Resident Evil Requiem Review - Two-Headed Mutant

Quick Overview

Resident Evil Requiem successfully dials in the balance between horror and action by essentially stapling together two distinct, compelling experiences: a slow, frightening haunted house story featuring the everywoman Grace Ashcraftoft, and a fast-paced, panic-inducing segment starring action hero Leon, resulting in an intense ride that plays Resident Evil's greatest hits near perfectly despite lacking new ideas.

Key Points: Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth mainline game, captures the best parts of Resident Evil by separating horror and action into two distinct, parallel experiences rather than blending them, resulting in an almost two-game structure. The haunted house portion follows Grace Ashcraftoft, an FBI analyst relying on careful movement in a hospital/secret research facility, drawing directly from the classic formula with limited weapons and key hunting. Zombies in Requiem are 'tea virus mutated undead that maintain a bit of their memories,' sometimes manifesting as dangerous, unpredictable enemies that can carry and use weapons, occasionally mutating into deadlier 'blister heads' from corpses. Grace utilizes a crafting system involving infected blood drawn from gore or enemies to create items like ammo or the 'hemolytic injector,' a one-use syringe that destroys zombies or prevents blister head mutation, forcing calculated resource management. Leon's action-hero sections emulate Resident Evil 4's desperation, featuring increased chaos like zombies grabbing dropped weapons, and Leon utilizes a hatchet for conserving ammo, quick finishing moves, and a valuable parry ability to deflect attacks. The game features a jarring but effective structural element where Leon's sparse appearances in the first half often serve as boss fights, while the second half features a thrilling, yet potentially too familiar, return to Raccoon City. Most of Requiem's puzzles are not challenging, serving primarily as filler between sneaking, shooting, and worrying, and the game risks retreading too much ground by leaning heavily on past successes and nostalgia.