Resident Evil Requiem Review

(Photo Credit: Nintendo)

This article contains some spoilers.

By: Ethan Chahine | STAFF WRITER

On Feb. 27th, Resident Evil Requiem released to the public and was hit with raving reviews by fans, with sources such as Metacritic citing a 9.4 user score.

This newest installment in the Resident Evil franchise was a release I was anticipating for months ahead of time. The trailers depicted a returning face for the series, Leon S. Kennedy, as well as a brand new protagonist Grace Ashcroft with hints to a very compelling story-line regarding Leon and the T-Virus. After playing the game, I can confidently say that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Right from the beginning of the game, the gorgeous graphics developed for the RE Engine are prominently showcased in the brief prologue in Wrenwood, a suburb of the more prominent location in Resident Evil, Raccoon City. The version of the game I played was the Nintendo Switch 2 version and it was very well optimised. There were seldom any frame drops or input lag and everything was clear and in high quality. Visually this game was very impressive all around and during gameplay it felt like an experience. The immersion was done quite well which was important for caring about the story being told.

(Photo Credit: Push Square)

The story of the game was also very interesting and was able to hold my attention for the duration of its around 11 hour long campaign. There are plenty of returning characters and monsters from previous Resident Evil games that allow long-time fans to have the games they have come to know and love represented, as well as the many first time fans to be introduced to them for the first time. 

Past protagonists such as Alyssa Ashcroft and Sherry Berkin return for cameo appearances in the story. You also face off against past villains such as HUNK, Mr. X, an Albert Wesker clone named Zeno, a Titan Spinner, and for the final boss fight, the main antagonist Victor Gideon transforms into a Nemesis. The various call backs to past games serve as a satisfying and perfect requiem to the series while not being forced into the campaign. Everything flows very nicely and the pacing for the story is phenomenal.

(Photo Credit: IGN)

Another important thing to mention is how well the gameplay flows throughout the story of Requiem. There is an incredibly refreshing gameplay loop of horror survival and horror action. You play as Grace particularly through the care-center portion of the game you feel more helpless against the monsters you encounter due to the inability to find hand to hand and incredibly limited inventory space. This contrasts heavily when you transition to Leon and are able to have more direct combat with the monsters you encounter and definitely leans more heavily into the action of Resident Evil. 

All of this is done very tastefully and the transition between sections of the game feel very natural and very fluid. You can very much feel how the characters feel in the world. Grace has never served as a field agent and so her gameplay makes you feel just as scared as she does while in contrast you can feel over confident as the more experienced and collected Leon while you plow your way through enemies during his sections.

(Photo Credit: Rock Paper Shotgun)

Overall there is something for all fans of Resident Evil and gamers alike in Resident Evil Requiem; it is a must play for those who enjoy the horror genre. All the aspects of story, gameplay, and characters come wrapped up nicely with a bow in this game.