Resident Evil Village was a delicious buffet of everything the franchise has done well: grand gothic horror, intense action, isolated dread. But for many fans, nothing topped the Baker house energy of Village’s dollhouse sequence, slow, quiet, and skin-crawling. With Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom seems to be leaning all the way into that suffocating fear again.
And if what was revealed behind closed doors during Summer Game Fest to a lucky writer at Game Informer is any indication, the series is headed straight back into the shadows, and back to Raccoon City.
Requiem stars Grace Ashcroft, a young FBI technical analyst with no combat training, and daughter of investigative reporter Alyssa Ashcroft (a deep cut from Resident Evil Outbreak). Grace wakes strapped to a hospital bed in the decaying Wrenwood Hotel, a place that feels more like an abandoned medical facility than a five-star stay, and the site of her mother’s mysterious death.
According to the 30-minute demo, the game wastes no time: there are no weapons, no allies, and no clear answers. Just locked doors, puzzles, creaking floors, and something big stalking you from the ceiling.
Grace is vulnerable. She scavenges healing items and distractions, not guns. The tension is oppressive in both first-person and third-person perspectives (you can toggle at any time, which fans have begged Capcom to include at launch). The puzzles seem more classic RE: find the key, search the drawers, locate the lighter, survive long enough to piece it all together.
The exact anatomy of the grotesque, towering hag-beast that emerges from the shadows is likely Requiem’s persistent stalker enemy. Think Mr. X, only more primal. She’s relentless and can bite, chase, and crawl through vents and gaps in the ceiling to ambush you from above.
From a gameplay standpoint, Requiem may not reinvent the wheel looks to continue the legacy of modern RE with another grim chapter full of mystery, atmosphere, and masterfully timed scares.
And for longtime fans, the setting alone is a huge draw: we’re back in Raccoon City. Not just thematically, but physically. What secrets still lie buried in the ruins of where it all began?
With a confirmed release date of February 27, 2026, Resident Evil Requiem is shaping up to be a spine-chilling return to the slower, more psychological side of the franchise, and one I personally can’t wait to lose sleep over.
