by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: $17.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Intro:
Requiem feels less like a cohesive narrative and more a nostalgic victory lap strung together with bravura set pieces and the classic puzzle solving under duress that makes this series so great.
The Resident Evil series, that storied franchise that has been with us in one form or another since 1996, has been defined by a constant sense of reinvention. From the static shots and tank controls of the early games, to the more fluid over-the-shoulder improvements of Resident Evil 4 (2005), to the first person POV used to such great effect in Resident Evil VII (2017) and Resident Evil Village (2021), not to mention the stellar from-the-ground-up remakes of Resident Evil 2, 3 and 4 (2019, 2020 and 2023), this is a series that – much like its goopy antagonists – is always in the process of dramatic transformation. The latest iteration, Resident Evil Requiem, is the first game that feels, at least a little, content to rest on its laurels. However, when a game has such impressive and expansive laurels, it’s hard to complain too much.
Resident Evil Requiem tells the tale of mousey FBI intelligence analyst, Grace Ashcroft. Grace is sent to the grimy Wrenwood Hotel, the site of her mother’s murder eight years earlier, to investigate a series of strange deaths. Naturally, things go tits up very quickly and the young lady soon finds herself kidnapped and thrust into a terrifying situation involving zombies, lumbering monsters, hideous experiments, evil corporations and a conspiracy that leads back to a very familiar, now destroyed city. Joining her in her journey of discovery is the sassy quip machine, Leone S. Kennedy, who you’ll switch to at various times throughout the game.
What’s interesting is that, in many ways, Requiem feels like a combination of (arguably) the best games in the series. Grace’s challenges feel much more in keeping with the more horror influenced thrills of RE2 and REVII (the latter particularly for its default first person mode), whereas Leon’s levels are much more combat and action focused, with far less thinking and sneaking and far more shooting. In lesser hands, this could have felt like a disconnect and yet somehow, the way these two very different playstyles are woven together really works. You’ll be with Grace for a while, building up an almost unbearable sense of tension as you barely scrape by and then unleash chaos when you switch to Leon, guns blazing and fringe flicking.
Some of the set pieces both characters get to experience are series best, showcasing genuinely clacker-clenching terror and gloriously stupid, over-the-top action. Also, the zombies have got a huge upgrade in terms of their behaviour, powers and the way their body parts explode when you shoot them. Eyeballs flop out on stalks, lower jaws fly away, it’s absolute bedlam. This is a good thing too, because honestly, the story holding the whole thing together? There’s not much to it. Requiem feels less like a cohesive narrative and more a nostalgic victory lap strung together with bravura set pieces and the classic puzzle solving under duress that makes this series so great.
So, will the narrative shortcomings ruin your good time? Probably not. Resident Evil Village’s plot could have been written on three wet beer coasters and that was still a hoot. And while Resident Evil Requiem doesn’t quite hit the heights of the series’ best, it’s a timely reminder of how damn good these games are and, perhaps more importantly, offers bulk tension and catharsis at a near-constant clip.
Resident Evil Requiem doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it reminds you how bloody good the wheel is. Thanks for your service, wheel.
