Resident Evil Requiem review - there's plenty of life in the undead yet

"So when Capcom showed us an ageing Leon Kennedy entering the ruins of the police station that marked the start of his journey from rookie cop to hardened veteran, it felt tinged with ennui as much as nostalgia. That self-reflective swansong for this 30-year series may still happen one day, but Requiem isn't it. Even at its dourest and most pensive, this is less a song for the dead, more a knees-up in honour of the rocket launchers and typewriters that came before."

"Requiem's new blood is FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft. Equal parts tenacious and nervous, she's a fitting lens on the horror portion of Requiem's split focus between disempowered terror and cathartic action. The story opens with Grace more acquainted with desk work than field ops tasked to go over a crime scene at a gutted hotel. She knows the place well, since it holds some horrific memories for her."

"Leon trades Grace's first person camera for third person, although you can choose either for each. Grace plays well in both, though Leon's default is far more suited to, say, severing a zombie's fingers with his hatchet, or spearing a rebar through a bloodshot eye. Leon feels comically overpowered initially, his hardened hotshotitude underscored by the hordes of weak zombies Requiem sends to their deaths."

Resident Evil Requiem presents a legacy entry for the 30-year franchise that avoids existential fatigue despite its aging protagonist. Leon Kennedy returns as a hardened veteran, while FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft serves as the primary perspective, offering a contrasting experience of disempowered terror. Grace begins as a desk worker thrust into field operations with minimal equipment, navigating a hotel filled with horrific memories armed only with a flashlight and limited ammunition. Leon, conversely, operates as an overpowered action hero equipped with powerful weapons and one-liners. The game splits focus between Grace's first-person vulnerability and Leon's third-person dominance, creating distinct gameplay experiences that celebrate the series' legacy through both horror and cathartic action sequences.

Read at www.theguardian.com