By Saniah Etienne

Resident Evil Requiem was one of my first experiences with horror games. I scare easily, so at first I was nervous but excited to take on the challenge. You play as two different characters, Leon S. Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft. The game begins when Grace is kidnapped and taken to Rhodes Hill Care Center by Dr. Victor Gideon while exploring an abandoned hotel crime scene. She and Leon try to escape and fight the mysterious infected zombies. 

My favorite part of Resident Evil Requiem has to be how well structured it is. In horror games with jump scares every five seconds, the internal game logic can feel off. It is refreshing that the dual character approach taken here is actually very intuitive. Grace is a timid FBI agent. You can often find her hyperventilating and apologizing to corpses. Her abilities mirror her identity. She doesn’t have a lot of slots in her inventory; she finds ammo a lot less, and overall does not have the resources to take down certain enemies. 

Most of the time spent playing as Grace involves stealth and requires discernment on when to fight, when to scavenge, and when to run. Some enemies are better off avoided until you play as Leon, who has better weapons and abilities. Leon is a well-seasoned agent with the Division of Security Operations. He is known for his confidence, often displayed by his cocky one-liners, my favorite being: Sorry, I’m not on the menu. 

The difference when switching from Grace to Leon is like night and day. Playing as Leon is a lot more fun; you can destroy opponents that Grace cowered in fear over. I was floored by all the loot Leon found by opening warped doors that Grace could not access. The two-player system is still a great way to balance story and action. It caters to a wide range of audiences, those who enjoy faster-paced action horror, and those who enjoy puzzles and stealth. 

The save points are generous without making the gameplay too easy. I usually saved my game in an office at a typewriter in the main hall. But I did lose my hard-earned progress a couple of times. The game also automatically saves if you destroy “Mr. Raccoon Figurines.” With their skinny, cartoon arms and dancing animations, I found them to be pretty cute. 

Nevertheless, Resident Evil Requiem is not for the faint of heart; the graphics are gory and often terrifying. For example, sometimes when zombies are shot, their heads explode and gush blood, well, everywhere. When I played it at night, every stray sound in my house began to make me think I would be attacked by a zombie. 

However, some moments are funny. The zombies are familiar and keep their habits. There is a doctor zombie who contorts his body while laughing and talking about different organs. It was super creepy. There is also a singing zombie. When she screams, you’re dazed, and the entire screen shakes. It was very satisfying to shoot her with the requiem, an extremely powerful shotgun, when I got to play as Leon. After this, he said one of his infamous, humorous one-liners: “Sorry for cutting your act short.” As Grace, you can sneak past the singing zombie when she begins weeping. 

As for music beyond singing, there isn’t much music in Resident Evil Requiem apart from the sounds that signal you should be on alert. As apparent as it is, some may count Grace’s perpetual heavy breathing as part of the soundtrack. Sound contributes to an important aspect of the gameplay. Some areas, like the sewer, are not very well lit, forcing you to rely on sound. 

For many zombies, especially when playing as Grace, if you know their patterns and triggers, you can essentially fight without firing a single shot by manipulating senses like sound and vision. This is a significant part of the stealth experience. Some zombies are very sensitive to sound, so you can break boxes or bottles to bait them. If you bait one of the most lethal zombies, “The Patient,” correctly, you can even get him to eliminate one of the bosses for you. Some of the sound-sensitive zombies can be funny. I made too much noise, and one of them jumpscared me and tried to scratch my face off.

Although some parts may be a bit comical, Resident Evil Requiem is definitely a psychological horror offering that is scarier than experiencing mere jump scares. Some of the zombies are somewhat conscious and will say “sorry,” or “I don’t mean it,” when trying to eat you. Their triggers, like noise and light, actually humanize them. They have been strategically experimented on and injected with disease. They aren’t independent villains but victims, as you, too, may be. 

Saniah Etienne is an NYVGCC intern who attended The Lab School in the Bronx and is currently in her first year at Howard University.

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