Resident Evil Requiem showcase trailer reveals big twist gameplay changes

The creators behind Resident Evil Requiem have stressed that the game is one part dread-inducing survival horror, one part action horror. That distinction was made even more clear in Capcom’s latest Resident Evil Showcase on Thursday. The game’s dual protagonists not only play differently, they even save their games differently, as the iconic Resident Evil ink ribbon returns in Resident Evil Requiem.

During the new Resident Evil Showcase, game director Koshi Nakanishi explained that heroine Grace Ashcroft’s gameplay style is modeled after Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 7, which offered more traditional horror elements. Leon S. Kennedy’s gameplay is more action-oriented, à la Resident Evil 4. That makes Requiem “an experience with an emotional range unlike any other Resident Evil game to date,” Nakanishi said.

Leon, still employed as a DSO agent investigating bioterrorism organizations, will utilize both hand-to-hand combat and firearms in his portion of Resident Evil Requiem. Mr. Kennedy has a new favorite toy, a hatchet (that he can sharpen mid-battle) to parry attacks and chop off zombie heads. Leon can target specific body parts to disable enemies, and even snatch their weapons — including a chainsaw — as part of his action-focused style.

Grace, on the other hand, has less tangible experience fighting the infected and undead. She’ll contend with limited resources and inventory, utilizing stealth and smarts to overcome obstacles. Grace will also have a big ol’ handgun called the Requiem that can obliterate zombies, provided she has the ammunition, and be able to craft using a special device that turns the infected blood of zombies into a weapon. In new gameplay of Resident Evil Requiem, we see Grace inject a zombie with a vial of mixed blood which causes her target to violently explode.

Based on that moment, and the number of zombie heads that Leon squished into paste with his boot, Resident Evil Requiem is looking like the juiciest Resident Evil yet.

Grace and Leon won’t just feel different in moment-to-moment gameplay. They’ll also have different save styles. One of the game’s difficulty options, called Standard (Classic), requires Grace (and only Grace) to use a limited supply of ink ribbons to save her progress at typewriters. It’s a big throwback to classic Resident Evil games, and helps differentiate her from Leon in a big way.

Even the zombies have evolved from past games. Instead of being mindless drones, the zombies of Resident Evil Requiem retain characteristics of their past lives, Nakanishi explained. For example, a zombie custodian may continue to obsessively clean his environment while a zombie chef may stay in the kitchen, mindlessly preparing food. The game’s designers apparently want players to exploit those zombie behaviors to outmaneuver them.

Apparently there’s still more to be revealed about Resident Evil Requiem — we’re still waiting for a look at the game’s amiibo and the associated Fortnite collaboration — but Capcom’s new survival horror game will be here soon enough. Resident Evil Requiem is bound to arrive on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X on Feb. 27.