A Requiem for Resident Evil fans!
This is by far one of the most anticipated video game releases of all time and I am not any different when being excited for this game. At the same time, we not only go back to the roots of horrors of the franchise, but we also get to play with the fan favorite Leon Kennedy in this installment. Who doesn’t like Leon Kennedy? Probably someone who hasn’t played Resident Evil.
This is JJ-kun bringing you my review of Resident Evil Requiem.
Resident Evil Requiem, developed and published by CAPCOM, is a survival horror game released for the 9th generation of consoles built through the Reach for the Moon (RE) Engine. It’s one of the most anticipated games of all time in the franchise, especially with the return of Leon Kennedy since his major appearance in Resident Evil 6. This time though, we are not just going to be playing as Leon but are also welcomed by Grace Ashcroft who’s one of the central points of the game.
Resident Evil Biohazard, Village, and the Remake Trilogy were huge successes that the next major installment in the franchise has a lot riding on it… and man, did this game deliver so well!
The game starts off with the FBI investigating a string of incidents where they find bodies experiencing the same symptoms. As they found a fifth body, Grace Ashcroft, an FBI Intelligence Analyst, was tasked to investigate the crime scene—Wrenwood Hotel. Unfortunately for her, that is also where her mother was killed, leading her to be uncomfortable and anxious, but still determined as she went anyway. When she arrived at the Wrenwood Hotel, she found Victor Gideon and revealed by the latter that the body she was to investigate was planted by him to lure her out, being the chosen one and all that. Meanwhile, as Leon and Sherry are investigating the same string of incidents, Sherry informs Leon of Victor Gideon which could be a potential cause of the incidents. Concurrently, Sherry also informs of a missing police officer report where the fifth body of the incidents was found and Leon immediately headed there. There, Leon found Gideon almost immediately but lost track of him. Fortunately, Sherry provided a location where Leon may be able to find Gideon to know more about the incidents and to save Grace.
What’s great about this game is that even if this would be your entry to the series, you may still enjoy it. It gives players enough context of what happened, is happening, and why everything ended the way it did, similarly to how they handled Resident Evil Biohazard. Of course, you’d still have a better experience if you have been following the series, even if it’s just Resident Evil 2 Remake, especially when there are so many callbacks to the previous installments. Resident Evil Requiem’s story is easy to follow and almost everything connects which makes it a fun experience. In addition to this, it is also very straightforward.
Of course, as we talk about the story, we cannot ignore the fact that CAPCOM once again made a new character specifically for this game, Grace Ashcroft, proving that CAPCOM is not afraid to introduce new characters, and to even use them as the main protagonists of one of their biggest intellectual properties! Just like how they seemingly started anew with Ethan Winters on Resident Evil Biohazard.
As a character, I’d inclined to say that Grace, not only fits the world, but is also quite relatable. She’s essentially us, those who are scared of the unknown, of what might happen. At the same time, she’s also experiencing the horrors for the first time, other than the flashback sequence. She’s easily scared, gets flustered, she’s all kinds of human emotions. She’s very human. It makes sense how she’s nervous about everything. She’s constantly stuttering, which is annoying at times, but the more she finds her resolve throughout the story, the more confident she gets, the stuttering vanishes! That’s what I like about the character build up in this game, it’s progressive!
On the other side of the coin, there’s Leon who is all kinds of experienced. He’s poised, level-headed, composed, collected, primed, and ready to take on anything his way, in his style. Being approximately 49-50 years old, and having about 30 years of experience in the terrors of their world, what happened during the events of Resident Evil Requiem is just another Tuesday for him, although you can really feel something is wrong, that something is bothering him; it’s the T-Virus infection as a survivor of the 1998 Raccoon City incident (the Zombie Outbreak). All those characteristics of these characters were shown through the segment mood and vibes. Despite being significantly older, though, his aura farming game is just through the roof! I can only wish I was him.
Those are some of the best parts of this game, however there are some sections where there really needs improvement—story transitions.
Both the scenario of Grace and Leon happens almost at the same time which might give some of the players confusion during gameplay on which and what is happening at the time. The game did offer the time of when you are controlling the character during a character transition cutscene, so that helps telling the players when exactly you are at story and time-wise. However, it is the story transition that really gets me off-guard. At one point, you will play Grace for, give or take, an hour trying to solve puzzles, going on different sections of the map, and surviving with very limited resources then you transition to Leon, only to play his segment for only 10 minutes before you go back to playing Grace. I believe this is intentional as you get to play Leon longer in the latter part of the game due to the events that happened in the game, but it would have still been a better experience for me if they balanced out each characters’ segment. I won’t discuss it anymore to avoid spoiling readers.
Aside from that, I’d say the game had a pretty great story in it. The twists one expects of a Resident Evil game are all there.
With years of experience with their in-house engine, the optimization of Resident Evil Requiem for the Nintendo Switch 2 console made it one of the best-looking video games to its library. I wish I’m being biased here, but you can play the game for yourself. The game is visually stunning and on par with modern console standards despite being in a handheld device!
As I say that, I’d inform you that still images, such as those in this review, don’t give this version of the game justice at all. It’s a totally different experience when you’re on your 4K HDR TV playing it for yourself. Really, you can nitpick stills all you want, but those are literally the things you most probably wouldn’t notice when playing it. I guess, the other point of contention now would be how stable the frames per second are of this version given that it’s a dealbreaker for many.
Nintendo Switch 2 doubters, heed my word. I’d like to be the bearer of good news—this version of the game aims for 60fps throughout the game. Aims, being the keyword. Of course, as a handheld version, there’s bound to be some caveat. The thing is, the dips in frames aren’t really noticeable unless you’re on the latter part of the game where you are to explore a somewhat huge map. It also helps that these dips happen mostly when there’s heavy action happening on the screen, which camouflages the dips. At the same time, the big map on the latter part of the game is sectioned so well that it doesn’t load the entire map, allowing the system to perform to its maximum capability as much as possible. As far as the dips are concerned, think of it like when you’re playing a game on your PC and you know very well that you are only within the minimum specification and you’re expecting some hiccups and still play anyway. The feeling is similar to that. It really wouldn’t bother you at all. If there’s anything that bothers me the most, it’s the hair model.
The hair strands in the game are so annoying, particularly during cutscenes where there are a lot of closeup shots. It’s quite irritating how the hair stands out so much, given that everything else looks majestic. I mean, look at Victor Gideon who doesn’t have facial hair for the most part, and then look at Leon. You’ll know what I mean. It’s not just those, it’s every hair, even with the zombies and other enemies. It’s quite an eyesore. Like me, I think you’ll be more displeased with the hair than the (understandable) fps dips of the game. Everything else is pure chef’s kiss.
The sound effects are just as crisp as the previous entries. You can hear every pole, every metal, every knockback very clearly. Those are designed in such a way that it may be used as audio cues that will assist you to locate where enemies are, or make use of such sounds to lure zombies. It’s amazing to know that those aren’t just supportive, but have practical use as well. While the sound effects are great, what struck me the most is the background music, especially the difference between Leon’s and Grace’s.
For Grace’s section, you’ll definitely feel the thriller, the horror, and the atmosphere—moments that’ll make you uneasy—all thanks to the background music. It’s subtle, but it’s there. There are also segments where there is no background music, yet it’s precisely this lack thereof that makes the mood suspenseful and terrifying. Overall, it’s the way the music is used to keep us players on edge.
Now, I wouldn’t say the opposite is quite the term for Leon’s section as it’s a totally different world. The background music highlights the contrast between Leon’s and Grace’s sections, along with their story and roles. For his segments, you’ll really feel the action, with almost trap-like music, especially when you’re in combat. It is quite amazing how the music can make you feel confident playing the game, as if you were meant to be him—just as the soundtrack maintains a scary tone when you’re playing as Grace. On the other hand, while the music is action-packed for Leon’s, there’s subtle hints of eeriness to it, like something is amiss and conveys a feeling of being unrest, all while making the best out of the situation.
The background music in this game underscores so many emotions and at the appropriate timing as well. It communicates the feeling of each character and how it is reflected in their gameplay which leads to the players feeling what the developers intended them to feel and I’m all for it—to feel like a scaredy cat when playing as Grace and becoming like a badass when playing as Leon.
The game utilizes the same controls as what started with Biohazard, to Village, and eventually to the REmake series, so if you’re familiar with how those play, then you’ll have no problem playing this one. It plays like a regular action-shooter game where you reload, aim, and kill zombies. There’s nothing special to it and it is very intuitive as well. However, what distinguishes this game among the rest in the genre is how different the gameplay style of Leon and Grace are from each other.
Much as I have mentioned earlier, the game leans more into the horror theme when you’re playing as Grace. There’s very limited resources like ammo, weapons, and other survival items that you’d need to push through the story and you have to make everything count. You also have the option to stealth all the way through to not spend resources at all. At the same time, by default, you play in first person view which makes for a very captivating experience when playing as her. You’d feel everything that Grace is feeling when you’re playing as her, whether you are trying to escape monsters and zombies, trying to solve puzzles, or trying to navigate through the map. Angela Sant’Albano brings Grace to life with a convincing sense of fresh panic and wonder, perfectly channeling the perspective of someone facing the terrors of Resident Evil for the very first time.
On the other hand, everything changes when you’re playing as Leon “Aura Farmer” Kennedy. Instead of the traditional horror game, we get an action-shooter game and all those uncertainty goes away. The confidence in him radiates that it just feels like you can take on anything. You have a huge inventory, with a great pool of arsenal, and a hatchet which I exclusively used for the most part for the most badass points.
At the same time, I like how interactive the map is for both players. Execute a zombie during your segment with Grace and Leon wouldn’t have to face them. The same goes for Leon towards Grace’s sections, making for a less scary and stealth gameplay for Grace. Likewise, there are things in the game where only Grace or Leon can interact that unlocks a part of the map for each character, so that’s really helpful.
From horror/survival to action is what turns the game into and I’d also like to add that this is the game that showed the highest point of improvement in terms of balancing action with horror/survival in the franchise. They’ve always wanted to balance out the action from the horror aspect of the game and this game is the best iteration of that combination.
On a more technical note, aside from the game actually aiming for 60fps and how visually stunning the game is on a handheld console, I just would like to say that there isn’t any noticeable delay in the game in terms of your inputs. It’s one of the reasons why I immediately sold Resident Evil 4 Remake on the PlayStation 4 in favor of the PC version. The Nintendo Switch 2 version plays the game flawlessly—this I can confidently say.
If there are any gaps in the gameplay aspect, it’s what I mentioned in the story section; in the first half of the game, you play Grace for long periods of time and then play as Leon only for not even a quarter of how long you played Grace.
The game is priced at ₱3,495.00 for the Nintendo Switch 2 version and it is by far the most expensive of all releases. The PlayStation 5 version is priced at ₱3,295.00 and the PC version at ₱2,995.00 (₱3,090.00 on Steam). The question is, is it worth it?
As a fan of the series, I’d say the price is well worth it. I paid for that price and I came in expecting that it is not going to be a perfect version of the game, but it still delivered well over my expectations. (Aims) 60fps, HDR support, and most of all, playing on the go? I would say this version is THE bang for the buck and I wouldn’t skip on this game being in the library of all Nintendo Switch 2 owners. Likewise I feel like playing this version will make me appreciate it even more when I play the game on other platforms.
On the flipside, this version of the game being priced over (by ₱5.00, haha) the Deluxe Edition of the game if bought from Steam will make one think whether or not it is worth it. It’s 8-10 hours of campaign, normal by Resident Evil standards packed with horror and action, along with its replayability and in-game unlockables? It is worth every penny. Then again, CAPCOM is one of those publisher-developers that is constantly putting their games on sale, so perhaps you can get it for even less.
Personally though, if you can instead get the ₱5,295 Resident Evil Generation Pack of Resident Evil Requiem which also includes the Gold Editions of Resident Evil Biohazard and Resident Evil Village, I think that’s when you would actually get the most out of your wallet. This is what I pre-ordered and got, despite having already played the latter games. It’s an all-new experience altogether playing these games on the go!
The caveat? All of them are Game Key Card (GKC), meaning you still have to download the entire game while the cartridge is just a “key” that allows you to play the downloaded software. Regardless, it doesn’t change my opinion and still plays flawlessly like being natively within the cartridge. The only reason that hinders me from buying many GKC titles is the hideous warning notice in the front that takes up a portion of the cover stating that it is a Game Key Card. I get it though. They legally have to plaster it on there, but couldn’t it be more subtle? But that’s just me, haha.
Resident Evil Requiem is such an amazing installment for the Resident Evil franchise, finally balancing action and horror, and even more so that the game runs impeccably on the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s essentially a message to every developer that if they can run modern titles on the Nintendo Switch 2, so can the others if they put in the work. I’m looking forward to modern games’ ports to the Nintendo Switch 2 especially that CAPCOM showed us what is possible with the hardware. It’s going to be my standard for demanding titles for the Nintendo Switch 2 that aren’t console-exclusive (but maybe to console-exclusives, too). They’ve set the bar high, and it’s what we deserve.
…Oh, and Leon fanservice will always be welcomed
This review was written before the any DLC or fix patches.
REVIEWED ON THE NINTENDO SWITCH 2
