Resident Evil: Requiem Review - A Return to Familiar Horror

Less than a year after its reveal, Capcom released the ninth entry in the Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil Requiem, on Feb. 27, 2026. Anticipation among long-time fans was incredibly high, and I was no exception. I pre-ordered the game and planned to experience it the moment it became available.

 

I preloaded the game and woke up at midnight Eastern Time to start playing, something I had not done since the days of Halo 2 on the original Xbox. My first session ended quickly, however, as real life called and I had to get my family ready to start the day.

 

With its ninth instalment, Capcom chose to set the game roughly 30 years after the events of Resident Evil 2, bringing back Leon S. Kennedy as one of the two heroes. With the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4, it now feels as if we were being set up for his eventual return, which is a good thing. Perhaps we will see a remake of Resident Evil Code: Veronica soon, which could lead into a return for Claire Redfield, something that has been teased as of late.

 

Requiem also introduces new protagonist Grace Ashcroft. Both Grace and Leon have their own playable sections, with their stories intersecting after Leon begins investigating the mysterious antagonist Victor Gideon, who kidnaps Grace early in the game.

 

During the course of the game, you play as both characters in their own sequences. However, you never get to control them cooperatively throughout the game, unlike Leon’s dynamic with Ashley Graham in Resident Evil 4, or Chris Redfield pairing up with Sheva Alomar in Resident Evil 5. Depending on your preference, this may actually be a blessing if those mechanics were not your favourite in previous entries.

 

The game provides different gameplay styles for both characters. When playing as Grace, the experience leans heavily toward survival horror, while Leon’s sections are more action oriented. These different playstyles complement each other well and help the game maintain momentum. To enhance the sense of fear and claustrophobia, the game even suggests playing Grace’s sections in first person, which I personally disabled after only a few minutes.

 

Without spoiling much, there were two sections that felt overly long and almost overstayed their welcome. Each character has one of these sequences. One involves Grace collecting power cells, while another sees Leon gathering detonator pieces. Leon’s sequence occurs roughly at the midpoint of the game, and by that stage repetition fatigue was starting to set in. Fortunately, the game had already hooked me early, which kept me engaged enough to push through these somewhat overcomplicated “seek and gather” sequences.

 

Story has never been the strongest element of the Resident Evil series, and Requiem is no exception. While the narrative kept me engaged, it is clear that few players come to Resident Evil expecting a deeply complex plot. Instead, the game leans heavily into nostalgia. Several moments reference previous titles, and I frequently found myself connecting story elements from earlier entries. For long-time fans of the series, these call-backs are particularly rewarding. While the story could have explored its themes in greater depth, the nostalgic elements work well enough to keep players invested.

 

I played the game on a Steam Deck OLED, and it ran surprisingly well on the four-year-old hardware. The graphics looked gorgeous and greatly enhanced the immersion. Performance remained fairly stable at around 40 to 45 frames per second for most of the game. This demonstrates how versatile Capcom’s RE Engine has become, delivering strong performance across different hardware platforms. I would eventually like to replay the game on either a PS5 or Xbox Series X, but I was very pleased with how it performed on Valve’s aging handheld hardware.

 

It took me a little more than 25 hours to complete the game. Some of that time was spent navigating the two previously mentioned “seek and gather” sections, but I also deliberately took my time exploring the environment and visiting as many locations as possible to fully absorb what the game had to offer.

 

To summarize, Resident Evil: Requiem was something I had been anticipating for quite some time, and it delivered. It captured the old-school zombie movie atmosphere I had been craving and felt like a true return to a world I wanted to revisit. The nostalgia factor felt intentional and was executed well. Even though some puzzle sequences overstayed their welcome and repetition fatigue appeared in the middle portion of the game, the stronger pacing of the second half ultimately made the journey worthwhile.

 

If I were to rate the game, I would give it a B+ and place it comfortably in my top three Resident Evil mainline titles of all time, alongside Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4. For long-time fans of the series, Resident Evil Requiem is absolutely worth experiencing.