Resident Evil Requiem Review (Xbox Series X|S)

During the current generation of gaming, it feels like a good cluster of once-mainstay franchises have started to fall by the wayside. Either by declining in quality or simply due to a less-frequent launch schedule, many of the AAA franchises I grew up playing on Xbox 360 and Xbox One just don't deliver what they once did for me. However, in Resident Evil, Capcom has consistently delivered fantastic big-budget experiences all throughout the Xbox Series X|S era, and in Requiem, it hasn't stopped. This is another brilliant series entry that gives me pretty much everything I want from modern RE.

From the off, Capcom leaned into this being a more horror-focused entry in the series, particularly with its early marketing being centred around Grace Ashcroft; just one of the protagonists in this game. Whilst it's true that Grace's sections of Requiem are darker, tighter and full of the kind of tense encounters you love to see in RE, those areas of the game aren't quite as creepy as I was expecting. Think more Resident Evil 2 remake, rather than Resident Evil 7 here.

Indeed, Grace's biggest playable section — where you're trying to escape the Rhodes Hill clinic by finding a trio of relics — has massive Racoon Police Department vibes from RE2. This area of the game has you creeping around, exploring and backtracking throughout the clinic, and I really loved the throwback to the R.P.D. here. Requiem has plenty of other tricks up its sleeve, but it always knows when to lean on what fans love from past entries, and I definitely loved playing this section as Grace. A special shoutout to Grace's voice actor too — Angela Sant'Albano — who delivers a very, very convincing performance throughout.

As Capcom revealed further into the game's marketing cycle though, franchise legend Leon Kennedy plays a huge role in Resident Evil Requiem; you're playing as him for roughly half of the experience overall. As expected, Leon's sections are more action-focused, playing a lot more like Resident Evil 4 remake than the slower, Grace-led parts. This gives Requiem fantastic pacing; the game never feels too slow as a result of Leon turning up and taking names whenever he seems to feel like it.

And, taking names our guy does. Requiem's Leon is older, smarter, more battle-hardened - and he certainly knows how to take the fight to the enemy. Decked out with shotguns, snipers and a boot more in-sync with an opponent's chin than Shawn Michaels', you rarely feel underpowered as Resident Evil's poster boy. These sections are a perfect juxtaposition to what Grace delivers elsewhere - and while at first I was slightly worried about how it'd all mesh together, I really didn't need to be. Requiem often feels like a 'greatest hits' of Resident Evil, and somehow, Capcom has learnt how to become a jack of all trades, master of them too. It's thoroughly brilliant stuff.

Having said that, I can't really pretend to know what's going on with Resident Evil's storyline these days. Honestly, I kind of take each game as it comes now; a standalone story, if you will. In this regard, Requiem is fine if somewhat unremarkable - you're escaping ludicrous villains, discovering strange biohazards and overcoming seemingly impossible odds along the way. It's typical Resident Evil narrative, then, without going too much into spoiler territory here. I'm sure that fans of the deeper RE lore will probably find more to take from the story than me, but as someone who's mostly here for the fantastic mix of action and horror, Requiem's narrative does enough to move things along nicely.

I want to circle back around to the two protagonists again for a moment here, and how their blend is an almost-perfect mix. Grace has less at her disposal and is definitely a more vulnerable character throughout, and this comes across in the gear you carry and how the story unfolds. Most of your time as Grace will be spent skulking around with a knife and a pitiful amount of bullets, bringing in plenty of that classic RE tension. As I previously mentioned, Grace's voicework is just top-tier; she manages to sound utterly terrified without being overbearing, which isn't the easiest balance to strike.

And then, you move back to those Leon sections, and it's just a completely different vibe. Mr. Kennedy is so assured in his actions, his ability to deal with anything that's thrown at him - and his cheeky one-liners of course; Requiem sneaks those in wherever it can. The team really has nailed this mix of RE styles in a way I didn't quite expect, and it's one of my favourite series entries as a result. Its highs might not be quite as high as the likes of RE4 and RE7, but back-to-front, this is just a superb Resident Evil experience that caters to fans of all styles of the franchise.

The one main complaint I have here is that... I just wanted Requiem to go on a little bit longer. Its final segment felt like it ended rather abruptly, and while I'd definitely rather see that than something that goes on to outstay its welcome, I would have liked a bit more build up to the game's conclusion. By the time all of the Grace and Leon sections wrap up, things come together pretty quickly — once the pair's stories become intertwined — and I'd have liked to see them together for just a little bit longer as everything gets figured out.