Resident Evil Requiem Review: Capcom's Finest Horror

Introduction

The first time Grace Ashcroft walked into the Rhodes Hill Care Center with nothing but a flashlight and three handgun rounds, I knew Resident Evil Requiem understood exactly what makes survival horror work. My pulse was up. My inventory was empty. Something was breathing behind a locked door. This is the Resident Evil game that fans of the classic formula have been waiting for – but it is also, in its Leon Kennedy sections, one of the best action games Capcom has ever made. Requiem asks "why choose?" and delivers both with remarkable confidence. After nine playthroughs on the Washington Post reviewer's count and my own extensive testing, this is an exceptional entry in a legendary series.

Gameplay & Mechanics

Requiem's defining structural choice is splitting the game between two protagonists with fundamentally different gameplay styles. Grace Ashcroft, an FBI investigator and daughter of RE: Outbreak's Alyssa Ashcroft, plays in first-person with classic survival-horror mechanics: tight inventory management, scarce ammunition, oppressive atmosphere, and puzzle-solving. Leon S. Kennedy plays in third-person with the aggressive action feel of RE4 – parrying, hatchet-based melee combat, extensive weapon customization, and significantly more enemies per encounter.

Grace's sections are where Requiem earns its horror credentials. Rhodes Hill Care Center is a masterwork of level design – a labyrinthine facility with locked doors, hidden passages, and environmental storytelling that rewards thorough exploration. The inventory system forces genuine resource decisions: do you carry the shotgun shells or the puzzle key? Healing items or ammunition? Every doorway feels like a commitment. Her encounters with mutated creatures are deliberately paced, with enemies that react to your attacks with disturbingly detailed animation work. One sequence involving a blind child named Emily, whose Braille-reading abilities become narratively important, showcases Capcom's storytelling sophistication.

Leon's sections flip the script entirely. You have an arsenal, you have attachments, and you have the skill to use them. The parrying system, triggered with precise timing on incoming attacks, creates a rhythm to combat that feels like a dance. The hatchet serves as both a melee weapon and a thrown tool for stunning distant enemies. Where Grace creeps through shadows, Leon kicks down doors. The tonal whiplash between protagonists could have been jarring, but Capcom sequences them so that Leon's cathartic action always follows Grace's tension, creating a push-pull dynamic that keeps the 15-hour runtime from ever feeling stale.

The Requiem weapon itself – a powerful magnum available to Grace – is the game's most controversial design choice. It functions as an emergency escape from any encounter, but its existence undercuts the survival tension that makes Grace's sections so effective. You can choose not to use it, obviously, but knowing it is there dulls the edge.

Graphics & Performance

This is the best-looking Resident Evil game ever made, and it is not close. Running on the RE Engine with PSSR 2.0 upscaling technology on PS5 Pro, Requiem achieves ray-traced lighting while maintaining near-60fps performance. The flooded cityscape that serves as the game's connecting hub is a visual showcase – water reflects neon signs and emergency flares with startling accuracy, and the infected wandering through shin-deep water move with weight and menace.

Character models are extraordinary. Capcom's character designers have outdone themselves with this version of Leon – weathered, experienced, and yes, absurdly handsome in a way that the internet has thoroughly documented. Grace's design is more understated but equally detailed, with subtle facial animations that convey fear, determination, and exhaustion. The lighting inside Rhodes Hill – flickering fluorescents, emergency red, flashlight beams cutting through dust – is some of the most atmospheric work in the genre's history.

Story & Narrative

Set nearly three decades after Raccoon City's destruction, Requiem follows Grace investigating mysterious deaths at the Wrenwood Hotel that connect to her mother Alyssa's past. She encounters Dr. Victor Gideon and a new bioweapon threat that leads to a full-scale outbreak at Rhodes Hill Care Center. Leon arrives as the seasoned veteran – this is a man who has seen everything the series has thrown at him, and the writing acknowledges that history with both gravity and humor.

The dual narrative works because each protagonist brings different stakes. Grace is discovering the horror of the RE universe for the first time; Leon is exhausted by it. Their eventual convergence drives the third act toward a climax that ties back to the series' broader mythology. Multiple endings incentivize at least two playthroughs to see everything. The story is not remarkable, but it is told with polish and confidence – Capcom knows what Resident Evil is, and Requiem celebrates it.

Audio & Soundtrack

Requiem's audio design is a masterclass in building dread. Grace's sections are dominated by environmental sound – dripping water, distant groans, the creak of aging infrastructure. The absence of music during key exploration sequences forces you to listen, and what you hear is never comforting. Leon's sections crank up the intensity with percussion-heavy combat themes that match his aggressive playstyle. Voice acting across the cast is excellent, with particular praise for Grace's actress, who delivers a performance that evolves from professional composure to barely-controlled terror over the course of the game.

Value & Replayability

A single playthrough runs approximately 15 hours, with both Grace and Leon's content totaling the full experience. Multiple endings, collectibles, and the Insanity difficulty mode provide replay incentive. The campaign structure means speedrunners will find plenty to optimize. However, compared to RE4 Remake's Mercenaries mode and extensive post-game content, Requiem feels slightly thinner in terms of replayable side modes. At $70, the initial playthrough justifies the price, but the replay longevity depends on your appetite for difficulty challenges and ending completionism.

The 96% positive Steam rating from over 41,000 reviews and its position as the number one best-seller confirm that the broader community agrees: this is top-tier Resident Evil.

Final Verdict

Resident Evil Requiem is a superb 30th anniversary celebration that ranks alongside RE2 Remake and RE4 Remake as one of the series' modern peaks. Grace's survival horror is nerve-shredding, Leon's action is explosive, and the technical presentation sets a new benchmark for the franchise. Its reliance on nostalgia over innovation and a few pacing missteps keep it from perfection, but this is a confident, polished, and frequently terrifying experience. The best RE since RE4 Remake, and one of 2026's finest games.

Buy if: You love survival horror, Resident Evil, or atmospheric action games. If you enjoyed RE2 Remake or RE4 Remake, this is essential.

Skip if: You are looking for something that reinvents the RE formula. Requiem plays its greatest hits beautifully but rarely surprises.

Technical Performance

PlayStation 5's SSD and hardware decompression allow fast loading times, with DualSense haptic feedback adding tactile depth to key moments. Load times are rock-solid, and the overall experience is framed by smooth and consistent frame delivery. Capcom has clearly invested in optimizing for available hardware, with virtually no technical complaints to report.

Frame pacing holds up well during standard gameplay sequences. More intensive set-pieces – large-scale combat encounters, densely populated environments – occasionally stress the engine, but these moments are brief and do not undermine the broader experience. Players on PS5, XBOX SERIES X, PC can expect a polished, well-tested build at launch.

Bug density is low for a release of this scope. The most commonly reported issues at launch involve minor visual glitches and edge-case collision errors that Capcom is likely to address in post-launch patches. Overall, the technical state reflects a developer that has spent proper time in QA, and the performance score of 9/10 reflects an honest assessment of what players will encounter on day one.

Who Should Play Resident Evil Requiem Review

Resident Evil Requiem Review is a near-essential purchase for fans of the genre for players who enjoy tension, atmosphere, and survival mechanics. If grace's first-person survival horror segments are genuinely terrifying – rhodes hill is a top-five re location appeals to you, this title will likely deliver exactly what you are looking for across PS5, XBOX SERIES X, PC.

Players new to the horror, survival horror genre will find Capcom's design approachable enough to serve as an entry point, while veterans will appreciate the depth hidden beneath the surface. The game rewards patience and exploration in equal measure, making it a strong fit for those willing to invest time in understanding its systems.

On the other hand, if relies heavily on re2 and re4 nostalgia rather than establishing a fully original identity is a dealbreaker for your play style, temper your expectations accordingly. Casual players looking for a low-commitment experience may find certain sections demanding, though the overall experience justifies the effort. For those on the fence, a trial run or watching early hours of gameplay footage is recommended before committing to the full purchase price.