Resident Evil Requiem can be played in two perspectives, but there are some "exclusive animation" bonuses if you opt for third-person over first.
A Capcom PR representative told me as much during my Resident Evil Requiem hands-on preview – the same segment of the game we'd seen hands-off at Summer Game Fest earlier this year – when I commented that protagonist Grace Ashcroft seemed to fall down a lot during chase sequences after swapping to third-person mode. Like, a lot a lot.
It turns out that these "exclusive animations" are specific to the game's third-person perspective, meaning you don't have to worry about her supreme klutziness as much if you're planning on playing Requiem in the style of Ethan Winters. You can also change between first and third-person viewpoints at will, which is where my experimentation came into play.
I found that Grace still sobbed and shrieked while being chased in first-person by her chained monster pursuer – reminiscent yet not identical to Resident Evil Remake's Lisa Trevor – but I didn't see her faceplant even once. Yet when I replayed a section in third-person after dying once at the hands of the monster, I noticed Grace slipping on pools of blood or tripping over random bits of detritus in Rhodes Hill Chronic Care almost as soon as the monster gave chase.
It's a fittingly B-movie final girl shtick, doubling down on the series' campy old-school horror vibes as I shouted repeatedly at Grace to get up and run. It also speaks to Capcom's goal to deliver a protagonist whose fear matches that of the player, having deemed Resi action hunk Leon Kennedy "a bad match for horror" in this particular game.
I should also mention that a pop-up on the settings screen informed me that first-person is the recommended mode for playing Resident Evil Requiem. However, it's reassuring to know that choosing the over-the-shoulder perspective won't compromise the horror movie experience.
Resident Evil Requiem is one of the biggest upcoming horror games we can't wait to see in the next 12 months, and it's in scary-good company
