Resident Evil: Requiem Review: Just Another Nostalgia Trip?

The Resident Evil series returned in 2026 with Requiem, promising a dark return to its roots alongside modern action spectacle. The game attempts to weave together the fates of a new protagonist, Grace, and the old favorite Leon Kennedy, set in environments meant to evoke the golden age of survival horror. Fans worldwide waited with bated breath to see if this installment could step out of the shadow of successful remakes and bring a breath of fresh air to the series, or if it would simply ride the wave of proven elements. Let's see how this ambitious title ultimately turned out.

As a standalone game in the Resident Evil series, it's decent enough. Without Leon, I would consider it a mediocre title filled with plot holes and nostalgic bait. With Leon, it becomes a slightly above-average experience that relies heavily on "memberberries." There are only two areas where you can truly explore and enjoy the classic survival-horror elements we expect from Resident Evil. The rest is dominated by forced slow-walking segments, narrow corridor exploration, and an oversaturation of scripted cutscenes. By my third playthrough, I was just sighing.

That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the various references unrelated to previous RE games—similarities to newer films like The Gorge or Barbarian, and even The Walking Dead comics (Leon's use of an axe is almost identical to Rick's zombie-clearing panels). These nods were fun.

Story and Characters

This is the weakest part of the game. Grace as a lead character simply doesn't make sense. Leon is fine, but just like in the RE4 remake, he is written way too seriously. His one-liners mostly fall flat, and there are very few of them anyway. After Death Island, which was silly but at least fun, I thought Leon was getting back into form.

The story and characters feel aimless. Or rather, they clearly try to be serious and dramatic, but Leon's remarks feel shoehorned in out of obligation. Returning characters from the series are extremely underutilized; it's as if they didn't even need to be there. Furthermore, the ending hints at the arrival of other familiar faces without any real narrative reason, clearly just to sell DLC.

The amount of nostalgic bait is staggering: bosses, lines of dialogue, locations—nearly half the game is recycled from older titles. There is very little originality here. Retcons are also frequent, which I have unfortunately learned to accept in modern media that relies heavily on what we loved 20 to 30 years ago while rewriting it to fit a new narrative.

Gameplay: A Short Trip Down the Corridor

As mentioned, when the game offers you a classic open map with puzzles and enemies, it truly shines. Unfortunately, there are only two such areas. The rest is essentially an FFXIII-style corridor simulator with forced dialogue and slow, scripted animations.

Grace is supposed to represent survival horror and Leon action. But if you have even a bit of common sense, you'll quickly figure out how to kill enemies as Grace or how to avoid them, and the horror atmosphere evaporates. With Leon, it's just more enemies, more ammo, more shooting. You can upgrade weapons with attachments, but they have minimal impact—nothing like the upgrade systems in the original RE4 or its remake.

"Blood crafting" for Grace feels weak and unnecessary. I used it during my first playthrough, then again for achievements, and subsequently ignored it entirely.

Moreover, the game is very short. My first playthrough took seven and a half hours, during which I explored everything thoroughly and read all the notes. After three playthroughs, I had all the achievements. Meanwhile, I have over 100 hours in the RE4 Remake and still haven't completed everything.

Verdict: A Letdown for Veterans, Average for Newcomers

It's a very conflicting experience. I enjoyed the true Resident Evil-style maps and the references to media outside the series itself. However, the game is too short, too easy, fails to deliver a satisfying climax, and relies far too much on nostalgia.

If you're more of a casual fan or have only played the remakes, this game might suit you. For me, however, the biggest proof of the weak story and characters is that after finishing it, my main question wasn't "Where will the story go next?" but: "Who is Leon married to?"

6/10. Slightly above average. And if you haven't seen Barbarian or The Gorge, I recommend them.