I have been excited for Resident Evil Requiem since it was announced. In fact, on the night it was released, I stayed up late to play it. Since then, I have already finished the game and am working on a second run where I complete a few more things. This is definitely one of the best Resident Evil games in years as it successfully combines everything great about the series in one package.
There’s not much I can add to the discussion around the two-protagonist-structure of Resident Evil Requiem, but I am shocked how well they pulled it off. Grace’s sequences are perfect survival horror, complete with big areas to explore and solve puzzles. Just when being Grace is getting to be a bit too much, you cut to Leon and go through that same location like a wrecking ball and decimate the zombies that were giving you such a hard time before. The concept of giving you the titular “requiem” gun at the very start is another subtly brilliant move that gives you a small amount of power, even as Grace, and makes allows the player to make some interesting choices about which obstacles are worth your precious requiem ammo.
The story did not disappoint as well, and while some people are already claiming it is way too short, I thought the length was almost perfect. It at least has a similar length to most other mainline Resident Evil games, with Resident Evil 4 & 6 being outliers. Thank goodness for the PlayStation Portal yet again, or I would still have not finished the game. Even though I’m sad it is over, I’m still glad I’ve finished it, because the Internet is already rife with spoilers.
It is going to be hard to beat for my own 2026 game of the year list, since Resident Evil is either my favorite or second favorite series depending on the day you ask. I am looking forward to the already-announced story DLC, but I also want to see what they have planned next for remakes.
