Resident Evil Requiem in its pre-release seemed to be an amalgam of Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village‘s first person more survival horror roots blended with the pure action of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 3‘s remakes. In my time playing with the game. I’m happy to report that the game is way more than that. It’s a love letter to the franchise, a foundation for its future, and it’s easily a benchmark game for this generation.

Resident Evil Requiem: A Ray Tracing And Upscaling Masterclass

Resident Evil Requiem uses a modified and updated version of Capcom’s RE Engine. I played the game on both PC and the Nintendo Switch 2 and both offered beautiful results.

On the Switch 2, the game runs pretty well. The RE Engine scales well, and is able to take a base resolution and upscale it surprisingly well. The Switch 2 version may not be my first choice given the amazing graphical prowess of the PC version I played. Still, if your only choice is the Switch 2. I’m happy to report that you’ll still be able to get a good base performance.

The PC version is where it’s at. If you have a rig that is capable of path tracing, this is a showcase game for it. Playing this game with path tracing on. The lighting is realistic and reflects off surfaces in a way that really sells the ambience. Even to get a portion of this with other ray tracing techniques is good; but Resident Evil Requiem thrives with path tracing creating amazing moments of immersion.

Resident Evil Requiem

Even with models, this game is clearly a showcase game for Capcom. You’re able to view models later and they clearly take pride in how great everything looks.

Different Perspectives

Resident Evil Requiem does offer a mix of first person and 3rd person gameplay. I went with the recommendation of the game to play in first person with Grace Ashcroft, the newcomer to the franchise. For Leon I stuck with 3rd person gameplay.

It’s amazing how seamless and intuitive the gameplay feels with both. Resident Evil Village added a 3rd person mode post release and it felt janky and relatively awkward. This doesn’t have that. It’s clear that the game was designed to run well in either perspective.

Gameplay wise, Leon plays like a bull in a china shop. Able to hack away at enemies, pick up and use their chainsaws, and use his feet to crush their heads into walls and floors. Grace is a bit more subdued, but her gameplay does get to be interesting in other ways. I did feel sometimes that the change from Leon’s sections to Grace’s were a bit abrupt, and I did wish for more time with Leon as it felt like Grace’s sections were a touch too long. Still, maybe deprivation makes you want to play as Leon even more.

Return To Raccoon City

The game touts that it’s a return to Raccoon City, and I will say. There’s a lot of stuff in this game that is a callback or reference to previous games. I will say, it’s hard to balance the Resident Evil fan in me that was grinning ear-to-ear at many of the inclusions. I wouldn’t spoil any, but suffice to say, they’re a lot of fun.

Resident Evil Requiem

However I balance that with a general sense of questioning the logic. I feel like some of the inclusions could’ve been more effectively worked into the story. Whether it matters in the long term, I don’t think many people will care. Still, if you’re someone who is expecting the game to reliably and effectively explain all of its story choices. I would taper expectations.

There’s also the final act, and for as subdued as the game can be. It gets to be something else in the final act. I noticed that the game really ramped up the temps on my PC. That said, there is a driver update, and perhaps an update from Capcom that would address optimization. So I don’t suspect it’ll be a major issue. Alas though, I did feel it was important to mention.

Perhaps it’s also the shift towards downloadable content; but the game lacks some bonus modes and other stuff. I prop this up against Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 with the bonus modes and Separate Ways. Time will tell what they add. That said, I’m quite certain more content will be added. So this isn’t a complaint, more of an observation of the game in its present state.

Should You Play Resident Evil Requiem?

At the time of reviewing this. This is probably my favorite Resident Evil game. Perhaps it’s recency bias but it blends the gameplay from games that I love; while forging it’s own path. Grace and Leon both effectively run the show and keep things interesting. Even as the game scales to its spectacularly preposterous levels. The gameplay, graphical fidelity, and story beats all make this a game that starts at a low simmer, and ends with a boiling emulsion of action and horror. Some story stuff will have you asking ‘How?’ but if you’re able to look past it, you’re in for a fun ride.

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