Resident Evil Requiem Review: Capcom's best survival horror to date

Few series have lasted as long as Resident Evil and fewer still have seen the myriad of evolutions, spin-offs and experiments that it's enjoyed (or endured in some cases), but nevertheless it has survived thanks to its engaging story, iconic characters and constant push to find new ways of scaring the audience.

Now, 30 years later, Resident Evil Requiem is taking a leaf out of Leon's book and doing some acrobatics to both look back to where the game's lore all began, and focus ahead to the future, experimenting once more by blending its first-person experience with its third-person one.

We were excited right out of the gate to see what Capcom had in store, particularly after they teased an entirely explorable noir city free from infection, tense scares in a manor house that had shades of the Spencer Mansion and the return of fan favourite Zaddy – Leon S Kennedy.

Thankfully, we weren’t disappointed. Resident Evil Requiem really is all the best parts of the series in one package, and while there are moments it toes the line of becoming overly stuffed with too many ideas, it never crosses into RE6 territory.

There’s a lot in the story to unpack, and we were kept on tenterhooks from start to finish, uncovering the mystery of Elpis and how it ties into Grace's and Leon's extreme cases of skin irritation – but we won’t (and can’t) go into much detail, and wouldn't want to spoil anything for those going in blind.

What we can say is Resident Evil Requiem has one of the coolest openings of the series so far, as Grace Ashcroft is sent to a local crime scene in the city to look for clues into a recent spate of murders. Walking through the gritty and bustling street as the rain pours down feels like a fresh way to start the game, providing a nice slow build into the dread we know is coming as we begin exploring an abandoned hotel.

As events unfold, Grace ends up being kidnapped by a masked villain, only for Leon to arrive in town and chase after her. This is our first taste of the perspective switch, and Requiem wastes no time in dialling up the action as you blast infected away and perform all manner of high kicks, body slams and axe takedowns along the way. Aside from being a fun moment after all the sleuthing as Grace, graphically it really shines as you run between traffic as the rain-slicked roads glow under car headlights and enemies blend in with scared civilians.

Eventually both arrive at the Rhodes Hill Clinic and must work in tandem to escape and find out what the masked villain, Victor, has planned. This is where the real meat of the game reveals itself, and you quickly get to grips with Grace as a protagonist. While a fully trained FBI agent, she’s clearly a nervous person and not adept at combat at all – something which is quickly reflected in her arsenal.

Equipped with a pistol and any makeshift knives she might find lying around, ammo is pretty scarce, so you’ll need to really think twice before firing at any infected lumbering around the clinic. In Requiem, a lot of the infected have some semblance of memories, meaning they’ll act out certain routines from their day to day, such as cleaning the floors, turning off lights or attempting to cook in a kitchen that would no longer pass safety standards.

It’s a nice touch which feels like something from the Siren series and helps to add a layer of strategy to getting around as Grace — switching lights off to send an infected one way, or using sound to distract patients complaining of a headache.

Crafting is a huge part of Requiem, something we didn’t quite expect, but you’ll notice enemies leaving behind piles of blood if you manage to vanquish them, as well as buckets of the crimson stuff in all kinds of places. Grace can extract this and combine it with scrap scavenged along the way to create all sorts of things from upgrades to ammo – but more importantly, Hemolytic Injectors. Creep up behind an infected and inject them with one of these, and you’ll see them bubble and explode into a pile of goo.

Now, is collecting blood to craft things a bizarre idea? Yes. Of course. But did we enjoy the macabre oddness of making infected explode into icky ooze? Also, absolutely yes.

At first, it’s almost jarring flicking from Grace crawling around the mansion-esque hospital of Rhodes — ill-equipped to really fight back unless totally necessary — and into Leon, ready to smash skulls with his boots and fight off chainsaws with a small axe.

But ultimately, that switch is a nice palette cleanser each time. Grace's moments are often slow, taut and considered, making every choice feel like it comes with a weight of responsibility. Performing judgment calls on whether to use scarce ammunition or an injector to eliminate a zombie, or instead distract and sneak by using an excitable light switch feel rewarding and endlessly enjoyable. But that building tension needs a release, which Leon's insane drop kicks and bum-kicking really provide.

Crimson Heads – which you may remember from the 2002’s Resident Evil remake – make a comeback of sorts, in the form of Blister Heads. If you don’t fully destroy the noggin of such an enemy, it can later come back to ruin your day with a bulbous, bubble-like head and a much more feral speed and strength. Even when you know they’re coming, these pesky mutations can really take what little resources you have to survive. It’s a nice nod to one of the series more interesting ideas and something Requiem does throughout.

Whether intentional or not, the game is littered with references and homages to previous games in settings, mechanics, enemies and sound – with the infamous piano motif from the original Resident Evil playing in certain spaces. A sound which, at this point, is both unsettling and comforting to a long-time fan.

While there’s undoubtedly somewhat of a nostalgia play in Requiem, it still feels fresh and toes the line of its bombast, keeping us hooked beat-by-beat.

The story works to recontextualise some of the franchise lore and offers new insight into the series's ever increasing bio experimentation, preparing Resident Evil to shake off some of its previous history and step into a new era.

But more importantly, Leon's back with as many fresh one-liners as the team could fit into the game. Throw in some of the most tense and creepy exploration we’ve had to handle so far, and Resident Evil Requiem really is Capcom firing on all cylinders to deliver their best survival horror to date.

Resident Evil Requiem releases 27 February 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2.

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