The beloved franchise “Resident Evil” returns to its roots with “Resident Evil Requiem” with a brand-new experience mixing horror and action into one game; this game had a lot to live up to. Brand new protagonist Grace Ashcroft has already solidified herself as a fan favorite while being in the shadow of beloved returning character Leon Kennedy. Mixing the gameplay of two completely different eras was always going to be a difficult task, but Requiem manages to get solid footing in the series.
“Resident Evil 2,” “Resident Evil 3,” and “Resident Evil 4” are all beloved titles in the franchise and whilst having horror elements, focus on combat and action-packed gameplay. With “Resident Evil 7:Biohazard’s” introduction in 2017, the franchise took a hard right turn into first person horror. Requiem allows you to experience the first-person horror of modern Resident Evil, as Grace, while also letting you to go all out guns blazing as Leon Kennedy. The concept of this is very cool, but with an average overall playtime of 8-12 hours splitting everything good about the game in half, it causes each half to suffer from not having enough difficulty or real skill to complete this game.
Nostalgia bait is a real factor here. Requiem doesn’t do much to add creativity or any new ideas to the franchise. Revisiting raccoon city feels lackluster and the boss fights are just rehashes of previous games. Things such as the shop in this game are so lifeless. We’ve gotten the Death Merchant (“Resident Evil 4”) and a massive traveling caravan (“Resident Evil 8: Village”) showing the creative heights this franchise can get too. But in Requiem, what was given to the game was a generic military box. The story is also extremely lackluster. All of the callbacks feel like it wants you to love the game because it’s Resident Evil and not because it’s a good game in itself.
Overall, sometimes callbacks and nostalgia factor simply aren’t enough to create a gaming experience worth waiting for years. “Resident Evil 9: Requiem” is a middle of the road, fine entry in the series. Although there are many cool moments, it doesn’t live up to the creative heights many of the beloved past games do.
