PLATFORM: PC, PS5 (REVIEWED), XBOX SERIES | RELEASE DATE: 26TH FEBRUARY
Returning to semi-normality after the strange and otherworldly events of Resident Evil 8: Village, RE9: Requiem kicks off at FBI HQ where a man’s body has been found in an abandoned hotel. It’s the latest discovery in a series of mysterious deaths in which confirmed survivors of the Raccoon City incident have been found lifeless, covered with black bruises. Technical analyst Grace Ashcroft is tasked with investigating the hotel, reluctantly agreeing to head to the crime scene and revisit the same building where her mother – RE: Outbreak‘s Alyssa Ashcroft – was was killed eight years ago. There, she meets former Umbrella researcher Victor Gideon, who seems to have had an eye on Grace for quite some time… Meanwhile, series favourite Leon S. Kennedy arrives at the scene just in time to see Gideon leaving the hotel with Grace draped over his shoulder. Heading to Gideon’s only known property, the Rhodes Hill care centre, Leon and Grace’s paths cross through alternating chapters as they both try to figure out what’s going on…
Requiem‘s dual protagonist approach seems to be an attempt to combine the stealthy scare-based gameplay of RE7: Biohazard with the kind of full-on action found in RE8: Village (and, indeed, series benchmark Resi 4). Played from a first-person perspective (which can be changed to third, if you prefer), Grace spends a fair bit of time running and hiding from enemies, throwing bottles to distract them before sneaking past without engaging them directly. She’s still more than capable of holding her own with firearms when the need arises, but her limited inventory space means that she isn’t able to carry much more than a basic handgun. On the other side of the coin, Leon is much more adept at meeting his foes head-on with a wide range of firepower and also up-close with his hatchet. The way the story is structured means that you’ll play as one character for a while until specific points in the story – usually involving some sort of cliffhanger – dictate that it’s the other character’s time to take over. You do get to spend a fairly lengthy amount of time with each, though, as Grace mostly investigates the Rhodes Hill centre alone before Leon takes the spotlight for the majority of the game’s second half.
Whichever character you’re playing as, gameplay largely follows the standard Resident Evil formula. You’ll explore your surroundings, scavenging for ammo and hunting for items that will help you to solve puzzles to progress further into the game, while dealing with infected enemies that stalk the building’s enclosed corridors. Apart from one or two slightly more obtuse moments, Requiem‘s puzzles aren’t the strongest or most difficult, mostly relying on finding specific items and using them in the right place, but what it might lack in mental challenges is made up for in abundance with some of the best combat and set-pieces the series has seen for a long time.
Fighting Requiem‘s hordes of shambling infected feels magnificent – whether you’re going toe-to-toe in melee combat or popping heads with your preferred gun, your attacks look and feel incredibly satisfying, with snappy gunfire, weighty axe swings and plenty of blood and gore flying around the place, all taken to the next level with some fantastic sound design that makes even the weakest enemies seem truly threatening, really making you feel like you’re fighting for your life. Some really well-directed set-pieces ramp up the tension even more, and there are some particularly exhilarating moments that shouldn’t really be spoken about because they’re absolutely best left for you to discover on your own; it’s enough to say that they easily stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the best moments in the series.
When playing as Leon, you’ll earn credits for each enemy killed, which can then be spent on items, weapons and upgrades, although many of the game’s best weaponry is locked behind “challenges” which are found in the pause menu (and only become available after beating the game once). Here, you’ll earn additional credits for completing challenges (which seem to be tied to the game’s achievements / trophies) which are then spent in a “bonus content” menu to unlock in-game items as well as concept art and the now-expected figurines. Given the game’s relatively short length (around 10 hours for a first attempt) and the absence of New Game Plus or Mercenaries modes, these unlockables do a decent job of giving you something to work towards in repeat playthroughs, especially when some of the locked items are well worth getting your hands on if you want to attempt the game’s highest difficulty setting.
More in line with the Resident Evil 2-4 remakes than its immediate mainline predecessors, Requiem is an excellent action game that pays homage to its past while seemingly confirming its intentions to move forward in a more action-oriented direction. Its story is engaging, the characters and enemies are menacing, reuniting with Leon is like meeting up with an old friend to find that they’re just as cool as they always were, and the sublime combat and thrilling set-pieces all make for a really excellent entry into the series. Those hoping for a return to the slower-paced gameplay of older Resi titles might not quite find what they’re looking for, but fans of Biohazard, Village, and the aforementioned remakes will absolutely be in their element.
