The original Switch saw a combination of ports of the older Resident Evil games and the newer remakes appearing in cloud form. Thankfully, the Switch 2 has the firepower to handle raw, uncut, and importantly new Resident Evil on the same day as everyone else, starting with Resident Evil Requiem.

Following a series of mysterious murders, FBI Agent Grace Ashcroft is sent to investigate the most recent murder at Wrenwood Hotel, the site of her mother’s murder. Former cop and ResidentEvil badass Leon Kennedy is also on the scene, then typically everything goes to shit. It’s not long before zombies are involved, and both Grace and Leon end up in the same place: Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Centre. Grace ends up there as a prisoner, upside down with her blood being taken, managing a daring escape from upside-downness and a giant monster lady with an appetite for head-chomping. And Leon Kennedy is back, baby, former rookie cop now hardened zombie dismemberer. Leon has his own reasons for getting involved; the survivors of the “Raccoon City Incident” have been turning up dead. Getting caught up in pursuing the creepy Victor Gideon, Grace and Leon get tangled up in this shared misadventure.

The story definitely feels like Resident Evil. It takes some wild swings, swings that would potentially feel a little much for a more serious series. It’s something I have always enjoyed about the series as a whole. For all the seriousness and horror, there is also this outrageous streak that reminds you of the twists and turns that threaten to derail all the horror. It is a series built on characters, even if sometimes they don’t get much time in the spotlight. Unfortunately, we can’t say too much about the exact story beats, but we don’t think you’d want to know them anyway.

Victor Gideon works well as a RE antagonist. Initially, it feels like the fleeting moments with him aren’t enough, but as events ramp up, there is plenty of scenery for him to chew. Whilst Victor isn’t the sole antagonist, I also don’t want to (and can’t) say anything else about them. I would be negligent to leave out the giant monster lady; she is a recurring presence throughout your stay at Rhodes Hill. For most of the time, she serves as a threatening presence, making sneaking around in the darkness tense, especially when there’s not always a way to escape. Eventually, the encounters drag out just a little; it becomes more of a waiting game for her to shamble away far enough to progress. Something the game manages well overall is to wrap up the current section of the game just when it’s about to overstay its welcome.

If you haven’t played a Resident Evil game before, rest assured that you will still be able to enjoy Requiem. There will be more for Leon Kennedy enthusiasts or long-term RE fans to wring out of the story, but the game gives newcomers enough information to follow along and have fun. Don’t worry though; this new entry still finds new ways to work its lore into RE’s somewhat convoluted and ever-evolving history. 

To help create a more clear distinction between both main characters’ game styles, there are two different camera options. Grace’s more deliberate and stealth-based sequences are in the first-person view, and this option fits right in with RE VII and VIII. First-person view with limited peripheral vision makes for a more tense time, especially when Grace is portrayed as more of a desk agent, opposed to the zombie veteran Leon. Grace does eventually get a gun or two, but the ammo is limited and the zombies soak up bullets. Grace isn’t a hardened zombie slayer, and her panicked, shaky breathing and exasperated disbelief will accompany you as a reminder of that. While it sounds like it could get annoying, it mostly adds to the tension, knowing every step forward potentially has a new scare waiting around the corner or in the darkness. 

Leon is assigned to third-person view by default, and is more action-oriented. Leon’s sections of the game give you little choice but to take down every zombie in your path; it’s even incentivised. As there are often multiple enemies around you, Leon benefits from the third-person view. If the first-person view is making you feel a little too tense, or the third-person view maybe taking away some of the thrills, you can set Grace and Leon’s view to whichever you prefer.

Zombies are back, and they now talk… well, for some of the time. Some of the Requiem zombies inhabiting Rhodes Hill cling onto remnants of their humanity. Honestly, it’s not as though every zombie has their own personality, behaviours, and backstory as such. The new personality zombies serve to indicate what kind of threat they pose. Some are particularly sensitive to light, some to sound, others stick to a routine. It’s a neat addition, having some zombies caught up in silly human habits. I only wish it was something they explored further, although once the game moves away from the more contained setting, it would be harder to maintain that when Leon can just axe them. That’s not to say zombies become trivial once you become a one-man army; the game continues to find ways to make them a threat. 

Even when you think you’ve killed the zombies in the area, you can never really take a breather. Going back to now-accessible locations will have some fresh (or not so fresh anymore) faces waiting to stop you. On top of more zombies or stronger foes appearing, there’s also a mutation called Blister Heads, serving a similar purpose to the old Crimson Heads way back in the original RE remake. These mutations come from already downed zombies, exposure to a mist, or just because. For Grace, it pays to keep some Hemolytic injectors around when you’re able to sneak up on it or do enough damage to inject it. If you can, it’s best for Grace to steer clear.  For Leon, you often don’t have the option of keeping your distance. You need to hit it hard to knock it over and burst its head with his axe. 

While you initially spend a lot of time with Grace for Rhodes Hill, with bits of Leon, the game evens this out, giving Leon a good go too. I felt that the game strikes a good balance between both characters across its 10-15 hours. Initially, it feels like Leon plays more of a supporting role to Grace’s story, but it is very much his too. It’s actually a shame that the RE2 and RE4 remakes aren’t being released alongside Requiem. 

There’s of course the familiar RE trappings: typewriters, limited storage, safe rooms. Because the two main characters share the spotlight, it’s interesting to see how both are handled with some of the mechanics. Grace can store items in a storage chest, while items only take up one slot of space in the inventory. Leon has a storage crate that is used to purchase/sell/upgrade weapons, and Leon’s “Tetris” inventory returns. The differences suit the different types of approaches for each character. Of course, Grace shouldn’t just be able to buy guns and ammo in a medical facility. The setup for Leon to be able to purchase and upgrade his tools of death makes more sense, with his situation calling for putting down a lot of zombies and creatures. 

Both characters have access to crafting. It felt more vital for Grace, whereas for Leon, it could lean more towards extra ammo. I would combine herbs as much as I could; they don’t use any scrap, the key item to most crafting. Which brings us to another difference between approaches. Grace acquires a Blood Collector, a device that lets her draw blood from pools of the red stuff either just lying around or from zombies. That blood combined with a scrap can make a fair few things, often having to weigh up if you need more bullets or want an injector that kills practically any human-sized enemies. 

Leon is usually collecting gunpowder to craft in combination with a scrap; you already have the firepower to stop whatever comes your way. Instead of blood collecting, Leon receives a band that records the number of creatures he kills. This converts into cash for Leon to use on his version of a storage box. It doesn’t function in the same way, though; Leon can purchase new weapons, sell old ones, buy new upgrades, or top up on a limited amount of ammo. It helps that you can always buy back any weapons you sell, allowing you to respec your loadout. Although usually once you have your weapons of choice upgraded, it’s pretty easy to stick to your guns. 

In the lead-up to launch, it has been pointed out that the Switch 2 version looks great, with very positive and optimistic speculation around its performance. And don’t get me wrong, RE Requiem looks gruesomely amazing the majority of the time. Capcom has really worked their magic to make it work as well as it does here, and gives me hope for the Switch 2 seeing most current-gen titles.

The game does seem to aim for 60fps, and for the most part, it holds to it. Without replaying whole sections again between the two camera options, it was hard to tell if frame rate struggles were because of the third-person camera, or because of what was happening at that moment. Honestly, that the game runs as well as it does, looking as good as it can, is amazing in itself. Even more of a feat when the game only takes up around 27GB! 

If you’re looking for this game to go head-to-head with the top-end current-gen consoles, then you’re likely to always be disappointed. Although the Switch 2 manages to surprise, the reduced hair quality isn’t as surprising at this point. Don’t take this to mean it takes away from the game in any way, though. The other times where texture quality is most noticeable is during cutscenes. Leon’s salt and pepper stubble is also in the position to take a hit in visual fidelity for some reason. 

I wouldn’t say it’s the very first visually impressive game running on the Switch 2; however, it does stand out as one of the first day-and-date games that truly holds its own. It is also a visually impressive game in its own right, especially given it looks and runs so well in handheld mode too. Given how much of the game is having to tread lightly through dimly lit or outright dark areas, the visual quality means you can soak in the atmosphere.

What helps with the tense, spooky atmosphere is the sound, which is best enjoyed with a quality surround sound system. While unlikely to be the ideal method to enjoy the audio, the handheld surround also works pretty well. It does a decent job of surround sound. Braver people than me will get out the headphones, having some panicked breathing as you sneak around the dark corridors, with the game ready to scare the shit out of you.

Something that I also found pretty neat was Requiem’s HD rumble. In the opening sequence as Grace is walking through a bustling street, with rain overhead and an elevated train rolling by, you could feel the gentle patter of the light rain, the heavier rumble of the train as it goes on by.

Resident Evil Requiem manages to keep the series moving forward, even when it looks back to its past. Seeing how good Requiem looked and how well it ran, I have hope in seeing new Capcom games continuing to hit the Switch 2 day-and-date with the more powerful consoles. If you love Resident Evil games, then you don’t  need me to tell you to get this game. If you’re looking for the right time to dip your toe into the Resident Evil waters, then Requiem gives you enough of the scary and shooty parts the series has kept going this long.  

Review copy provided by publisher.