Resident Evil Requiem Review: A Survival Horror Story About Redemption
Resident Evil Requiem is a survival horror game released on February 27 in 2026. Set 30 years after the original Racoon City Incident, FBI Analyst Grace Ashcroft is sent to uncover the secrets to her past, while Resident Evil 4 pretty boy Leon S (for Sex) Kennedy tries to find a cure for T-Virus aging.
Dual Perspectives, One Goal
One of the core mechanics of the game is shifting perspectives between Grace Ashcroft and Leon Kennedy. When you play as Grace, you’re as helpless as a newbie in a zombie apocalypse movie. Trapped inside a nightmare mansion, you have to navigate through zombies and other various undead monstrosities while solving puzzles and gathering items that increase your chances of surviving. As Leon Sex Kennedy, the role shifts, and you’re the monster every zombie and undead monstrosity tries to avoid or get rid of as soon as possible.
The perspective changes are also literal in that Grace, by default, has you playing in first person, allowing you to savor the nightmare first-hand. Leon’s perspective is in 3rd person so you can view all his rippling muscles and strutting while he kicks zombie ass. Both perspective changes help heighten the experience intended by each character, terror and dread for Grace, catharsis and perhaps sexual tension for Leon S Kennedy.
As far as expectations are concerned and the promises made by the developers, they delivered. However, because I’m sort of a veteran in survival horror, I kind of found it easy to slay as many zombies as I can in the mansion as Grace, giving Leon a relatively easy time. The next few levels outside of the mansion as Grace, not so much but I got through anyway.
The Resident Evil Experience
As with all survival horror games, the first few hours were filled with genuine scares. Grace Ashcroft’s actress’ delivery of fear and anxiety is so effective, I find myself trying to calm her down otherwise I would have been scared out of my seat. The ambient noises, the past lines and lives of the zombies in the mansion and the noisy silence create an atmosphere that only the very brave dare explore.
When it comes to Leon, well, all the fear disappears and the game becomes more of an action flick. I’m not complaining, this is actually great game design because it allows not just for a moment to breathe, but a moment of taking revenge at a game that made me feel helpless. Catharsis is the word to best describe Leon’s gameplay.
Strangely, there was also a strange feeling of nostalgia in the mix. Since this is a Resident Evil title, the only real nostalgia I had were my high school friends talking about it while we were on wooden benches waiting for everyone to be called into class through line formation. But also, since I did manage to watch a full playthrough of Resident Evils 1, 2 and 3, I did share a bit of the nostalgia in the later acts. Admittedly, these nostalgic moments were also the most emotional since they dwell on Leon’s experience of the past.
The Good, The Bad, The Requiem
The defining feature is the perspective shift between Grace and Leon (and a few additional characters not mentioned to avoid spoilers).
Normally, tonal inconsistency can break a game or film. When a piece can’t commit to a clear identity, it often suffers critically. But Resident Evil Requiem does the opposite. It leans into two very different tones, horror and action, and still manages to make both work within the same experience.
Instead of feeling disjointed, the contrast becomes the point.
One major issue for me is how, from the very start, you’ve to suspend your disbelief in order to get the ball rolling on some story aspects. It wasn’t hard for me, to be honest. This is a Resident Evil game and they’re not exactly hallmark models of video game stories (though honestly, since they’re sort of changing canon with the remakes, I expected them to do a bit better).
Thing is, and this is evident in the first episode, I found it hard to believe Grace Ashcroft made it to the FBI. Far as I’m concerned, she’s a technical analyst who can somehow fashion blood particles into bullets, and does reports every now and then, but an FBI Agent you send to the field? Probably not. It’s revealed that the FBI chief was pressured into sending her and, well, while it forms an explanation, I’m still pretty pissed they didn’t even send back up.
Maybe I’ve watched too many Netflix series with the FBI involved, maybe I’m being too strict about how the story flows. Either way, that’s the only thing that didn’t quite work for me. Otherwise, the parallelisms between Grace Ashcroft and Leon S Kennedy are wonderfully illustrated, with Grace quoting lines that young Leon once did when he was a Racoon City police recruit.
Redemption and Requiem
I think, at its core, Resident Evil Requiem is about redemption.
Leon returns to Raccoon City not just to find a cure for his T-virus condition, but also to help Grace make things right. Grace, on the other hand, is driven by guilt and trauma from her past, particularly the role she believes she played in her mother’s death. Both characters are carrying something unresolved.
Their parallel journeys intersect through shared language and intent. When Grace says, “Whatever it takes, count me in,” it mirrors Leon’s past, reinforcing how their stories reflect each other.
Despite feeling out of place in a world filled with monsters, Grace chooses to act. And when she becomes instrumental in saving Leon, and by extension helping prevent further bioweapon damage in the world, it gives Leon a sense of closure.
Redemption, in this case, is not just about fixing the past, but choosing to do the right thing despite it.
My T-Virus Infection
What lingered most after finishing Resident Evil Requiem was a quiet sense of wanting more, even if the story itself felt complete.
There’s something about how the game closes that doesn’t feel final in a limiting way, but open in a promising one. It naturally leads you to think about what comes next. Whether that’s a DLC centered on rescuing Emily or even a prequel following BSAA operatives in a ruined Raccoon City, the world feels like it still has more to offer.
It also carries that same pull Resident Evil 4 had. The kind that makes you want to jump back in, not because you missed anything, but because you want to experience it again differently, with new tools, new approaches, and a better understanding of the fear.
More than anything, though, it leaves you thinking about the people in it. Leon, Chris, and the rest of the cast aren’t getting any younger. There’s a quiet tension in wondering how their stories end, or if they end at all. And in contrast, there’s something hopeful in seeing characters like Grace step forward, suggesting that maybe this isn’t just an ending, but a passing of the torch.
This is for Resident Evil fans who want to see how the story continues, especially those invested in its long-running characters and lore.
At the same time, it’s also for anyone simply looking for a solid survival horror experience. If you just want a genuinely scary time with moments of action-driven payoff, this delivers.
Is It Sulit?
I bought the game at 3,100 pesos from DataBlitz. Currently, it’s at Php 3,090.00 on Steam. Considering that I still want to play the game after completing the first story, yes, it’s sulit.
By the way, I have a playthrough I just recently concluded of Resident Evil Requiem! Watch it here:
