because you get to use Leon’s skills of ass-kickery to punish the hell out of all the zombies that were terrorising you as Grace before.
And while earlier parts of the game focus quite heavily on Grace, Leon definitely gets his time to shine.
It’s About to Get Messy
Enemy variety really is strong, keeping gameplay fresh and interesting, especially when combined with some of the monstrosities you have to deal with. Some infected retain memories and habits, causing unique traits like hating messes, a dislike of light switches being left on, or problems with loud noise. Now that I think about it, that just sounds like… old people?
Prepare to be treated to a host of gory explosions, mutilations and decapitations that leave rooms looking like a Jackson Pollock painting, as well as a glorious array of struggle and kill animations and some fantastically gruesome death scenes for Leon and Grace – the kind that actually adds to the experience by making you want to try a little harder next time to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
A criticism that I do have though, is that I was hoping for a little more head-scratching from the puzzles, and the game features a few too many obstacles in the story that are solved by having to retrieve 3 things from “there, there and there” so that you can put them in another thing “over there” to open up the path ahead. Hey… at least the gameplay feels great and the levels look great while you’re doing it.
Environmental Hazard
The environments are really worth mentioning too. They’re so beautifully crafted that a definite case can be made to stick to the first-person view for Grace’s sections, because you really get to appreciate all the details. The game has some interesting locations too, not unlike what you might expect from a Resident Evil: Mansions, hidden labs, giant pools of gooey human remains… you know, the usual.
While my main playthrough was on PS5, I also played and tested the Switch 2 version.
I’ve mostly played in handheld mode, and despite some issues it’s another surreal reminder that we now live in a world where we get to play full-blown console experiences on handheld devices. I’ve now got a quick video up that takes a look at the Resident Evil Requiem Switch 2 version and if it’s the right option for you – which you can check out by clicking right here.
Resident Evil Requiem has been mostly bug and issue free, and any imperfections I stumbled onto were mostly minor, easily patched or easily overlooked, especially since I was playing a pre-launch version of the game.
Final Thoughts
Resident Evil Requiem is one of those special games that remind you why we fell in love with video games in the first place, and why we continue to play them to this day. It’s not just going on my list of Game of the Year contenders, it’s potentially deserving of an accolade that places itself alongside the best games of the generation so far. If you’re someone who simply cannot handle horror in video games, make a plan. Invite some friends over to sit with you while you play, just like we did as kids when I played Resident Evil 2 on my Playstation back in the 90s – because it’d be a shame to miss out on this.
Resident Evil Requiem is a true tour de force from CAPCOM, with gorgeous visuals, gorgeous heroes and the best of both the modern take on the series as well as the elements that made Resident Evil 4 and the modern third-person remakes so good.
