Resident Evil Requiem (Xbox, PC) Review — An epic showcase of Resident Evil's best action and survival horror traditions

Resident Evil Requiem is almost here, and it might feel a tad bitter sweet.

A "requiem" is a mass held to honor those that have departed. It's also the name of Leon Kennedy's magnum revolver, and the namesake of the ninth mainline entry in one of gaming's most legendary franchises.

Requiem is intended to be a passing of the torch of sorts, as the saga featuring many of its original characters draws to a close to make way for a new era. Leon Kennedy, who debuted in Resident Evil 2 back in 1998, has certainly seen better days.

Dogged by decades of trauma fighting the world's most corrupt bio-corporations and physically corrupted undead horrors, Leon joins new protagonist Grace on a dual-experience partnership that reminisces of previous experiments like Resident Evil Zero and Resident Evil 6 — both of which weren't particularly well received.

Does Resident Evil Requiem vindicate this formula? Can a single entry appeal to Resident Evil's diverging survival horror and action horror fan base? We played through the game on Xbox Series X and Windows PC to find out.

Welcome to our spoiler-free Resident Evil Requiem review.

Resident Evil Requiem review: Story, art, and performance

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Resident Evil Requiem extends a dual-protagonist tradition that has been a staple of the franchise since the beginning, albeit in different flavors. Requiem tries to double and perhaps even triple down on this design, offering an entirely different gameplay experience based on which protagonist is currently center stage.

Leon Kennedy is one of the franchise's most experienced veterans. Leon reprises his role as a D.S.O. agent, acting on behalf of the United States government. He's joined by newcomer FBI technical analyst Grace Ashcroft, daughter of Resident Evil Outbreak's Alyssa Ashcroft, who finds her fate intertwined with that of Kennedy early on.

While investigating a string of mysterious deaths, Ashcroft finds herself kidnapped by a hulking, twisted vision of a mad scientist, we'd later know as Victor Gideon. Leon, who is also investigating the deaths, gives immediate chase.

Requiem is an absolutely stunning game, and continues the franchise's positive visual streak atop Capcom's impressive RE Engine. The game sings on Xbox Series X, and runs flawlessly on lower-end hardware. On our primary review platform, Xbox Series X, you can expect a smooth 60 FPS operation with zero hitching or frame pacing problems. We also tested the game at 1080p on an RTX 4060 PC, DLSS balanced with no frame gen, grabbing upwards of 144 FPS.

The RE Engine has been under some scrutiny thanks to Monster Hunter Wilds' notorious performance problems, but when used for its intended purpose, the engine is still one of the best out there. The facial motion capture is approaching uncanny levels of realism. The attention to detail in lighting is also a cut above, with light blooming through Grace's hair with realistic flair.

The visual buffet only elevates and enhances the game's story beats. Grace and Leon both give incredible performances, and Victor Gideon is a suitably horrifying antagonist — with the physical accoutrements of a Tyrant bioweapon coupled with a quiet sadism and intelligence reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter.

Leon's gameplay is supposed to represent more action-oriented Resident Evil entries, while Grace's is supposed to showcase the kind of vulnerability we felt playing the original games. This extends to the story beats too to some degree, with Grace's experience is steeped in horror, as her character stumbles through events few of us would be equipped to deal with were it real. Her vulnerability is well-delivered, as is her bravery in the face of impossible and traumatic scenarios. Leon by contrast is an invincible comic book superhero, which celebrates the franchise's over-the-top overtures. It didn't always work for me in contrast, though.

Occasionally I felt like the bombastic "rule of cool" Michael Bay-style presentation of Leon's sequences undermined the evocative story beats from Grace's arc. Capcom absolutely pulls no punches with Resident Evil Requiem. I won't spoil it by any means, but I was impressed by the boundaries the Resident Evil team were willing to push. It didn't always land for me — even when it was undeniably awesome. The whiplash effect can feel jarring. But, I am probably also overthinking it, and even if I am, it hardly degrades the overall experience.

Resident Evil Requiem's story will run you through a broad gamut of emotions, and leave you excited for the franchise's future.

Resident Evil Requiem review: Gameplay

Resident Evil Requiem, as noted in the game's marketing and beyond, strides a line between both classic survival horror and more action horror leanings in largely equal measure.

Grace's segments are absolutely classic Resident Evil. A zombie-infested mansion, a maze of maps, puzzles, key items, while desperately scrounging for ammunition. This is where the game felt the strongest in my view, but I'm also more a fan of that era of Resident Evil.

Grace's segments not only exhibit the classic-style Resident Evil user interface, but also come with similar constraints. Limited inventory space, intentionally restrictive, shaky controls, with aggressive and tough monstrosities at every corner. The game even doubles down on some of Resident Evil's more difficult classic elements. Crimson heads are back, in a sense, requiring players to consider dealing with corpses. The game also plays heavily with light and stealth on top.

You can sneak around and dispatch enemies to give yourself an edge against larger groups, while conserving ammunition in the process. Resident Evil Requiem also lets you play with a "Classic" save system, disabling auto saves and forcing you to stock up on Ink Ribbons, old-school style.

Whether you're playing as Grace or Leon, combat in Resident Evil Requiem is incredibly satisfying. The zombies and other enemies never feel bullet spongey, reacting dynamically to wounds and other types of attacks. Head crits still grant that satisfying pop made all the more spectacular with dynamic gore that paints walls and floors in spattered crimson stains.

It's not all throwbacks, though. Both characters have some new mechanics and toys they can play with, and both can be played in first and third-person optionally — a first for the franchise. Hauntingly, Capcom has given the zombies in Resident Evil Requiem a far deeper personality than in previous games. It felt almost as if every zombie I encountered was a unique model, complete with different behaviors, attack patterns, and even dialogue. This made dispatching them all the horrific and immersive.

Grace can craft emphasize stealth gameplay with haemoglobin hypodermic needles that can instantly detonate stunned or unaware zombies. Leon Kennedy by contrast is a martial arts expert, fully equipped with a massive arsenal of guns, ammo, and additional contextual melee combat cues. He runs faster, turns more smoothly, and comes with a hatchet that can be used to execute enemies permanently (even with a Monster Hunter-style sharpen mechanic.)

Leon's sections ironically could feel a tad more frustrating at times, particularly in the later levels, as the game throws enemies inspired by Resident Evil 4, 5, and 6 at you in shooting gallery-style events. On that point, Leon's segments can feel cathartic too, particularly after you've been struggling around in the dark with Grace for a few hours. Leon's UI even takes on a Resident Evil 4-inspired format, complete with a health bar rather than Grace's old-school heartbeat monitor. It's a nice touch, and it's in a lot of these small details that you know Capcom understands and celebrates both aspects of the franchise's legacy.

I was worried that Leon's segments would feel overly linear to that end, but thankfully Capcom clearly still recognizes that the ability to back track and explore is something that should be a staple of both its action and survival horror leanings. Complete with epic set-piece boss battles, bombastic and unexpected twists, and a broad variety of new and nostalgic locations — Resident Evil Requiem is likely to be celebrated as one of the franchise's greatest entries.

Resident Evil Requiem review: Should you buy it?

If you're a Resident Evil fan, this segment of the review is largely pointless — we know you're going to buy it, and you absolutely should. Resident Evil Requiem is steeped in new lore, great characters, exciting gameplay, and sports a meaty campaign well worth the price of admission.

The minute to minute gameplay is great, the character acting is top-tier, and the visuals are among the best we've seen from the genre. Resident Evil Requiem celebrates multiple aspects of the franchise, and largely manages to vindicate the dual-gameplay experiments of previous instalments.

It can feel a bit quirky at times. The emotional story telling and more impactful story beats can feel reduced when followed up almost immediately by cheesy high-action comic bookery — but your mileage may vary on that. A less cynical view might be that video games are the perfect medium for exploring multiple genres in a single package, and it's certainly not something that negatively impacts the entire experience. If anything, you might find it elevates it.

Resident Evil Requiem is the first blockbuster of 2026. Long, long, may this franchise live.

Resident Evil Requiem: $69.99 at Amazon

Resident Evil Requiem represents another win in what could be one of Capcom's best product slates in recent memory. Play as action-stalwart Leon and horror-shy Grace in another bio-terror conspiracy that threatens to upend the entire world.

See at: Amazon

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