Resident Evil Requiem was arguably the biggest reveal of this year’s Summer Games Fest, and by a pretty large margin. The surprise trailer for the long-awaited ninth entry in Capcom’s survival horror epic revealed a new protagonist, an exciting new direction for the franchise’s brand of scares, and maybe even a return to the city where the terrors first began.
After a brief preview of Requiem, it's clear that Capcom is smartly altering the Resident Evil formula once more, and is doing so regardless of which perspective long-time fans prefer.
Resident Evil Requiem will center on Grace Ashcroft, the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft, a playable character in the 2004 online multiplayer spinoff Resident Evil Outbreak. Grace is a bookish FBI agent part of a larger federal investigation into a string of mysterious deaths around the United States. We know the latest occurrence happened at a place called the Wrenwood Hotel, which happens to be where Alyssa died eight years prior.
Grace is asked to go to Wrenwood to uncover the truth about the deaths and maybe find answers about her mother. Unfortunately for her, an unknown antagonist is keeping tabs on the Ashcroft lineage, following the theme of the last two games’ Ethan Winters saga. Whatever that conflict is appears to be tied to the broader Resident Evil mythos, including the nuclear bombing of Raccoon City.
The demo Inverse played was just over 20 minutes long, and had players exploring a mansion-like location in search of items that would solve a simple puzzle while avoiding detection by a monster. It wasn’t the most feature-rich demo, but it provided enough context to understand how the series is set to evolve.
While Resident Evil 8 Village steered things back towards the heavy action of Resident Evil 4, Requiem is doubling down on scaring the bejesus out of players, putting them in situations where running and hiding is the best course of action. While weapons will no doubt play a role in the final game, there’s an obvious influence being taken from games like P.T. and Amnesia.
In many ways, Requiem is doubling down on the creepy vibes of 2017’s Resident Evil 7, which revitalized the series’ horror roots. However, Capcom is turning away from the biggest change of the last two games: the divisive first-person perspective. The demo’s end revealed that Requiem will be playable in first and third-person.
It was a big deal when Resident Evil 7 forced players into a more immersive playstyle. It marked a much-needed fresh start for the series, and it worked extremely well; exploration and combat remained fun in first-person, and players were pulled closer to the desperation of Ethan Winters’ journey (and the moldy grossness of the Baker household).
Capcom had shown signs of moving away from the forced first-person perspective, adding the option to play Resident Evil 8 in third-person via a 2022 DLC. While it was admirably gutsy to make such a drastic shake-up, this change ultimately lets more people enjoy the series however they choose.
Based on the trailer and what we’ve seen of the demo, we can officially say that Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi wasn’t kidding during last July’s sneak peek at the game.
“The general consensus from fans of the series was that a Resident Evil game is one that should scare the hell out of you,” Nakanishi said. The game’s terrifying new direction seems to be living up to that promise and then some.
