Resident Evil Requiem - Review
It doesn’t feel all that long since we last got a new entry into the Resident Evil series. However, with Resident Evil 4 Remake being just that, a remake, it has been around four years since Ethan tried to save his daughter in Resident Evil Village. Now its time to go back to where it all began. Time for a Requiem.
Resident Evil Requiem is the newest entry in the mainline Resident Evil series. The 2020’s have been absolutely chock full of Leon Kennedy, as Requiem sees you once again take control of the wise-cracking and pun-filled President’s Daughter saving and never finished his first day as a rookie Cop that we all love. However, this is a story of two parts and two paths. The Ashcroft name is one that likely makes the diehard fans ears perk up just a little, and that’s for good reason. Our other protagonist is Grace Ashcroft, daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft of Resident Evil: Outbreak notoriety.
For those who are wanting to know off the bat if Resident Evil Requiem holds up, I’ll make it very simple. I have never platinumed a Resident Evil game before. I’ve even found it difficult to replay through them on NG+ or for challenge runs. Resident Evil Requiem kept my attention for nearly 60 hours straight, and I played it to absolute completion (except for one challenge I can’t work out). I platinumed Resident Evil Requiem and would very easily jump straight back into the game for another round. Resident Evil Requiem has absolutely taken the top spot for me and is without a doubt my favourite entry into the series now.
With that said, lets look at the good, the great and the best. As well as just a few minor drawbacks that have to be acknowledged for their presence currently. Upon launching the game you’ll be asked if you want to be able to change the perspectives for the two protagonists. It is recommended to play Grace’s sections in first person, and Leon’s in third person. This is absolutely the right decision to make. I never even considered or attempted to play the characters in their non-recommended perspective, because they play absolutely perfectly in their respective view types.
Looking at Grace, Grace is one of my favourite new characters in the Resident Evil series. I was a fan of Ethan Winters and had an absolute ball playing as him. Grace feels like that concept fleshed out appropriately. Grace is a technical analyst for the FBI. This means that at a fundamental level she will have some training and ability but is not a super soldier or a Leon Kennedy who is going to go action man through zombies. Grace’s sections are the best parts of Resident Evil 7 and 8 (the Puzzle house in Village in particular) worked out to be stretched to a full half of the game. Grace is absolutely the wimpiest character in the series, but this works perfectly.
In her being so timid, reserved and quiet, her horror sections are intense, atmospheric and every zombie feels like a danger. The unique named Zombie’s you’ll encounter through her section feel overwhelming terrifying. A similar to feeling to encountering a Hunter for the first time in the original Resident Evil game. Grace plays exactly how you’d expect her to. She’s stealthy, has to be careful with her resources. An interesting addition is her Blood Collection, which allows her to collect Infected Blood with an item you pick up early on, that you can mix with certain resources to create ammo, stealth weapons, defensive knives and a plethora of other weapons and healing items. Grace is the character that the diehard survival horror fans are going to get an absolute kick out of playing.
Leon on the other hand is far more the action mindset of the series. You’ll still be scrambling for resources to craft ammo, and resources, but Leon is focused on mowing down crowds of Zombies and absolutely playing up to the ludicrous character he is. An early section has you fight off a crowd of patient garbed zombies who have somehow acquired a Chainsaw. Knocking enemies to the ground with the chainsaw will give them the ability to torpedo towards you along the ground. Swinging the chainsaw around near doors or walls will cause them to get stuck and give you an opening to shoot them all down. The ludicrous nature of it all is kept tense with the enemies coming from every direction, need to manage your ammo and the sheer number of the enemies. You don’t get time to breathe; you have to fight your way out.
This remains pretty true for most of Leon’s parts of the game. Tense atmosphere is kept up by the tactical use of special zombies who can mutate others, or the occasional dead soldier that died with a gun in its hand that it haphazardly swings around firing. Unlike the super soldier type Zombies we saw in Resident Evil 6, these are clearly brainless and instinctive creatures.
I played the entirety of my 60ish hours of the game using the PS5 Pulse Headphones. Requiem is definitely designed with the 360degree audio in mind. Being able to hear the stomping of enemies around you, groaning and sloshing, all directional is mind-blowing. I don’t know how they got some of the sounds like a fire poker going through an eye socket, or the squelching of blood collection, but everything has the right visceral sound. The environmental music is fitting, although, if you skip cutscenes it does have a habit of coming to an absolute jarring stop without a fade out, which can be a little odd. I absolutely recommend playing with 360 audio if you have the ability to however, as it cannot be understated just how perfectly it works in this game.
The voice work is also tremendous in Resident Evil Requiem. On top of all the character models being really well thought out and designed, every voice actor does their absolute damnedest to get the right level of fear, attitude and personality out of each character. Grace in particular is a stand-out. She has probably some of the hardest lines to get out, with being a somewhat anxious, stuttering and nervous wreck at the best of times. But she gets across the innocent girl in a situation she really doesn’t belong in across the line perfectly. Leon is older, more hardened and a little less jovial than he once was. He has seen horrors beyond belief and his age is starting to creep up on him. He still cracks jokes and quips, but he is definitely tempered by time and everything he has done and seen.
Requiem almost feels like a love letter to the series itself. There is a lot of reminders of past entries into the series, a journey back to where it all began. The build up to the game painted a lot about the return to Raccoon City, but it feels somewhat understated in the grand scheme of things. Requiem is more than just a return to Raccoon City, but a reminder of everything from the past of Resident Evil. It doesn’t use the nostalgia as a crutch, however. Every little reminder is built into the overall narrative and story, and it gives more light to everything we’ve been through in the other games.
There are a few things that are very minor drawbacks currently. The base run speed is abysmally slow. The excuse can be made for Grace being so unprepared and Leon being older and slower. But the run speed feels even slower than almost every other entry in the series, and it can make backtracking and running between areas horrifyingly dull when you’ve cleared out all the enemies and you’re simply looking for files or collectibles. Couple this with Leon feeling like he doesn’t actually have feet half the time and you can be in for a painful time when exploring. For whatever reason, Leon seems to ice-skate about a lot of the time when turning and has a bizarre side strafe walk when walking to the side that feels clunky. This may just be a bug, but it happens a lot and makes what feels like an otherwise smooth experience a little bit off at times.
Resident Evil Requiem is without a doubt my favourite entry in the series. I was skeptical at first when Leon was announced as the returning character, as I feel there is a plethora of other characters who desperately needed a return to the series. The lack of Jill, Claire & Rebecca as main protagonists is hard to overlook at this point, in the main title games. That said, Requiem is without a doubt the best time I’ve had with a Resident Evil game in a long time. An absolute stunning game from the first moment to whatever you decide is going to be your last. With an approachable difficulty curve, and an even more approachable achievement list.
The Score
10
Review code provided by Capcom
The Pros
Fantastic Audio and Sound design
Grace Ashcroft is designed and plays perfectly
Every segment of the game is fleshed out and enjoyable
The Cons
Leon controls like he has no feet
Unbearably slow movement speed
No NG+ means you’ll be grabbing the same items every single time
