'Resident Evil Requiem' Plays the Hits. It's a Good Thing.

"Resident Evil Requiem is a video game about looking backward. After nearly 30 years as a franchise, Resident Evil has defined and redefined what horror games are time and time again. The latest release, out today on PS5, PC, Xbox, and (shockingly) Nintendo Switch 2, is in conversation with that legacy every step of the way-but whether it ends up being fresh enough is in the eye of the beholder."

"Requiem, the ninth mainline title in the survival-horror series, is polished as hell, but it feels more like a sequel to the franchise's successful series of remakes than a sequel to 2021's Resident Evil Village. Instead of creating new icons, where Village succeeded in spades, Requiem relies on fan-favorite monsters and callbacks to old characters."

"If you've never played a Resident Evil game, this probably isn't the right place to start. But if you picked up the series in 2019 with the stellar remake of Resident Evil 2 (and subsequently loved the remakes of 3 and 4), Requiem will feel like a homecoming."

Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth mainline title in the franchise, releases across multiple platforms and emphasizes the series' legacy through callbacks and familiar monsters rather than new creative directions. The game features a 10-18 hour campaign with dual protagonists: Grace Ashcroft, an FBI agent investigating murders at Wrenwood Hotel connected to her mother's death, and Leon S. Kennedy. The narrative weaves together long-standing plot threads involving Umbrella Corporation and incorporates characters from previous entries. While the game successfully blends action and horror elements with polished gameplay, it functions more as a sequel to the recent remake trilogy than to Resident Evil Village, making it most appealing to established fans rather than series newcomers.

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