Leon Is in Resident Evil Requiem for Longer Than You Think

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The latest trailer from The Game Awards finally confirmed what fans had been guessing for months: Leon S. Kennedy will appear in Resident Evil Requiem. Up until now, marketing for the game had centered on the other main character, Grace Ashcroft. While early demos and trailers made it seem like Grace would be the focus of the game, that doesn’t appear to be true.

Director Akifumi Nakanishi and producer Masato Kumazawa recently shared that Leon and Grace will be playable for roughly the same amount of time in the upcoming game, Requiem, launching on February 27th, 2026. Nakanishi explained that their sections are nearly equal in terms of gameplay, drawing a comparison to Revelations, a 2012 game originally released on the Nintendo 3DS. Like Revelations, which allowed players to switch between Jill Valentine and Parker Luciani, Requiem will feature a dual-protagonist structure.

Nakanishi explained the reasons behind the division and how the personalities of those involved led to the game being split this way.

Nakanishi explained that Leon doesn’t naturally fit the horror genre. Because he isn’t good at the slow, suspenseful parts where you hide from monsters, his scenes are full of fast-paced, exciting action. In contrast, Grace’s sections are designed to be genuinely frightening. This time, they’re really highlighting how different their experiences are.

The game feels like two distinct experiences blended together, creating a really interesting dynamic. We initially wondered if the shift between slow and fast-paced sections would be jarring, but now we think it actually gives the game a unique flow – it’s like the refreshing shock of a cold plunge after being in a sauna (laughs). Successfully balancing those speeds was key, and the characters Grace and Leon proved to be the perfect pairing for it. Leon’s gameplay offers a powerful sense of action and release, which contrasts nicely with Grace’s more deliberate sequences.

What Resident Evil Games Will Requiem Play Like?

Capcom aimed to create distinct experiences for each character: a scary, vulnerable experience with Grace, and a more action-packed one with Leon. This difference in tone is reflected in their gameplay and how they’re presented. The first trailer for the game clearly shows this contrast. It begins with Grace terrified and fleeing a monster, then immediately shifts to Leon with intense music and quick cuts of him driving and fighting infected enemies. The trailer ends with Leon powerfully taking on multiple enemies, even using a chainsaw.

The intense, action-packed sections with Leon are meant to provide relief after the more frightening segments with Grace. According to the game’s creator, players should feel secure playing as Leon and truly scared as Grace, a deliberate design choice to create a specific kind of horror experience. This structure draws inspiration from Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 – Grace’s sections are similar to the former, while Leon’s sections echo the latter. The developers believe this combination will deliver a unique sense of excitement and fulfillment that hasn’t been present in previous Resident Evil games.

I remember reading that Nakanishi had initially talked about Leon being the only main character, but they decided to add Grace to make the game scarier. Now, in this new interview, he explained that was just how things looked early on. Once they really started building the game, they committed to having both Leon and Grace as the heroes.

Leon S. Kennedy hasn’t always been the sole protagonist in the main Resident Evil games. He was a key character in one of the campaigns in Resident Evil 6, and played a central role in one of the two storylines in both versions of Resident Evil 2. Plus, both the original Resident Evil 4 and its remake let players control other characters like Ashley Graham and Ada Wong alongside Leon.

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2025-12-14 01:42