XBOX REVIEW | Resident Evil Requiem

Resident Evil does not need much of an explanation unless you have been living under a rock. It is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, horror franchises around. After a run of impressive remakes in recent years, we now have Resident Evil Requiem, a brand new entry that finally moves the series forward again. As someone who has followed this series for years, there is always a certain excitement that comes with a new chapter, the kind that builds before you even press start. The name alone carries decades of survival horror history, and Requiem arrives with the promise of something fresh rather than another trip down memory lane.

Requiem is a fully single player experience that puts you in the shoes of two characters, Grace Ashcroft and Leon S. Kennedy, whose stories twist around each other in an intertwining narrative. It feels like a deliberate blend of new blood and familiar legacy, the kind of pairing that immediately sparks curiosity about how their paths connect and what tone each will bring to the journey. Even before diving in, it sets the stage for a character driven story that aims to respect the series’ roots while giving long time fans something new to look forward to.

With the legacy of Resident Evil behind it, Requiem has a lot to live up to, so let’s get into the review.

Things I liked!

• Different perspectives | Resident Evil Requiem starts by offering you two ways to play: Third person and first person. The game does encourage you to use the pre-set conditions, as Grace features a horror-based campaign and the first person perspective is better built for that, with Leon being more action orientated, and being better suited for third person. However, the great thing here is you can change it on the fly at any point throughout your session and customise the camera controls to your liking. You can even adjust things like the camera acceleration for snappier turning.

• Sound & Music | I state this with absolute certainty that Resident Evil Requiem has some of, if not the best, sound design and music in any game in recent years. Sure, some games have fantastic music, but the sound design specifically here is downright harrowing in the best of ways. Imagine this: You have just been kidnapped, you have no idea where you are, and the only thing you know is the hallways in front of you lit up by the lighter you have in your hand. Suddenly, the boards creak above you and the sound follows the dark hallway down until the only sound you hear is you gasping for air. You walk a little further, and then comes the horrid sound of what can only be described as metal banging against wood and flesh. This is the reality of what you hear when playing Resident Evil Requiem. Sound is so integral, and it carries throughout the many rooms and hallways that you find yourself in. It is so immersive that there were some instances where I refused to move for 10 minutes.
  
  
• The Story | I don’t want to give too much away, but Capcom are really trying to rewrite some history here, and that isn’t a bad thing. It carries on the events from thirty years ago when Resident Evil first launched in 1996. Survivors of Raccoon City now have a latent virus activated in their system and are slowly dying. This affects one of our main protagonists, Leon. Desperate to find out what the mysterious deaths have in common with his disease, Leon accidentally gets wrapped up in Grace’s investigation that saw her mother murdered eight years prior. I’ll save the rest for now, as anything more would spoil it. But just know that the writers have done a fantastic job at making this course for future games relevant to the previous games, and also bulletproof for future plans. I can’t wait for more.
  
  
• Cinematics | Resident Evil Requiem contains around four hours of in-game cutscenes. Each one, regardless of what perspective you play in, is carefully crafted and looks just like a movie. There have been Resident Evil CGI films in the past, and the last one Death Island, looked great too. But it is hard to believe that we now have videogames that have better real-time rendering than pre-rendered models and scenes. Each time we see a story element play out, the cinematics are well structured, well lit, and really engage you as a player by involving you in the intricate story.
  
  
• Graphics | Resident Evil Requiem is a gorgeous game. There is no argument here. Graphically, this game should set the standard for what first-person horror games should strive to be like. Textures are crisp. Lighting is perfect, with SSGI implementation that looks convincingly real. Very early scenes where you walk through the street as Grace have some of the best overcast shadows and indirect lighting I have ever seen. It is a testament to how far great art direction can go, and even more so to the programmers who utilise Capcom’s in-house RE Engine.
  
  
• Combat Differences | Requiem offers two types of combat, and it is up to you how you wish to go about it. Grace isn’t armed to the teeth like Leon, but she is savvy at crafting things like hypodermic syringes that cause zombies to explode into masses of pink mist and guts. This is done by carefully using stealth to sneak up and inject them when they are not looking, ultimately saving you from wasting bullets and making noise. On that note, noise is what makes some of the enemies in this game stagger towards you. They retain some of their old selves, and respond to things that happen in the world. Leon, on the other hand is ready for war and is usually armed with multiple weapons and grenades. He doesn’t craft weapons and also utilises a hatchet that can be sharpened by holding the left bumper and pressing X. Keeping this sharp will allow you to counter attacks and also do takedowns when needed.

Mixed & disliked!

• Mid-game Identity Crisis | Around the midpoint of the game, you do end up having to do what I call a rather long fetch quest. Without going into it too much, it involves going from point A to B, and then back to A, followed by point C, before going back to point A again, in what I can only describe as “video game logic”. Up until this point, Resident Evil Requiem had fantastic pacing. It was tight, to the point, horror-infused action at its finest. But it is such a stark difference from such a strong first act that it is hard to really get into this section without feeling a little tired. The final act, though does save it by largely repeating what made the first act so good. It would have just been better had they made this middle area a little more refined.

• Lack of Next-Gen Features | Unfortunately, Resident Evil Requiem doesn’t feature any of Capcom’s next-gen features such as ray tracing, DLSS, or path tracing. These features are exclusively reserved for PC and PS5 Pro. Series X does do a good job at having a stable frame rate throughout, but Capcom do focus on this being a 60fps title throughout, so there are unfortunately no quality and performance toggles for this title. It is a shame because I think 30fps for single-player titles is usually okay, provided the frame times are also smooth. Since this game is so graphically impressive, it would have been nice to have the option to see what it is like with all the next-gen features available to us like the PS5 Pro has, albeit at a lower frame rate.

How long did I play the review before publishing? 18 Hours
How long to beat the story? 10-12 Hours
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 28/49 OR 280/1000G
How long to achieve 1000G | 35-40 Hours
You’ll love this game if you like these | Resident Evil 4 & Silent Hill 2

CONCLUSION

Score: 94/100

Requiem shows this series still has the strength to surprise and impress.

Resident Evil Requiem feels like the moment the series finally exhales and steps forward again. Its dual campaigns, impeccable sound design, and stunning visuals show a studio working at the top of its craft, even if a sluggish mid‑game and missing next‑gen features keep it from absolute greatness. What sticks with me is how confidently Capcom lays the foundations for a new era, one that respects the past while daring to rewrite it. If this is where the franchise is heading, I am more than ready to follow it into the dark.