[TCN GAME REVIEW] Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem
Few games manage to balance survival horror, action, and narrative ambition without collapsing under their own weight. Even fewer succeed at making the player feel fundamentally different depending on who they are controlling. That is where this game stands apart—not merely as an entry in a legendary franchise, but as a confident statement of design philosophy. It understands fear, power, pacing, and player psychology, and it weaponizes those elements relentlessly.
Where, WHERE, do I start with this game? Simply put, this is about as competent and fulfilling a game as I’ve played outside of Red Dead 2 and for very, very good reason. This game is essentially 2 games in one. The first as Grace, and all the that goes with her helplessness and Leon, who is a completely different play than the former. Grace is played through a sort of FPS type of dynamic and for good reason. You feel her fear. All of it, you actually feel hopeless on a level I’ve not seen since Alien: Isolation with several seemingly unwinnable boss level battles very early on in the game. These characters are nightmare fuel in every way, specifically The Girl. Your instinct to shoot first and ask questions later will not be rewarded. Leon’s gameplay is the complete opposite. Specifically in his ability to carry more items than Grace and the 3rd person perspective he comes with (you can change this to 1st person in the menus, but why would you want to with his super sweet hatchet kills and JCVD-esque kicks?). Leon is everything that Grace isn’t in this game, and the inverse is true. There’s truly a different strategy that must be employed using the characters, and you don’t have a choice, you must adapt your style to each.
The brilliance here lies not just in the contrast, but in how the game forces the player to respect that contrast. You cannot brute-force Grace’s sections, nor can you treat Leon’s segments with the same caution-heavy mindset without feeling inefficient. The game trains you through tension, punishment, and reward, ensuring that by the time you’re comfortable, it has already shifted the rules again. This constant recalibration keeps the experience fresh and unsettling well past the opening hours.
The story is magnificent, and I will not spoil it here. Residents Evil has always had many faces to its one big bad, the Umbrella Corporation. There will be callbacks to previous games specifically when you’re playing as Leon and it’s always great to see the staff that put this together realize that not all paths lie ahead of the gamer, some must be from the past. You’ll feel nostalgia here if you’re a fan of the series.This is a near perfect game, that cannot be overstated. You’ll feel a range of emotions while playing this game, and I believe they nailed all of it. You will want to watch the cutscenes, although you don’t have to buy the story is just as good as the gameplay. If there’s one game you play this year, let it be this one.
Beyond the main beats, the game excels in atmosphere and environmental storytelling. Every room feels deliberate, every sound cue intentional. The audio design alone deserves recognition—distant footsteps, sudden silence, and subtle musical shifts do as much work as any scripted scare. The environments are dense with detail, rewarding exploration while simultaneously making it feel dangerous to linger too long.
What truly cements this as a standout experience is its confidence. The game isn’t afraid to make the player uncomfortable, to strip away control, or to demand patience. It trusts its audience to engage with its systems, its story, and its pacing without constant hand-holding. That trust pays off in an experience that lingers long after the credits roll.
