Resident Evil Requiem preview: Two sides of an antique coin

Resident Evil Requiem is set to release on February 27, 2026, kicking off the year in horrific style. Following up Resident Evil Village is a tough act to follow, but based on the hands-on preview I attended on behalf of the network, I’m confident this game will follow through. Requiem felt stylish, gory, and disturbing. 

Below, you’ll find Adventure Gamers’ spoiler-free first impressions of Resident Evil Requiem, looking at everything from the dual style of gameplay to the new style of undead ghouls that you’ll find splattered across the map.

Dual perspectives with a singular story

Resident Evil Requiem will be the latest addition to the storied Resident Evil series, letting fans revisit the legendary Raccoon City and get up close and personal with hordes of the shambling undead. I had the opportunity to attend a preview on behalf of the network and take a bite out of the game. 

The preview was split into several parts; we spent a little time with Leon before meeting Grace for the first time, and finished up by playing as Leon once again. The whole experience lasted roughly three hours.

It was the perfect taste of the dual perspectives Requiem will offer. If you’re unfamiliar, the game will split itself between Grace and Leon, with Grace’s sections of the game being more survival horror oriented and Leon’s being more action horror themed. 

If you’re a Resident Evil 7 lover, you’ll get a kick out of Grace’s part of the game, and if you loved Resident Evil 4, you’ll get a kick out of playing as Leon. It’s a love letter to the series as a whole, combining some tense, close-quarters combat with some more expansive survival horror segments. 

Before heading into the preview, I was a little concerned that the game might feel disjointed with its dual-perspective approach, but it felt smooth and polished during my time with it. I never felt frustrated about having to switch between playing as Grace and Leon – I was just eager to keep following the story’s thread. 

Something that helped knit the two perspectives together was the ability to toggle perspectives for both characters; if you wanted to play Leon in third-person but Grace in first, or even both in third-person, for example, this was possible. 

The story is woven together intricately, too. It’s not a case of dual campaigns like in previous games; instead, Grace and Leon are involved in the same story, and sections of the preview highlighted their roles in the timeline. 

In one instance, Grace has to solve a mystery that involves her sketching something in a notebook. Leon later runs through the same room, and the same notebook with the same markings can be seen where Grace left it. It was a small detail, but it highlighted the amount of care that’d been taken when crafting the game.

Both characters could explore and interact with the world in different ways, too. Grace felt more attuned to puzzle-solving, while Leon was able to access previously blocked-off items, making subsequent fights a lot more explosive. 

A dark and oppressive atmosphere

Settings and visuals are always important in Resident Evil games, but they’re arguably more important than ever now that the series is back in the iconic Raccoon City. The aesthetic appeal of Requiem is undeniable – even in its grossest, most intense moments, the visuals were striking. 

The enemies in Resident Evil Requiem were visually intriguing, too, with some genuinely unsettling creature designs. More importantly than their visual quirks, though, the monsters in Resident Evil Requiem had some truly strange behaviours.

While some zombies behaved in typically zombie-like fashion, others imitated their behaviours from life, with one particularly unsettling example being a custodian found attempting to scrub the bathroom clean of blood before attempting to then spill Grace’s blood on said bathroom floor. 

Each unique enemy type had its own behaviours, attack styles, and most eerily of all, vocalizations. These zombies are much chattier than their counterparts from earlier games, which made exploring echoing halls in the dark a lot creepier. 

As is to be expected for Resident Evil, Requiem’s core gameplay revolved around fighting monsters, exploring to solve puzzles – yes, you’ll be putting things in doors –, and tangling with bosses.

Combat felt strikingly different when hopping between Grace and Leon. As Grace’s gameplay is more survival horror oriented, she has limited resources available and needs to rely on crafting to make the most out of her arsenal. Crafting in Requiem revolves around collecting infected blood and analyzing it, which, somehow, results in bullets. 

Leon is more experienced in combat than his FBI analyst counterpart, and it shows in his style. He can use an enemy’s weapon against them, parry with a hatchet, or rely on stylish gunplay to get out of harm’s way.

In both sections of the game, combat felt smooth and intuitive, with interesting animations to match each character’s attack style. 

While there were a few rare instances in which enemies seemed baffled by the concept of doors, the combat was punchy and impactful throughout the demo. I played through on a standard difficulty level, but found a few close-quarters fights that seemed like they’d be nightmarish on a higher difficulty level. 

Finding new weapons or ways to tackle bosses felt truly rewarding, suggesting the full experience is even more promising. The gore system was incredibly responsive, paired with effective sound design. 

Overall, Resident Evil Requiem was the perfect mix of dark hallways, cryptic lore, and bloody chainsaws. Fans of the franchise are in for a treat when Re quiem hits; without spoiling it, the story appears to carry significant weight in the wider Resident Evil narrative, and certain characters may be pushed to their breaking point.