In late February of 2026, CAPCOM released a new opus to the Resident Evil franchise. So far, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. As a big fan of Resident Evil in general, but unable to play the game due to its very high graphics (and also price), I have resorted to watching other people play it. Nevertheless, Resident Evil Requiem is a masterpiece of a game. I believe I know enough about this franchise and what I have seen from other content creators to make a decent enough review of this game.
Starting off with the obvious, the character designs are great. Of course, a lot of work has been put into Leon Kennedy’s design, and it obviously shows. A whole team of women assembled to make this character as good-looking as possible. And it didn’t only work for the women. Famous YouTubers Jacksepticeye and Markiplier have also proclaimed their love for this particular character design. Leon’s design is a masterpiece, I am saddened to say that his corny one-liners have sadly remained. My particular favorite design is that of the antagonist, Victor Gideon. His entire personality is made to be close to a snake, and the visuals carry it extremely well. I also very much enjoy how soft-spoken he is. It is a nice change of pace from all the screaming of zombies and extremely mutated monsters. The other antagonist, Zeno, has a nice design as well, and it was very clearly made to imitate Albert Wesker’s. However, I very much prefer Wesker’s design to this cheap imitation.
The graphics of Resident Evil Requiem are breathtaking. The realism of the background as well as the attention to detail is nothing short of amazing. Characters are reflected in blurry TV screens, and the light reflections when a character uses a flashlight is hyper realistic as well. I sometimes find myself forgetting that it is a video game, and not real life—untill I see the undead and monsters. It just looks like Grace and Leon are taking an extremely dangerous urbex trip.
When it comes to gameplay, there is not much I can say, as I have not played the game myself. From what I have seen, however, the gameplay is awesome on Leon’s part. Being a veteran when it comes to zombies, Leon is nothing short of an expert when it comes to fighting infected and monsters. His combat gameplay is simply epic, with all sorts of new mechanics and weapons. When it comes to Grace, her story is much more stressful, with awesome chases and new crafting mechanics. The choice between first and third person for Grace’s story makes a nice change, and provides some contrast to Leon’s which has to be played in third person. I absolutely love the fact that the infected have some remnants of a personality as well. Some of them can sing, while others, like cleaning staff and maids , try to scrub your face off if she catches you.
Story-wise, I cannot say much for fear of spoilers. I very much enjoy the use of the older games and the return to viruses instead of parasites and mold like in the more recent games. The mentions of Spencer and even Albert Wesker are more than welcome. The contrast between Leon’s combat and explosion-stacked story and Grace’s “introduction” to the infected with chases and extreme inventory management. There is more, obviously, but I feel like omitting details about the story in particular is better for people who want to experience it firsthand.
Design aside, the characters themselves are very well portrayed. Grace, the main character, is extremely anxious. Not only does she stammer when she talks, but her anxiety can also be heard through shaky breaths. The way she holds firearms is also a tell of that anxiety, as she shakes a little when aiming, a tell of how inexperienced she is with using weapons. On the other hand, Leon S. Kennedy is out here guns blazing and sick and tired of all these zombies out for blood. He is as corny as ever, which is a tell that even though now he genuinely wants to know where bingo is, he still has the energy and the time to find the worst one-liners known to man.
Overall though, this game is great in all of its aspects. Resident Evil Requiem is a masterpiece of a game. While I have played some games from the Resident Evil franchise, Requiem is probably one of my favorites.
Overall I give it a 9 out of 10, the point I am removing comes from the corny one-liners. Leon’s lines are the one thing I despise about these games.
