As a long-time Resident Evil player and fan, I am both worried and cautiously optimistic about Resident Evil: Requiem.
A Mysterious Marketing Campaign
It’s a rather novel marketing choice, knowing THIS little about a massive triple-A release. In a lot of ways, it’s a very special creative risk that will help make the full game feel that much more exciting, as well as showing just how invincible the Resident Evil brand is.
However, that’s the least of the biggest risks that the ninth entry is taking.
Two Protagonists, One Story
Resident Evil has had an identity crisis for two decades: should this series be about running away and strategizing against zombies like in Resident Evil 1, 2 and 7, or smashing the brains of those zombies in like in Resident Evil 4, 5 and 6?
Though Resident Evil has remained mostly consistent in quality across both tones, it’s difficult for them to coexist. You can’t exactly be an immersive survival horror title in a game where you suplex the monsters. It appears even Requiem’s developers were aware of this issue, initially planning to have Leon as the central character for 9 in a “wimpier” state despite having survived 4 apocalyptic scenarios up to this point.
In a fascinating response to this problem, Requiem attempts to be a testing ground to marry both playstyles in a single campaign.
Newcomer Grace Ashcroft will appeal to the stealthier, survival horror approach like in Resident Evil 2 (2019), while the veteran badass Leon S. Kennedy will appeal to the run-and-gun (and kicking) approach similar to Resident Evil 4 (2023)
The Trial of Grace Ashcroft
Resident Evil: Requiem is adamant that Grace Ashcroft represents a new beginning for the franchise. Backtracking on the controversial, self-insert relatability of Ethan Winters, Grace is an improvement on all fronts. She has a clear design, a youthful, clumsy personality, and has ties to another spin-off character to carry on the wider narrative. On all fronts, Grace is a serviceable protagonist…. But she isn’t as charismatic as Leon. At least not yet.
I, like many, can’t resist the serotonin boost of seeing Leon 180° magnum a zombie after parrying a chainsaw with a hatchet. The thought of following Leon’s story again in a new non-remake title, 14 years after RE6, is exciting… which makes him sharing screentime with Grace a concerning gamble. How am I supposed to go back to running away from zombies after ragdolling them for the last hour?
When looking at news for RE9, Leon has practically superseded Grace’s protagonist role in every thumbnail and discussion. Until we see more of the game, this conclusion seems inevitable. We simply don’t know enough about Grace to feel more excited or ease the potential deflation of switching over to her.
To You, Next Month
For all the worries I have, I am still eager to see what Resident Evil has in store with this commendably risky move. I am so much more interested in a series that is willing to throw ideas at the wall and have fun with its foundations than in another straightforward survival or action horror game.
And if this risk pulls off and both Grace and Leon can share the limelight, we could finally see a true evolution of the formula for years to come. If not, I fear that Resident Evil: Requiem’s focus on Leon may further entrap the series in the past.
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