(Photo courtesy of SteamDB. “‘Resident Evil Requiem’ features callbacks to the franchise’s past and unique dual storylines.”)
Tristin Henson
Connector Editor
A couple of weeks ago, Capcom released the next video game chapter in their biggest series: “Resident Evil Requiem.” This is the eleventh game in the main storyline of the Resident Evil series and is being enjoyed by gamers everywhere. Like almost all Resident Evil games, it is action-packed and full of horrors beyond imagination, and, of course, plenty of zombies to kill, and the public perception of the game so far has been very positive. The graphics in the game itself are also very high quality, akin to real life in many shots. However, the game does cost $69.99, which does make it a bit inaccessible for players who are not willing to fork over a large sum of cash. The fanbase has claimed that this game in the installment almost seems to be paying homage to previous “Resident Evil” games, as people have taken note of how the storyline has finally come back around to where everything started: Raccoon City.
The game follows two characters: Grace Ashcroft, an FBI analyst who starts the game investigating a series of unexplained homicides at the same hotel where her mother was murdered, and recurring fan favorite Leon S. Kennedy.
Heavy spoilers ahead: players who want to play the game blind beware.
The plot itself is highly ranked as one of the better ones in the series. Grace’s investigation quickly takes a turn for the worse, as it is revealed that Victor Gideon, a former Umbrella Corporation scientist, set her up and kidnaps her for her supposed knowledge on a potential bioweapon created by Umbrella Founder Oswell E. Spence, again relating back to the first installments of this series.
Leon Kennedy is also investigating the series of murders and happens to run into Victor and Grace, the latter of whom starts a T-virus outbreak to distract Leon. However, Leon tracks both down from the Wrenwood Hotel to the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center, where Victor unleashes a whole cacophony of zombies and monsters alike. Many have also noted how these zombies in particular seem to be of much higher cognitive functioning than past zombies in the series, many of them talking, horrified at what they themselves are doing, or trying to go about their daily tasks before they are turned. Grace is able to escape from Victor’s clutches only to wind up seeing all the horrors with her own eyes.
Grace seems to serve as a stand-in for what it would be like for an everyday person to witness the hellscape of “Resident Evil,” much unlike previous protagonists, mostly unfazed by the chaos happening around them; her voice actor has also received much praise for her emotional scenes. Leon Kennedy, after also escaping Victor’s traps, very much embodies this other side of the coin, completely in his element, quipping multiple one-liners in every scene. As much of the player base has summarized, for Grace, it was the worst day of her life; for Leon, it was just another Tuesday.
This dichotomy makes for very interesting gameplay, not only in terms of being different characters with different suggested perspectives, first person for Grace and third person for Leon, which shows how Leon can see everything around him, and thus is much more experienced than Grace, but also in the weapons and luck chances. For Leon enemies just seem to be easy takedowns, cabinets full of ammo and health items, an ordinary video game-type health bar and a massive inventory.
Meanwhile, Grace has to play a lot more carefully. Ammo is always low, the health bar is more akin to “Resident Evil 2” with less information and she has a very small inventory.
Finally, in the third act of the game, Grace is once again kidnapped and taken to Raccoon City. This section is extremely nostalgic with Leon, as there are constant callbacks and references to previous characters and locations Leon and other protagonists interacted with in past games.
Once players reach the end of the game, they can either choose to release the supposed bioweapon to save Leon or destroy it. If it is destroyed, Leon ends up dying, an ending that most of the fanbase disagrees with. Meanwhile, if the ‘bioweapon’ is released, it turns out to be an antiviral that can cure all those afflicted with viruses, a huge Chekov’s Gun for future “Resident Evil” games.
Overall, the game has been a massive hit, not only because it calls back to previous “Resident Evil” games in a homage type way, but also because it doesn’t solely rely on that. With great graphics, an excellent storyline, compelling characters, amazing gameplay and excitement left for future games in the series, “Resident Evil Requiem” certainly hits it out of the park.
Grade: A+
