After all the rumors and speculation the long awaited 17th installment in the storied RE franchise is here. The first new non remake entry since Village had a lot riding on it, the series has had a successful resurgence with 7 bringing back classic style item boxes and limited inventories. Village brought about a more RE4 like action style. Both remakes of 2 and 4 mastered their respective RE types, so what's left to do. Well Capcom decided let's do both in one game! Two completely contrasting styles, two different main characters, one game; will it be unbalanced, will it feel like half a game for each? I am happy to say the results are extremely impressive, Requiem manages to mix the two styles expertly and deliver some of the best moments the series has seen.
I'm going to start with Grace, who plays like a classic style RE and whose default POV is first person. I did play the game as intended the first time and wow does first person enhance the scares to a large degree. Grace's segments are easily some of the scariest moments of the franchise. Her section takes place in an infected mental hospital which I feel is going to go down as one of the best series locations. Rhodes Hill is a brilliant house of horrors with expert level design that rivals even RPD. As you desperately search for items you will be avoiding all manners of zombies and the occasional stalker like monstrosity. Every room feels like its own unique problem to solve, as zombies now have different personalities. With some surprising scares and palm sweating tense moments, Grace's sections are a horror feast.
What makes the Grace sections work so well are the new behaviors of the zombies. Every zombie in the care center has a unique personality kept from when they were living; the butcher is running around trying to cut meat, singers screech in a high pitch to alert other zombies, some are obsessed with turning off lights and others are sound sensitive going full rage mode at any loud noise. This makes every room feel like its own puzzle that can sometimes be navigated by learning the zombies behaviors. It's an added level of depth to the zombies that make a big difference to the way I approached clearing hallways and managing my extremely limited offensive weapons. One strategy can be using the blind sound sensitive zombies to kill other zombies by throwing a bottle at a different zombie. You can kite the zombies and lead them to specific areas to clear a hallway but danger is around every corner so if you are not careful you can be cornered. These zombies can follow from room to room, up and down stairs, traverse hallways, they are more dynamic than ever before. Oh and if you don't destroy their heads they might get back up later and turn into a new kind of crimson head called the blister heads.
To combat all these zombies, and a few others I don't want to spoil, Grace carries a pistol and Leon's magnum Requiem. Requiem ammo is very scarce and should be used against specially powerful enemies. For the most part you have a handgun and that is it, oh and a knife. Without the usual arsenal of guns I thought maybe her sections would feel too basic, not so. Instead Capcom masterfully balanced the levels to make sure Grace can kill nearly everyone if you are clever enough. New to the series is a blood collector which becomes her primary ingredient for crafting; using blood found along the facility she can craft an injector which can be used as a stealth instant kill. Just that addition alone adds so many layers of strategy. Which zombies are worth eliminating quietly and quickly? Do you waste one on a downed zombie just to make sure they don't turn into a blister head. Do you go into hostile territory to get much needed blood or save resources and avoid it? Do you craft more injectors or bullets, stealth or a much needed way to stop enemies who start to chase you. All the gameplay systems work so well with each other, every pick up is a potential loss of space you need, every use of ammo or an injector is a major choice.
What RE9 does so well in the Grace sections is PRESSURE, it's the key ingredient of all the best classic RE games. There are some stalker enemies in specific points of the game and thankfully they are more like Mr. X in that they serve to mess with your plans traveling the dangerous twisted hallways rather than forcing you to sit and wait. There is one segment at the start where you do have to have scripted waiting for a giant creature to not kill you, it serves more of a tutorial, after that the stalkers have fun mechanics that make you use an emergency resource or get the hell away. Mix that with the most aggressive zombies the series has seen, and the potential for blister heads and you have an amazing mix of dangers all while exploring one of the best designed locations in RE history. Plus there are so many fun setpieces scattered throughout that made me scream "what the fuck!" Let me put this simply, Grace's section of RE9 might be the best version of the classic formula we have ever seen. The only issue, and it's a big one, is that it's just half a game.
The other half of Requiem stars an aged Leon who is so used to monster outbreaks that he hardly seems phased by any of it. While Grace is the hunted, running from predators, Leon is the alpha dog; he comes in and just destroys everything in his path in some of the most beautiful carnage put in a RE game. The limited inventory is gone, back is a large suitcase to carry all his weaponry. A new currency system is introduced where you get credits for every enemy kill, the more you kill the more you can spend in a shop to buy or upgrade guns. There aren't any treasures (there are chips that give you some money) or bounties like in 8 and 4 remake, so the upgrade system is more basic and moves at a faster rate due to Leon's section being only half a game. Leon's move set is a version of RE:4s, his knife is replaced with a new hatchet that when worn out can be sharpened to bring back the durability. He can parry, slash, stealth kill and do all kinds of melee attacks. There is a new slick execution animation if you are up close and use a gun when an enemy is close to death, it's kind of random how to pull it off but it is flashy. To top it off enemies and Leon can use weapons around the environment. If a zombie is carrying a spear and drops it Leon can pick it up and chuck it at the nearest enemies. The chainsaw becomes a usable item (though only twice in the game), leading Leon to saw enemies in half. All the action feels great, an extension of everything action RE has learned over the years. This is all presented by default in third person which allows for much better visability, you can play in first person if you so choose but I found it hard to keep track of all enemies that way.
With all those fun mechanics comes the other half of the question, the level design and scenarios Leon experiences. Here is where the game falters the most as the level design nor enemy variety ever reaches the levels of RE4 or even RE5 for that matter. The level design actually resembles more of RE6, many flat areas, standard enemies just randomly scattered about and you use your combat mechanics to eliminate them rather than a carefully designed room where the environment plays a huge part. There are some stand out sections where there is environmental interactivity but it isn't room to room like RE4 is. Most of Leon's game takes place in a ruined Raccoon City, as you can imagine not much variety when everything is just rubble. There are a lot of being stuck in a room and enemies rush in, a staple of RE6 design. Don't let the comparisons to 6 scare you though, this game is "what if RE6 was great!"
Enemy variety for Leon also feels weak, about 90% of them are just rotten zombies, slow moving and lack the fun interactions of Grace's level. The zombies do come in different types like the spear zombie, the bomb carrying zombie, or armored zombies holding guns who just spray wildly that somehow always hit you. While it's still a blast shooting your way through these hordes it's nowhere near as dynamic as the ganado or Majini. There is a long stretch of Leon's campaign that actually lets the player choose from different objectives and explore a semi large area, the entire section just feels low energy. Even the fun creative sections within that section that only serve as a reminder that so much of it feels like down time.
It's not all slow, after that extended section you kind of enter a sort of end game rush that is setpiece after setpiece, a bunch of boss battles, a sort of wild sprint to the end with so many Easter eggs and fan service moments that I was cheering most of the time. This game knows its audience, knows the stuff you want to see and delivers it. The boss battles are so great, they come in all kinds of shape and sizes, make great use of Leon's move sets and many time call back to some series classic moments. The only dud is actually the final form of the final boss which is odd; It feels rushed due to time or budget issues. But even that doesn't deter how much fun the final stretch of Leon's campaign is (with a brilliant bonus Grace section). It's all these highs mixed with the brilliant Grace sections that make this odd pairing of gameplay styles work so well.
Puzzles are usually a staple of the franchise and this entry doesn't really have many. It has plenty of find an item and figure out where it goes and a few observational puzzles but it's lacking in some of the simple brain teasers. Like in the last few sequels there is a section in the middle of the game that halts all the normal gameplay for some unique scary section, like house Beneviento in RE8. At least in 7 and 8 these sections played out like a demented scavenger hunt. Here the section is the worst kind of linear forced stealth section possible. There is nothing to figure out, you just wait for things to happen then move forward. Is it creepy, sure, but on subsequent playthroughs it's a huge drag; they really should have a way to skip these sections.
The story is pretty dumb even by series standards, I would call it the Rise of Skywalker of RE. If you are into the lore, prepare to have your brain scrambled as some of the "revelations" and plot points make no sense. If you try to logically follow the events of this game everything falls apart with even the slightest scrutiny. That being said, there is a difference between the plot involving what objects or people are driving the story along, and the interpersonal growth and dialogue the main characters have. In that regard RE9 is actually one of the best in the storytelling department, mainly due to how strong a performance Grace's voice actress puts in and Nick's new aged take on Leon. Grace has the best acting in a RE game, hands down it's not even close. You feel her fear every time she talks, you feel her pain when a loved one is hurt, you see her grow stronger as a character as the game goes on. Leon also gets his most emotional story to date. He isn't exactly having any major sit on a couch and discussing his inner feelings, it's more that he is very reflective of his life, specifically the events of RE2 that set his life on a trajectory that turned him into who he is. You see him at his most vulnerable and see his character shine through. All the one liners and cocky attitude is still there but balanced well with a man that is now past his prime. The villains are mostly a miss, the new main villain Victor Gideon has a great voice actor and fun mannerisms but just doesn't get to do much. There is one other character that is such a damn reach, it pissed me off more than anything, such a pitiful attempt to call back to a series great. Turn your brain off and you will have a great time with the story.
At this time there aren't any extra modes to the game which is a shame. There are the usual unlocks that have been with the series since 7, a series of new weapons and bonus items that can give infinite ammo and other perks. Insanity mode is this game's hard mode which unlocks after completing the game. Oh before I go into insanity mode, the standard classic difficulty allows you to play in two ways, with ink ribbons and without (only affecting Grace play), I chose the ink ribbon way and it added so much to her gameplay, loved that choice. Insanity mode uses ink ribbons, no choice there, and it provides one hell of a challenge with remixed enemy placements and very high damage output enemies which makes every choice matter so much more. Enemies take a lot of ammo to kill, especially as Grace, it's better to use her ammo as a means to stun enemies (after like 5 shots) and run around them. Strategic use of your crafting is key, the injectors can instant kill enemies that constantly get in your path and learning when and when not to fight is the key. This was the ultimate test of classic style RE, I absolutely was hooked. Every change was brutal as well, times when you thought an item would be there and it wasn't lead to panic. A new enemy being in a spot you didn't expect would throw out my plans.
The Leon sections were heightened as well as the zombies became mini tanks, handguns hardly cut it. Parrying and countering becomes a huge part of the action, being able to get stealth kills or maximally use the environment against enemies helps to conserve ammo for the super spongy bosses. I did find that killing everything was way more beneficial than running, the credits you get to level up your gear makes a massive difference and allows the later half of Leon's insanity run feel much easier. Once again Grace's sections shined all the more and Leon's while still great just were not as compelling. All in all though I loved the insanity mode, I think it's one of the best hard modes of the series.
Graphically this game is absolutely stunning. The lighting is some of the best I've seen, especially with full path tracing on. Path tracing is a game changer, it felt like a next gen button, the entire world comes alive with realistic lighting and details that even ray tracing fails to bring out. All the models are extremely detailed, the environments have amazing detail and get covered in blood in such fun ways. I would say only the RC sections feel lackluster, it's just because it's a sea of brown and during the day. Overall though this feels like a nice jump in visual fidelity for the series and it all runs perfectly, I had no glitches and issues throughout. The music fits the mood well with some great atmospheric tracks and a few great action scores. There is not a strong central musical theme so I wouldn't say it's one of the strongest scores. The sound design is extremely impressive as you will hear enemies in perfect detail allowing you to locate them without seeing them, play with headphones!
Resident Evil Requiem is a product of all the lessons learned post RE7 all put into one game. Having both styles, with both perspectives, allowed every kind of RE fan to have something to look forward to. Bringing back Leon pushed the main franchise story forward rather than it feeling like some side quest involving a faceless dude. RE9 is the sequel the series needed, a confident showcase, proving this series can do horror and action better than any game, and do both in the same game. If only the Leon action gameplay was as well designed as Grace's it would be a classic like the recent remakes are, still its one of the best games in the series.
Score: 9.3
My rankings so far
RE4
RE4 Remake
RE2 Remake
RE2
RECV
REmake
RE9
RE5
RE1
RE8
RE3
RE7
Rev 2
RE3 Remake
RE0
Rev 1
RE6
Gaiden
