Requiem Evil Requiem (Xbox, PC) Review – Essential horror
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Resident Evil Requiem is almost here, and it might sound a little bittersweet.
A “requiem” is a mass held to honor those who have departed. Also the name of Leon Kennedy’s magnum revolver, and the name of the ninth line entry in one of the famous gaming franchises.
Resident Evil Requiem Factsheet
Title: Bad Need for Residents
Types: Survival Horror, Action, Third and First Person Shooter
Released: February 27, 2026
Developer: CAPCOM
Available at: PC (Steam), PlayStation, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2
Amount: $69.99
Length of game play: 12-15 hours (Normal difficulty)
Xbox Play Anywhere: ❌
Xbox Game Pass: ❌
Requiem is meant to be a torch-passing of sorts, as a saga with many of its original characters draws to a close to enter a new era. Leon Kennedy, who debuted in Resident Evil 2 back in 1998, has seen better days.
Inspired by decades of misery fighting the world’s most corrupt corporations and unseen horrors, Leon joins the new character Grace in a partnership of dual experience reminiscent of previous experiments such as Resident Evil Zero and Resident Evil 6 – both of which were not well received.
Does Resident Evil Requiem defend this formula? Can a single entry appeal to the Resident Evil fan base that separates survival from action horror? We played the game on Xbox Series X and Windows PC to find out.
Welcome to our spoiler-free Resident Evil Requiem review.
Resident Evil Requiem review: Story, art, and performance
Watch it open
Resident Evil Requiem expands on the dual character tradition that has been a staple of the franchise since its inception, albeit in a different twist. Requiem tries to double and maybe even triple down on this design, providing a completely different gameplay experience based on which main character is currently on stage.
Leon Kennedy is one of the franchise’s most experienced veterans. Leon plays his role as a DSO agent, representing the United States government. He is joined by new FBI technology analyst Grace Ashcroft, daughter of Resident Evil Outbreak’s Alyssa Ashcroft, who finds her fate intertwined with Kennedy’s early on.
While investigating a series of mysterious deaths, Ashcroft finds himself captivated by the distorted, twisted vision of a mad scientist, later to be known as Victor Gideon. Leon, also investigating the death, quickly gives chase.
Requiem is a great game, and continues the great look of the franchise on top of Capcom’s impressive RE Engine. The game plays on the Xbox Series X, and runs well on low-end hardware. On our primary review platform, the Xbox Series X, you can expect smooth 60 FPS performance with no stuttering or frame pacing issues. We also tested the game at 1080p on an RTX 4060 PC, DLSS balanced with no frame rate, holding up to 144 FPS.
The RE Engine has been under fire for Monster Hunter Wilds’ terrible performance issues, but when used for its intended purpose, the engine is still one of the best out there. Facial motion capture approaches uncanny levels of realism. Attention to detail in the lighting is also a cut above, with the light blooming on Grace’s hair with real brilliance.
The visual buffet only enhances and enhances the rhythms of the game’s story. Grace and Leon both do amazing things, and Victor Gideon is a suitably intimidating antagonist – with the physical actions of a bio-weapon combined with a quiet desperation and wisdom reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter.
Leon’s game should reflect the action-oriented entries of Resident Evil, while Grace’s should reflect the kind of danger we felt playing the original games. This carries over into the rhythm of the story to some extent, as Grace’s experiences are filled with terror, as her character stumbles upon events that few of us would be equipped to deal with if they were real. Her vulnerability is well portrayed, as well as her courage in the face of impossible and traumatic situations. In contrast, Leon is an indomitable comic book hero, celebrating the over-the-tops of the franchise. However, it didn’t always work for me the other way around.
At times I felt that the Michael Bay-style presentation of Leon’s sequence undermined the more sensual story beats from Grace’s arc. Capcom absolutely pulls it off no boxing with Requiem Resident Evil. I won’t spoil it by any means, but I was impressed with the limits the Resident Evil team was willing to push. It didn’t always stay with me – even when it was undeniably amazing. The impact of whiplash can feel severe. But, maybe I’m also overthinking it, and even then, it doesn’t detract from the overall experience.
The story of Resident Evil Requiem will take you through many emotions, and leave you excited for the future of the franchise.
Resident Evil: The Gameplay Review
Resident Evil Requiem, as noted in the game’s marketing and beyond, straddles the line between both standard survival horror and more leaning action horror in equal measure.
Grace’s parts are classic Resident Evil. A mansion full of zombies, a maze of maps, puzzles, valuable items, while searching for characters. This is where the game felt the strongest in my opinion, but I’m also a fan of that era of Resident Evil.
Grace’s segments not only show the user interface of Resident Evil, but also come with similar constraints. Limited cargo space, deliberately restrictive controls, moving, aggressive and tough monsters around every corner. The game even doubles down on some of Resident Evil’s heavy classics. Redheads are back, in a sense, requiring players to consider dealing with corpses. The game also plays a lot with light and stealth.
You can sneak up and dispatch enemies to give them a chance against larger groups, while conserving ammunition in the process. Resident Evil Requiem also lets you play with the “Classic” save system, disabling auto-save and forcing you to buy Ink Ribbons, old-school style.
Whether you’re playing as Grace or Leon, the combat in Resident Evil Requiem is incredibly satisfying. Zombies and other enemies never feel the sponge of a bullet, they react dynamically to wounds and other types of attacks. The critics of the head still give that satisfaction pop made it more spectacular with the changing season painting the walls and floor with crimson stains.
It’s not all throwing, though. Both characters have new mechanics and toys to play with, and both can be played in optional first and third person – a first for the franchise. Sadly, Capcom gave the zombies in Resident Evil Requiem a much deeper personality than in previous games. It was as if every zombie I encountered was a different model, complete with different behaviors, attack patterns, I mean dialogue. This sent them all in awe and drowned.
Grace can emphasize the stealth game with hemoglobin hypodermic needles that can quickly detonate frightened or unaware zombies. In contrast, Leon Kennedy is a master of martial arts, fully equipped with a large arsenal of guns, ammo, and other additional melee combat features. He runs fast, turns very smoothly, and comes with a hatchet that can be used to permanently kill enemies (even the Monster Hunter sharpening mechanic.)
Leon’s stages can feel overwhelming at times, especially in the later levels, as the game throws enemies inspired by Resident Evil 4, 5, and 6 at you in gallery-style shooting events. At that point, parts of Leon could also feel pain, especially after he had been struggling in the dark with Grace for several hours. Leon’s UI even takes on a Resident Evil 4-inspired format, complete with a health bar rather than Grace’s old-school heart rate monitor. It’s a nice touch, and it’s in a lot of these little details that you know Capcom understands and celebrates both aspects of the franchise’s legacy.
I was worried that Leon’s segments would feel too linear so far, but thankfully Capcom still clearly recognizes that the ability to track and explore is something that should be at the core of both its action and survival horror tendencies. Complete with legendary boss battles, surprising and unexpected twists, and a variety of new and unexpected locations – Resident Evil Requiem will probably be celebrated as one of the franchise’s greatest entries.
Resident Evil Requiem review: Should you buy it?
If you’re a fan of Resident Evil, this part of the review is pointless – we know you’re going to buy it, and you definitely should. Resident Evil Requiem is steeped in a new story, great characters, exciting gameplay, and sports a meaty campaign that’s worth the price of admission.
The minute-to-minute gameplay is great, the acting is top-notch, and the visuals are among the best we’ve seen in the genre. Resident Evil Requiem celebrates many aspects of the franchise, and is very capable of defending the dual-play experiments of previous installments.
It may sound strange at times. An emotional narrative and high-impact story beats can feel watered down if followed almost immediately by a high-action comic book – but your mileage may vary on that. A less convincing view might be that video games are an ideal way to explore many types of one package, and certainly not something that has a negative impact on everything. Whatever, you might find it uplifting.
Resident Evil Requiem is the first blockbuster of 2026. long, longlong may this franchise live.
