Rizzident Evil: The Hype of Requiem

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At long last, Resident Evil Requiem is out. You can read our review here or check out reviews from other sites via Metacritic. Hopefully, Metacritic’s been excised of all AI slop reviews.

The long-running Resident Evil series has always been on the more successful end, as franchises go. There’s been some low points, but when comparing it to other series like Yakuza, or Like a Dragon, there hasn’t been any glaring or widespread controversy that seemed to have irrevocably knocked the series’s reputation down a peg in the eyes of the regular fans or video game player. Requiem, though, feels like it’s something special. The hype around it is nothing like what we’d seen for the remake titles or Biohazard/Village. It broke records the day it launched within an hour, and for the first time in a very long time, physical copies of the game sold out worldwide. I recently came back from Taiwan, and the closest local video game store to my grandparents’ apartment wasn’t even marketing Resident Evil Requiem since its entire stock had been snatched up by pre-orders.

So what is it about Requiem that separates it from its post-RE Engine brethren? What is so captivating about this game?

1) Leon and his design

Post-RE Engine games include the Ethan titles and the remakes of the second, third, and fourth games. The detour from the characters and narratives we’re familiar with was a good way to refresh the series, but long-running fans already have a bond with people like Chris, Claire, Jill, and so on. We wanna know what happens to them next! But instead of seeing the continuation of their adventures or investigations, we go back in time to see a younger-faced Leon or a younger-faced Jill. Requiem is finally Capcom taking a step forward in the overarching plot of the game, and it helps a lot that they gave Leon the Flynn Rider treatment, but for a much older type of guy. Yes, he’s super cool. But a huge part of the appeal is undeniably his charm and more conventionally attractive appearance than other male leads in the series.

2) A return to horror

It’s arguable whether Resident Evil was ever scary or not. I had nightmares of the first game, but I was four the first time I saw it, so I don’t think anyone can blame me for that. It was still considered a “survival horror” game, though, for its focus on resource management. Ironically, Leon’s Resident Evil 4 was the start of the more action-oriented games, with Resident Evil 6 as the oddest and most extreme deviation from its original identity. While Leon’s way too much of a badass for the game to have any real spooky tension, Grace’s panicky personality and pencil pusher job lends itself well to her more puzzle-like levels. The game thrusts her (and you) into darkness, as well as limits both your resources and your offensive capabilities. You have to take a different approach of sneaking around and budgeting your weapons, and it’s not really something that Resident Evil has ever done for a playable protagonist in a mainline game. Grace’s unique gameplay feels fresh after so many games of action heroes.

TL;DR: I think that Requiem recaptures a lot of what made the series special and expanded on them with new ideas or mechanics from the post-RE Engine games. It being the first RE Engine game to actually continue the plot while following a character people already were invested in from previous titles was also huge factors for its current popularity. Can Capcom follow this up with an even better game, or will its desire for bigger and better lead them down the path towards Resident Evil 6 again.

That being said, I’m actually a huge Resident Evil 6 fan (its story is really goofy and dumb, but if you can accept it and play it with a friend, it’s easily one of the best third-person shooter games) and have always been sad yet understanding of its negative reputation in the fandom. Hopefully, if Capcom can keep this more balanced approach, then who knows? Maybe the potential Resident Evil 6 will change people’s minds about this game.

Horror game fans have a very good time coming up. The remake of Fatal Frame II—easiest one of the most popular Fatal Frame entries, as well as the more palatable thanks to its lack of overtly incestuous relationships—is going to come out in March. A giant free update will come out for World of Horror was also announced. That’s not even getting into games like Silent Hill: Townfall and Layers of Fear 3.

Top 10 Stories From the Past Month

1. Pokemon Winds and Waves Gen 10 Starters Revealed - 10 generations of Pokemon over 30 years! Gosh, just fetch me my walking stick at this point.

2. Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter Collector’s Edition Announced - Pre-orders are open until March 8, 2026!

3. Yoko Taro Writing New Evangelion Anime Series - With Keiichi Okabe composing the music, it’ll sound like NieR or Drakengard, too.

4. Competitive SF6 FGC Player Ludovic Detained by ICE - Such scary and ridiculous times we live in…

5. Silent Hill: Townfall Is a First-Person Horror Game - Not excited about the first-person perspective, but the trailer looked really interesting, so hopefully it’s not too bad in practice!

6. Konami Confirms Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse and Other “Projects” - In honor of the series’ 40th anniversary.

7. Interview: Bringing Back Fatal Frame II for the Remake - With details about things like why Fatal Frame II was chosen for the remake treatment, and some new mechanics or details that are only in this new version of the game.

8. New Konami JRPG Is Rev.Noir - So far, only the PS5 version is confirmed.

9. Dead or Alive Returning With DOA 6: Last Round, New Game - Last Round will come out on June 25, 2026.

10. Dissidia Duellum Final Fantasy Pre-Registration Opens Ahead of March Debut - It’ll come out for mobile devices on March 31, 2026.

Upcoming Games

• Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered - March 2 (PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Switch, PC)

• Slay the Spire 2 - March 5 (PC)

• Pokemon Pokopia - March 5 (Switch 2)

• Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake - March 12 (PS5, Switch 2, Xbox Series X, PC)

• Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection - March 13 (PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch 2, PC)