0 
0 He’s better, bigger, stronger and prettier than ever. Leon Kennedy returns in Resident Evil: Requiem the latest addition in the class Capcom horror/action series. Currently available on the Playstation Store for £64.99, can Requiem live up to its predecessors?
How the hell do you get back to Racoon City?
Gameplay
Resident Evil Requiem immediately goes against the established RE curve by allowing the player to choose their POV. In an attempt to combine the nostalgia of the over the shoulder shots with the first person horror that appeared in Biohazard, Capcom let you personalise your experience from the menu. It recommends playing Grace’s story from 1st person whilst using the over-the-shoulder camera for Leon. You can swap and change these settings as you go through the game depending on how you’re finding it.
For my first playthrough, I decided to follow Capcom’s recommendations but I am currently playing through the game with Grace in 3rd person POV just to see the difference. One thing I noticed immediately was that the camera isn’t best suited to some of the over the shoulder shots.
The game starts with Grace, an FBI reporter investigating strange deaths. This leads you to a nearby hotel and launches you into the meat of the story. You are immediately launched into the vibes that Biohazard and Village introduced – low lighting, ambient noise and just general dread – as you start. Once you’re introduced to the antagonist of this story, you seamlessly flip to Leon.
Requiem closes a years long story by unconvering the entire truth and laying old souls to rest.
Somewhat… quickly ending horror
Unfortuately, Requiem does suffer from the fact that eventually the horror just isn’t that horrific. The first time you meet the Girl is is terrifying. She’s a nightmare inducing monster that crawls into the ceiling and disappears when you find the light but that’s… all she does. In the later areas when you have to head into basements, the section where she’s creeping around isn’t that scary as it is far too easy to run away.
It’s a similar situation with Leon’s side of the game. Naturally, Leon’s side is more action heavy than survival horror but even then there isn’t anything overly terrifying aside from that big ass spider.
After being kept on tenterhooks in Biohazard and Village, I was just expecting a little bit more, especially with two main protagonists and POV changes.
Graphics & Audio
The newer gen Resident Evil games have always excelled in their graphics and overall design. Requiem is no different. Enemy design is otherworldly and at times just downright horrific.
The switch between first and third person is seamless as you move from Grace to Leon. The scenery doesn’t lose any of it’s beauty either. It maintains that clinical yet haunted visual that is prevalent in earlier installments. Revisiting the RPD and seeing the devastation of Racoon City amplifies just how far the art style and design has come for Resident Evil games.
Buillding the tension
The background noises inn Resident Evil games are always good at building up the tension of the area. Requiem excels even further by using the sounds of growling infected along with ever present footsteps. It goes even further with the singing infected who haunt the map.
Not a moment of silence
As I played through the game I really started to have an issue with the fac that Grace is just always making some sort of noise. Is it realistic? Absolutely. I’d be curled up in a ball on the floor if I was in her situation. However, it got real irritating really fast.
Longevity
My first playthrough of Requiem lasted an in-game time of 8:12 which included a fair bit of searching for collectibles and generally getting lost or dying. I took me around the same time to beat RE: Village so to me it’s a pretty standard length for a Resident Evil game. Requiem offers the same replayability as earlier entries in the series by rewarding you with points for different challenges you complete as you play.
Once you complete your first run through you unlock insanity mode which is exactly what it says on the tin. Also available are the different POVs as well as switching between the modern and classic save systems. As mentioned, I didn’t enjoy this game as much as I enjoyed Biohazard and Village so I won’t replay it as much but there is defintely enough included to make this game worth the price point.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Resident Evil Requiem does exactly what it sets out to do – it closes this chapter of Leon’s story. I did enjoy it and I do plan on doing more of it but after how strong the previous installments were this just didn’t live up to it. Requiem is still a good next step in the franchise but the two protagonists doesn’t really add all that much to it and the shift between the two is inconsistent at best.
All in all, I have to give Requiem the Thumb Culture Gold Award. A wonderful game just not the best in the series.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Discord | Podcast
About Author
