Resident Evil Requiem Balances Horror and Action Across Two Very Different Leads
Capcom’s resident evil requiem divides its focus between tighter, horror-led exploration and more explosive action, a structure that shapes both pacing and player expectation. The game’s dual-protagonist design — with roughly half the experience played as Leon Kennedy — is central to how those tones are delivered.
Resident Evil Requiem and Grace Ashcroft
Capcom leaned into a horror-first identity early on, centring part of the campaign around Grace Ashcroft. Grace’s sections are described as darker and tighter, populated by tense encounters intended to evoke classic survival-horror beats. Her most substantial playable segment places players in the Rhodes Hill clinic, where the objective of locating a trio of relics forces careful exploration, creeping movement and frequent backtracking.
Those clinic passages draw explicit echoes of the Racoon Police Department — R. P. D. — from earlier series entries, prompting comparisons more with the Resident Evil 2 remake than with the slower, entirely different texture of Resident Evil 7. Grace’s voice actor, Angela Sant'Albano, receives praise for delivering a convincing performance throughout these moments, reinforcing the game’s attempt to recapture familiar, tense atmospheres.
Leon Kennedy's Half of the Experience
Leon Kennedy occupies roughly half of the overall playtime and brings a very different tempo: action-forward, more aggressive and rooted in combat. The older, more battle-hardened Leon arrives equipped with shotguns and snipers and is repeatedly presented as effective against foes, a portrayal that keeps the player feeling rarely underpowered.
Leon’s sections are repeatedly likened to Resident Evil 4 remake in their emphasis on regulated gunplay and forward momentum. That contrast — Grace’s stealth and puzzle-driven sequences against Leon’s shoot-first approach — acts as a built-in pacing mechanism: when one style risks slowing the experience, the other accelerates it.
Rhodes Hill clinic and R. P. D. echoes
The Rhodes Hill clinic sequence stands out for its layout and design choices that channel R. P. D. vibes: interconnected rooms, a need to locate three relics, and a map of exploration that invites return visits to previously visited areas. Those design elements generate a familiar rhythm of tension, discovery and constrained resources that the game leverages to sustain horror beats.
While the clinic sections aim for creepiness and claustrophobia, some impressions note they are not as unsettling as anticipated, instead trading in the polished, methodical tension more characteristic of modern remakes than wholly new scares.
Capcom's Xbox Series X|S era record
Across the current generation of gaming, Capcom is presented as one of the publishers maintaining consistent, big-budget quality on Xbox Series X|S, and Resident Evil Requiem is positioned as continuing that run. In a landscape where several once-mainstay franchises have faltered or slowed their output, Requiem is framed as another solid series entry that delivers a blend of franchise touchstones — a "greatest hits" approach that combines elements from RE2, RE4 and other entries into a single package.
The narrative itself is described as standard series fare: escaping exaggerated villains, uncovering strange biohazards and surmounting extreme odds. For players not steeped in the franchise’s deeper lore, the story functions acceptably as a mostly standalone experience rather than a required chapter in a larger saga.
Performance Benchmark and ancillary notes
A short performance benchmark note in the materials states: "This should only take a few seconds. If you have issues, please do contact us, we want to learn about any problems. " That line appears alongside other review and technical coverage in the provided set of materials.
Client Challenge
The provided materials also include a separate title labeled "Client Challenge. " The content tied to that heading is unclear in the provided context.
What makes this notable is Capcom’s ability to string together recognizable mechanics and tones — from R. P. D. -style exploration to Leon’s RE4-like action — into a single, paced package that rarely lingers too long in either register. The result is a game that leans on established strengths while offering two distinct play rhythms within one release.
