I’ve played dozens of horror games, and consider myself acclimated to the scary elements that startle a lot of other people. I love a spooky atmosphere and an unsettling tone that creeps under your skin, and I’m not afraid to admit that Resident Evil Requiem got me good. I knew something was coming — I was in a room with other previewers who occasionally jumped or gasped — but I still practically leaped out of my skin. The demo I played was just a taste, but it’s a good indication that the franchise is pivoting fully back into horror while taking crucial lessons from the recent remakes.
My demo of Requiem was a playable version of the section shown off in the game’s reveal trailer, where you’re in tight corridors running from a deformed beast that can climb through the ceiling and ambush you. Set somewhere in Racoon City, you play as brand new heroine Grace Ashcroft, who’s been sent to investigate a string of fatalities in a hotel where her mother was murdered eight years ago.
My demo began with a classic Resident Evil sequence where I crept through corridors to find a screwdriver, so I could use that to unlock a case containing a fuse, so I could open a gate. It was slow, methodical, and utterly terrifying. Requiem’s aesthetic and tone immediately stand out, with superb lighting that drapes corridors in imposing shadows that feel like they move in the corner of your eyes. Everything has a level of griminess to it, a sense of grit and dirt that’s seeped into the world.
Then there’s the sound design, with the deafening quiet interrupted by the tiniest of sounds, all as your footsteps reverberate through your head. There’s a constant sense of unease, like anything could happen at any moment, and the game heightens that sense by giving Grace a slow, deliberate movement speed.
But the demo transformed halfway through. As I worked out the light puzzle elements and found a lighter so I could proceed through a pitch-black corridor, the monster made a sudden appearance, rearing its horrific dental troubles right in my face.
The tone changed from creeping dread to outright horror as I scrambled from its reaching claws. I could throw bottles to distract the creature or flee into a couple of well-lit rooms, as light seemed to hurt it. But even that wasn’t surefire, as the building’s electricity cut out at random.
From then on, I had to constantly contend with the creature while trying to solve puzzles, tricking it with bottles, and outmaneuvering it through the building’s rooms. The whole thing felt reminiscent of Mr. X from Resident Evil 2 Remake, more emergent and surprising than the scripted Nemesis sequences in Resident Evil 3. And that’s exactly what I want from Resident Evil — unpredictability that ratchets up the tension.
Requiem’s other fascinating aspect is the ability to switch between first and third-person at any time, which genuinely changes how the game feels. Remarkably, both modes feel completely viable. First-person feels more terrifying because of how it constricts your view, but the third-person camera, combined with Grace’s detailed animations, is far more cinematic. For example, what feels like sheer terror running from the beast in first-person becomes, in third-person, a hectic chase where Grace stumbles and falls as she runs. The two scenes are identical, but feel very different.
I still have doubts about the entire game being playable in both first and third person, but it worked exceptionally well in the demo, and gave my two playthroughs different flavors. It feels like Requiem is trying to merge the style and tension of Resident Evil 7 with the methodical exploration and emergent enemies of recent remakes.
The big questions, of course, are how combat will feel and if Grace is the only playable character, two details I don’t have any insight into. But the hour I spent with Requiem has all the makings of great horror, and feels like a deliberate throwback to the slow-burn style of classic Resident Evil.
One of the franchise’s unique strengths is how it consistently manages to redefine itself while retaining its soul. That happened with RE4 and 7, and now Requiem feels like the next step. This is the same Resident Evil you know and love, but darker and grimier than ever before.
