Resident Evil Requiem – 15 New Details That Change Everything

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After a long wait, the developer recently showed off new gameplay for the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem. While the presentation included some extra items like a new Nintendo Switch controller, amiibo figures, and watches, the gameplay itself was very promising. Considering this new footage along with details shared in interviews over the past month, Requiem is shaping up to be the must-play survival horror game of the year.

Let’s dive into 15 new things you should know about it, starting with the main man himself…

Leon (and Close-Range Combat)

The game Requiem really delivers on the simple satisfaction of stunning an enemy and then finishing them off with a close-range attack. Players who already enjoy Leon’s hand-to-hand combat will find a lot to love. You can shoot enemies’ limbs to stagger them, opening them up for a melee strike, and Leon can even brutally smash enemies against walls or cubicles. This is so effective that other enemies are often left helpless, forced to wait their turn. Another particularly impactful move involves shoving a shotgun into an enemy’s mouth with devastating results.

If an enemy has a weapon, like a chainsaw, Leon can grab it after defeating them and use it for a short time. It functions as a real, though temporary, weapon.

Hatchet Man

Leon has traditionally relied on knives for close combat, particularly for blocking attacks. However, in this new installment, he gets a tomahawk that’s just as effective at defending against powerful enemies like those with revving chainsaws. You can also use it to silently eliminate unsuspecting opponents or perform finishing moves. A major improvement is that Leon can now sharpen the tomahawk himself, eliminating the need to visit a merchant for repairs. Get ready – you’ll be finding plenty of opportunities to put this new weapon to good use against every enemy you encounter!

Grace, the Fearful

Compared to other characters, Grace is known as the most easily frightened in the game. The developers designed her to be similar to Leon, as both are new to dealing with dangerous biological hazards and get scared easily.

This is evident in how the game plays, drawing inspiration from Resident Evil 2 and 7. It emphasizes horror, placing you in claustrophobic environments. Ammunition is scarce, forcing you to carefully choose your battles – when to fight and when to escape, preserving resources for unavoidable confrontations. This, combined with Leon’s quick action style, creates a game with “an emotional range unlike any other Resident Evil title to date,” according to Nakanishi.

Requiem Revolver

Despite the challenges, Grace has a powerful weapon called the Requiem, a large-caliber revolver. It’s incredibly effective, capable of shooting through multiple infected enemies with ease. However, like other guns in the game, ammo is scarce – possibly even more so. Since powerful weapons are rare, the Requiem is Grace’s best option for quickly turning the tide in tough situations – a real lifesaver when she needs it most.

Crafting and Infected Blood

As Grace, you’ll find ammo is limited, so think carefully before engaging enemies. While avoiding fights is common in survival horror games, Requiem encourages combat. The crafting system is back, and you’ll need to gather materials like scrap metal and, uniquely, infected blood – collected with a device Grace finds – to create ammo and other useful items. You can also craft things like healing herbs and improvised knives, which we see Grace use to defend herself against a zombie attack.

Specialized Injectors

It appears the primary function of infected blood is to create special injectors. One of these, the Hemolytic Injector, lets you instantly explode enemies with a powerful stab attack – Grace even notes it’s very effective. The crafting description also mentions it can stop corpses from mutating, which might suggest the return of the Crimson Heads from Resident Evil HD or a similar enemy type. If that’s the case, you’ll need to be strategic about how you kill zombies and make sure you have enough resources to craft Hemolytic Injectors.

Lingering Memories

These zombies are unique – they don’t decay as much as typical infected, and strangely, they continue performing everyday tasks. For example, one zombie who used to be a butcher keeps chopping meat and even calls out for customers, attacking with a cleaver. A maid zombie endlessly cleans, switching between washing windows and hitting her head against them, while another obsessively flips a light switch. While it’s interesting to watch these behaviors, they might actually give you hints on how to avoid and defeat them.

Massive Mutated Enemy

As expected, the developer ended the presentation with a huge reveal – a terrifying creature, both in size and impact. This being, once human but now horribly infected and unrecognizable, effortlessly rampages through corridors, threatening Grace. Its identity is a mystery, though a mutated Gideon seems like the most likely explanation – though perhaps too simple. The reveal begs the question: can other infected become this monstrous if Grace fails to find the necessary injector? Either way, along with the previously shown stalker, it leaves you wondering what other terrifying creatures are hidden within the game.

The Nature of Elpis

In Resident Evil Requiem, Elpis is a central element. It’s the driving force behind Victor Gideon’s kidnapping – or, as he sees it, rescue – of Grace Ashcroft, whom he believes is key to unleashing it. Though details are scarce, Nakanishi recently explained to Famitsu that Elpis can be understood as what was left inside Pandora’s Box, often symbolizing ‘hope.’

Honestly, some players think this symbol isn’t just bad luck, but actually represents something truly awful happening in the game’s story. It’s become a really big deal, and it even ties directly into figuring out what happened to Grace’s mom – like, it’s a key piece of that puzzle.

Leon’s Secret

There’s more to the story, though. Leon is connected to a secret surrounding Elpis, and it’s linked to the death of Grace’s mother, Alyssa. The game’s director, Nakanishi, says this is a central part of the plot and encourages players to uncover the truth. It might even be related to the long-teased hidden secret of Raccoon City. Will Nakanishi reveal more if asked? At least one of these questions has to have a positive answer.

Interestingly, he overlooked a detail in the trailer: Leon looking at a computer screen showing files about Elpis, including a picture of Grace. More concerning than the files themselves is the dark bruising visible on the right side of Leon’s neck – it looks similar to the effects Elpis seems to cause. This suggests Leon might be infected and forced to participate in Gideon’s game to find a cure, possibly with Grace’s blood being crucial for a vaccine. Whatever the case, the developer is right – this agent will be truly tested.

Casual and Standard Difficulties

Like Resident Evil Village: Requiem, the game offers both Casual and Standard difficulty settings. Casual mode is designed to be easier, letting players focus on the story and enjoy combat without too much challenge. It even includes aim assist to help you quickly defeat enemies. Standard mode, also called Modern, aims for the same level of difficulty found in recent Resident Evil games, providing a good balance between tension and rewarding gameplay. Hopefully, a very difficult Hardcore mode will be added in the future.

The Return of Ink Ribbons

If you’re a dedicated fan who misses the old-school challenge of limited saves, you’ll be happy to hear ink ribbons are coming back! This ‘Standard (Classic)’ difficulty is designed to feel like the original Resident Evil games. However, there’s a catch: it appears this feature is only available during Grace’s sections of the game, and it doesn’t completely eliminate auto-saves. It’s a step closer to the classic experience, but still offers some help if you need it.

Split Fiction

Since news of Leon’s appearance surfaced, fans have been wondering how much he’ll actually be playable. Thankfully, Nakanishi explained that the game will feature roughly equal playtime with both Grace and Leon, similar to the structure of Resident Evil: Revelations. He described it as feeling like two separate games, each with its own unique type of suspense, in a recent interview with Automaton-Media.

Nakanishi confirmed to Famitsu that the game’s story flows as one continuous narrative, seamlessly switching between the perspectives of Leon and Grace as you play. These switches aren’t limited to their initial meeting; they’ll cross paths again throughout the game – a hint of which was given in the showcase when Leon mentioned he’d “keep our friends busy.”

Other Playable Characters

Fans have been wondering if there are more playable characters than just Leon and Grace. Nakanishi confirmed that those are the only playable characters. However, he hinted that other familiar faces will appear in the game, encouraging players to discover them through gameplay. The developers previously stated that characters from previous games would be included.

Developers asked fans not to get too excited, but we couldn’t help ourselves – we’re still eagerly awaiting the return of Claire Redfield and Jill Valentine!

Path Tracing, Multi Frame Generation and GeForce Now

At CES 2025, the game developer confirmed the PC version will include advanced features like Path Tracing and Multi Frame Generation, powered by DLSS 4. Nvidia claims this technology could deliver 200 to 300 (or even more) frames per second with realistic ray-traced visuals – shadows, reflections, and lighting. However, the developer didn’t share details about graphics settings, resolutions, or the hardware needed to play at 4K with the highest quality settings. Fortunately, the game, Requiem, will be available on GeForce Now from day one. This means GeForce Now Ultimate subscribers can play with RTX 5080-level performance and DLSS 4 without needing a powerful PC themselves.

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2026-01-20 16:18