Prepare to Escape Death in Resident Evil Requiem
Although the first rumors about the next big game in the Resident Evil franchise began circulating around all the way back in March 2024, the official announcement arrived in June 2025. The fan-favorite survival horror series, both developed and published, by Capcom is coming back for its 9th time in the nearly 30 years of its existence, by continuing the main storyline further with the Resident Evil Requiem release on 27th of February. The upcoming RE title would have versions for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 (announced a bit later) and Windows PC via the Resident Evil Requiem Steam page.
We are going to once again go to one of the most iconic locations in the Resident Evil series - the classic setting of a destroyed Racoon City. Just this fact alone should evoke the most chilling goosebumps thrills in a good way that RE fans could experience.
In this Resident Evil Requiem review we would go into more details about the storyline, gameplay with its unmatched level of immersion and new features, as well as discuss more about the two playable characters, a descendant of the Ashcroft family - Grace Ashcroft and one of the most iconic protagonist characters of the series - Leon S Kennedy.
Capcom has so far released a few different Resident Evil Requiem trailers. The first debuted at the Summer Game Fest 2025, generally introducing the game and showed the terrifying atmosphere of Raccoon City and Grace's disturbing visit to the Wrenwood Hotel. The second one got released in September 2025, highlighting Grace as the newest playable character, as she is investigating suspicious deaths across the U. S. and revealing further details about her mother's death at the Wrenwood Hotel. Another trailer that was shown at The Game Awards 2025, featured Leon S Kennedy as the second playable character. It also introduced the main antagonist, Victor Gideon.
You would need all the preparation you can get in order to escape from the almost certain death in this latest and innovative survival horror gaming experience that would most likely push you to the very limits of your psyche. Ready to REvisit the horrors of Raccoon City once again with us? Let’s roll!
When the Requiem of the Dead Ones Turns Into a Nightmare for the Living
A whole new survival horror epoch might be just about to arrive with the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem release, the latest and perhaps most impressive entry in the series iconic Resident Evil series to this day. You are going to experience a very terrifying and personal survival horror story following up with the traumatic events that are taking place for Grace Ashcroft - an FBI analyst, that is a living member of the Ashcroft family, a name that RE fans should be very familiar with. While the more action-driven part of the Resident Evil Requiem gameplay would be dedicated to the adventures of legendary DSO agent fighting against bioterrorism organizations - Leon S. Kennedy. Both of their gameplay journeys and uniquely different styles combine into one thrilling ride to remember, with multiple inspirations and elements taken from various previous titles in the Resident Evil series in order to present a more diverse, yet very much coherent edition of the franchise.
Producer for the game, Masato Kumazawa stated in a recent interview the following, “There are many layers to the title: a requiem for the protagonist, – Grace Ashcroft, – grappling with the loss of her mother eight years ago, and a requiem for all of the people who were caught up in the Raccoon City incident, to name but just a few examples. But once you complete the game, I believe you’ll find even more levels of meaning for the subtitle.”, hinting at deeper connections and mysteries that could be unfolded once you manage to overcome the nightmares you would discover in the title.
Go back to the Main Location of the Horrifying Disaster – Back to Raccoon City
Since the previous two more recent Resident Evil games stranded a bit off of the main plot and they explored the broader world of the RE games’ universe , both the production and studio wanted to bring things back to a more familiar setting and when thinking of suitable locations they ended up choosing the place where it all started, since the series celebrates its 30th anniversary, everyone agreed on the idea that Raccoon City is the most fitting setting.
But as they were crafting the story that would be set among the ruins of Raccoon City, the team felt it was quite appropriate to have a character with a more personal connection to the city itself. Aiming to put a greater focus on the horror aspects that are indeed the essence of the IP, they decided to introduce Grace as a new and relatable main protagonist, who does not resemble the more familiar ones such as Jill, Leon or Chris.
Set years after the Midwestern city in the United States acted as the underground headquarters facility of the former global pharmaceutical company, Umbrella. In 1998, the population of the city faced a devastating zombie outbreak caused by the release of an experimental biohazardous virus.
After realizing that the battle is unwinnable the government approved a missile strike on the city in a desperate attempt to quickly bring the situation under some sort of control, after which it would all be swiftly covered up.
Swapping Between the Two Characters as you Dive Deeper to Investigate a Suspicious Death
As we already mentioned Grace Ashcroft’s mother was mysteriously murdered at the very same Wrenwood hotel, eight years prior to the events in the game and you would get to experience both unique perspectives of the playable characters in a tandem campaign of sorts, since sometimes they are together, while at other times they are separated. Both of them have a unique playstyle that you would have to get used to in order to stay alive and get to the bottom of the case.
The Resident Evil Requiem story aims to combine moments of intense action-driven and more brutal combat, when playing as Leon, with the more analytical puzzle-solving and deductive investigation methods that would gradually unfold the hidden secrets that have laid dormant for so long, when you are in the role of Grace. What’s more interesting here is the fact that the game is also played in both first-person and third-person perspectives, with the player able to freely switch between the two of them for both characters at any given moment.
In the world of modern 3D-rendered games, changing the perspective may seem as a simple and easy task, but in the survival horror genre, it is much more complex to apply. First-person and third-person views greatly impact the environments, character models, animations, difficulty balance, UI & UX, sound design and a lot more and it has been described as resembling the development of two different games. This truly shows dedication to innovation and the option to face up to the gruesome horrors in a way that better fits with your preferred playstyle.
A Fine Balance Between Action, Horror and Mystery await you in RE9
By making Grace someone more emotional the devs intended to reflect on the player’s own vulnerabilities, as they believe players would like the gameplay experience to be filled with more tension that would cause greater immersion through the character’s shortcomings. So, this is the reason why, when you for example are walking alone down a dark and creepy hallway, her breathing patterns are going to be more hectic and when an enemy jumps out of nowhere and all of a sudden, she reacts with an authentic amount of fright.
Grace could actually be described as a character that initially has a lower tolerance bar for fear, but throughout the story she manages to grow stronger and braver. Eventually, reaching to a point where she begins to confront various horrors with more courage and with a greater range of firepower instead of avoiding fights with stealth. The team has expressed strong confidence that when players finish the Resident Evil Requiem game, they would absolutely love her journey and incredible growth as a character!
On the other hand, as one of the few survivors of the Raccoon City Incident, Leon S. Kennedy is much more oriented and adept to the situation at hand. Coming equipped with his previous experience, skills and abilities to use a variety of weapons in battle including both melee as well as guns and even the various weapons he picks from the (un)dead enemies. His sections offer a more complex combat system with the possibility of choosing how to best inflict damage on your foes and even close-up finishing moves that would bring the gore factor through the roof.
With his strong sense of justice and greater physical capabilities to match up against zombies and monsters, he has responded to numerous outbreaks since that fateful tragedy. Now, as an experienced DSO agent combatting against bioterrorism, he has returned to investigate the latest string of strange deaths in the Midwest.
Having all of that in mind, this latest installment entry into the franchise seems to be set to include both main gameplay perspectives that are typical in the Resident Evil games, driven by the passionate desire of the team to offer and incredible experience for all of the RE fans to enjoy. You are going to experience the series' classic survival horror concepts through tough combat finely balanced with deductive investigations, logical puzzles and resource management elements in different degrees, depending on your difficulty choice. With some of the classic options even offering players the old type of saving system with the typewriter indigo tapes.
Since some players may often get used to the fear and gore, this game aims to keep levels of tension high throughout the whole story. The game really focuses on a core philosophy, in which players feel scared but still want to continue forward. This approach is definitely different from the one in more recent entries in the series, such as Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4, which focused more on action while still being horror games. The Capcom team has been deeply dedicated to enhancing the feeling of fear to improve the overall experience.
The RE Engine, which has powered many of the previous Resident Evil game titles, offers many notable graphical improvements such as higher frame-rates, RTX technology implemented and it actively continues to evolve. In the trailers we noticed that there are many small details in the visuals, such as the first-person view of seamless different door opening transitions without gameplay interruptions or loading time, drops of sweat on Grace’s skin, the delicate, yet very wavy and reactive, texture of her hair and even the subtle movements of her lips, showing her anxiety and tension much more realistically.
Resident Evil Requiem Pre-Order Bonus, Available Editions and Brand Deal Collectibles
Pre-orders are already open online in the Resident Evil Requiem Steam page and of course there is a bonus included – The Grace Apocalypse costume. There are also Standard Edition and a Deluxe Edition that are available for purchase. The Resident Evil Requiem Deluxe edition provides access to the Deluxe Kit, which has the following items and goodies:
- Mr. Raccoon Charm
- DSO Emblem Charm
- Screen Filter: Apocalypse
- Screen Filter: Film Noir
- Grace's Costume: Dimitrescu
- Grace's Costume: Film Noir
- Leon's Costume: RE4
- Leon's Costume: Apocalypse
- Leon's Costume: Film Noir
- 4 different skins for weapons, including the S&S M232 Weapon Skin: Apocalypse
- Audio Pack: Raccoon City Classic
- Files: Letters from 1998
Additionally, Capcom is releasing a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller themed after the game and an Amiibo of protagonist Grace Ashcroft, as well as brand deals with Porsche with a custom model for the Resident Evil Cayenne Turbo GT that Leon drives throughout the game and a set of high-class limited edition Hamilton watches that both protagonists wear in-game that could actually be bought in real-life. Oh, one more thing before we close off, in case you are a statuette collector you might consider searching for the two 1/6 scale figures of Leon and Grace that could stand both separately or joined into one that would stand greatly among the already existing ones from previous RE titles.
It really is a great thing that we are not going to wait too long to see what Capcom has prepared for the fans of one of the most popular survival horror series of all time, with the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem release date just around the corner in February.