Resident Evil Requiem takes all one of the best bits of Resident Evil 4 and a lot of the finest bits from Resident Evil 7 to create a improbable but lopsided expertise.
A sequel to each and the sequence as a complete, it unites the survival horror gameplay of Capcom’s basic remakes and its extra action-focused hits for one cohesive marketing campaign. Franchise newcomer Grace leads the previous whereas Leon S. Kennedy is all in regards to the latter.
The story usually switches perspective between them to facilitate the 2 kinds, permitting preposterous puzzles and merchandise administration one minute after which all weapons blazing firefights the following. The sport builds a satisfying forwards and backwards within the first half… after which all however abandons it.
Resident Evil Requiem is good, each if you’re avoiding zombies as Grace and cracking their skulls as Leon — however, ultimately, there’s barely an excessive amount of of 1 and never sufficient of the opposite.
Moreover the epilogue of the Resident Evil Village DLC Shadows of Rose, the sport chronicles the most recent and hottest occasions within the sequence. Grace, an FBI agent, is investigating a sequence of murders, all of which hyperlink again to the Raccoon Metropolis incident of 1998. Individually, Leon is doing the identical whereas battling some sort of an infection.
Their paths cross after digging deeper into the thriller, resulting in them each visiting the stays of the notorious metropolis to be taught extra about one thing known as Elpis.
Regardless of her place as an FBI investigator, Grace is a scared and timid character. She fears something out of the odd, making her good for the survival horror pressure and frights of the franchise. These sequences are in first-person by default (a third-person choice is obtainable) and harken again to Resident Evil 7.
Grace solely has just a few weapons, her stock and ammunition are restricted, and she or he focuses on exploration and puzzle-solving. The spotlight of that is the Rhodes Hill care centre, which covers all of the aspects of a basic Resident Evil location: ludicrous mind teasers, elaborate layouts and locked doorways, and harmful enemy encounters.
You tour its hallways and rooms looking for a method of escape, all whereas Leon is off some place else within the facility having a a lot simpler time coping with its threats.
The angle modifications at set factors, decided by story development. When taking part in as Leon, you’re inspired to become involved with an assortment of shotguns, rifles, and grenades. It’s a stark distinction to Grace’s arsenal, and it’s how the title creates efficient breaks in pressure.
Leon makes use of the third-person digicam by default (a first-person choice is obtainable), which helps to neatly distinguish the 2 gameplay kinds. With a greater view of your environment, extra weapons, and a considerably larger stock, Leon combines his huge loadout with trendy melee strikes and judo throws.
There’s little in the way in which of puzzle-solving or stealth at this level — it’s motion, motion, motion. Zombies go down faster and the sport turns into extra about fast development than explorative dillydallying. There’s little time to lose when taking part in as Leon; you could push on.
Bouncing between the 2 strategies kinds a satisfying loop that retains gameplay contemporary and fascinating. In case you favor survival horror over motion, or vice versa, then it gained’t be too lengthy earlier than you’re again to it. The timelines of the 2 characters’ journeys synchronise to let the plot proceed shifting, setting a pleasant tempo for the title.
Then it nearly fully stops, nonetheless. Capcom stated the roughly 15-hour marketing campaign might be “nearly equally cut up” between Leon and Grace. This isn’t true.
The second half of Resident Evil Requiem — when the narrative strikes to Raccoon Metropolis — may be very closely centered on Leon. Whereas Grace stays an vital character, her appearances are largely stored for cutscenes. Having left the Rhodes Hill care heart, you gained’t spend way more time taking part in as her.
By the top, the playtime cut up feels a lot nearer to two-thirds as Leon and one-third as Grace.
The motion in Resident Evil Requiem is one of the best within the sequence; it really comes into its personal having made it to Raccoon Metropolis. The nostalgia of looking out the ruins of its iconic places mixed with fulfilling and intense fight is an utter pleasure. Nevertheless, it loses a few of its allure and depth when that’s all you’re doing for all the again half of the expertise.
It leaves the title in a barely awkward spot as a result of, at each flip, the act of taking part in the sport is a delight — that can’t be denied. Regardless of whether or not you’re taking part in as Leon or Grace, or in first or third-person, it affords a wonderful Resident Evil expertise.
Motion sequence after motion sequence begin to change into a drag, although, when there’s nothing to interrupt them up. The primary half of the sport strikes an ideal steadiness between the 2 kinds; the second leans so closely into motion that it turns into a detriment.
A minimum of the surroundings and construction of Leon’s return to Raccoon Metropolis are stored contemporary. Taking a web page from The Final of Us 2’s playbook, it options an open-ended degree the place you’re left to discover and full a number of targets in your personal time.
Optionally available places flesh out the realm with further duties to finish and hidden collectibles to seek out, whereas the principle targets present distinctive fight sequences that mark lots of the title’s general highlights.
You’ll be able to’t have Raccoon Metropolis with out the Raccoon Police Division, both, and its return in ruins is a memorable one. With out spoiling something, long-time followers will get a kick out of the references and easter eggs left behind.
Story spoilers stop us from going any additional, however Resident Evil Requiem continues to construct with some improbable concluding sequences within the remaining hours.
If solely the general narrative wrapped round these occasions made an influence. The sport’s story is surprisingly tame, given the actual fact it brings again Raccoon Metropolis and a number of the fan-favourite locations inside it. You’ll be hooked within the second, however by the top of it, the throughline and revelations don’t quantity to fairly as a lot as you is likely to be hoping for.
Visually, it stuns: that is one of the best work the RE Engine has accomplished thus far, producing a stupendous sport from Capcom that impresses throughout each cutscenes and gameplay. It’s in a position to spotlight little particulars within the enclosed areas of the Rhodes Hill care heart, then go large for wider playspaces in Raccoon Metropolis.
You get a easy 60 frames-per-second on PS5 Professional with ray-tracing enabled, or 120FPS in case you choose to show the function off. Devoid of bugs and glitches, it’s an extremely easy expertise with no technical drawbacks.
