Resident Evil Requiem deliberately builds on familiar ground: it returns to Raccoon City, draws on the series’ established gameplay, and reconnects its story to older lore. That continuity is part of the design, not an accidental resemblance. But the game’s strongest new ideas—especially Grace Ashcroft’s story and zombies that retain traces of their former lives—have to compete for attention with the weight of the franchise’s past. Whether that balance feels rewarding or over-reliant depends on how much a callback changes, not just how recognizable it is.
Why Requiem feels so tied to earlier Resident Evil games
Resident Evil Requiem is the ninth main installment in Capcom’s survival-horror series. It launched on February 27, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC, and Capcom explicitly frames its story as part of the wider franchise lore. The setting returns to Raccoon City, while protagonist Grace Ashcroft is a new character with a family connection to an earlier game. Capcom’s announcement makes clear that this is designed as both a new entry and a return to the series’ history.
That return has a narrative rationale. In a Game Informer interview published January 26, 2026, director Koshi Nakanishi said the team wanted to steer the story back toward the main storyline that preceded Resident Evil 6, after Resident Evil 7 and Village followed Ethan Winters. Nakanishi also acknowledged that Grace’s section strongly evokes Resident Evil 2. When asked whether the game felt like “a greatest hits of Resident Evil,” he described the intention as an evolved version of familiar gameplay: “The idea was to present an evolved version of some of the gameplay you know and love.”
That answer captures the tension in the title’s premise. Requiem does not hide its influences, and Capcom’s own framing invites players to read the new story against what came before. The question is whether those connections give the new material greater meaning or leave it feeling like a tour of established series landmarks.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
#1 Best Overall
- Amazon Exclusive - 2 sided poster included in every game!
- Grace Ashcroft, an FBI intelligence analyst who is introverted and easily scared, representing a new type of character for the Resident Evil series. Grace will experience horror from the same perspective as the player as she learns to overcome her fears throughout the course of the story.
- For the first time ever in Resident Evil history, players will be able to freely switch between both first- and third-person perspectives throughout the game.
- An Anniversary to Remember: With March 2026 marking the Resident Evil series’ 30-year anniversary, Resident Evil Requiem marks its own milestone in the franchise.
- Pre-orders for Resident Evil Requiem are now open, with the bonus of Grace’s costume: Apocalypse. Please note that the picture weapon does not come with the costume, but it can be obtained in-game.
Where the familiar formula gets a new angle
Grace’s story and the return to Raccoon City
Grace provides a new point of entry into the franchise’s history, rather than simply putting an old protagonist back at the center. Her family connection links her to prior events, while the return to Raccoon City gives the series’ past a place in the current story. That can make the setting more than a nostalgic backdrop—but the connection is most valuable when it develops Grace’s own stakes, rather than functioning only as recognition for longtime fans.
Nakanishi’s comparison between Grace’s section and Resident Evil 2 is evidence that the resemblance is intentional, not proof that the sequence merely repeats the older game. Still, a recognizable atmosphere or gameplay pattern is not, by itself, an innovation. The return feels earned when Requiem uses that familiarity to change the context or consequences of play; it feels more dependent on the past when recognition is the main payoff.
Rank #2
- A NEW ERA OF SURVIVAL HORROR — Experience the ninth mainline Resident Evil adventure, blending terrifying survival horror with pulse-pounding action in an immersive new chapter.
- TWO INTERTWINED JOURNEYS — Experience the story through FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft and legendary agent Leon S. Kennedy, each bringing a distinct gameplay style to the nightmare.
- SURVIVE AS GRACE ASHCROFT — Step into terrifying survival horror as FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft faces deadly threats and fights to escape death.
- TAKE ACTION AS LEON S. KENNEDY — Dive into pulse-pounding action with legendary agent Leon S. Kennedy as the two protagonists’ journeys collide.
- RETURN TO RESIDENT EVIL — Enter the latest mainline chapter of Capcom’s iconic survival horror series for a chilling experience built around fear, tension, and action.
Zombies that retain habits from their former lives
One of the clearest new ideas in the director’s interview is that some zombies retain traces of what they did before turning. They may continue activities associated with their former roles, and players can use those behaviors to their advantage. Nakanishi said: “So retaining a little bit of their past lives is something that’s really new for the RE series here, and you’ll actually, if you look closely, be able to utilize that stuff to your advantage.”
This is a meaningful test of whether Requiem can do more than revisit familiar enemies. The zombies remain part of a long-established survival-horror vocabulary, but persistent habits can make them behave less like interchangeable threats and more like clues to observe and exploit. The idea is distinctive because it asks players to pay attention to the enemy’s past, rather than simply recognize the series’ familiar undead.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsRank #3
- DELUXE EDITION CONTENT — Includes the full game plus five costumes, four weapon skins, two screen filters, two charms, the Raccoon City Classic Audio Pack, and Letters from 1998.
- A NEW ERA OF SURVIVAL HORROR — Experience the ninth mainline Resident Evil adventure, blending terrifying survival horror with pulse-pounding action in an immersive new chapter.
- TWO INTERTWINED JOURNEYS — Experience the story through FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft and legendary agent Leon S. Kennedy, each bringing a distinct gameplay style to the nightmare.
- SURVIVE AS GRACE ASHCROFT — Step into terrifying survival horror as FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft faces deadly threats and fights to escape death.
- TAKE ACTION AS LEON S. KENNEDY — Dive into pulse-pounding action with legendary agent Leon S. Kennedy as the two protagonists’ journeys collide.
Perspective choice and difficulty
Capcom also highlights real-time switching between first- and third-person perspectives, along with multiple difficulty settings. These options let players adjust how they experience the action and horror, but they are better understood as changes in presentation and accessibility than as proof that the underlying formula has been reinvented. Capcom’s March 4, 2026 update describes these features alongside the game’s early commercial performance.
When continuity becomes too much
A useful standard is to ask what each callback contributes beyond recognition. A returning place can deepen a new character’s story; a familiar gameplay pattern can become more compelling when new systems alter how it works. But if the old reference supplies most of a moment’s meaning, while the new character or mechanic contributes little, continuity starts to look like a substitute for invention.
Rank #4
- Platform: Xbox Series X
- Genre: Action - Horror
- Condition: New and Sealed
- Edition: Standard
- Does the callback change the experience? A familiar location or enemy matters more when Requiem gives it a new purpose, context, or tactical consequence.
- Do the new elements carry the story? Grace and the altered zombie behavior are strongest evidence of fresh direction when they shape what happens, rather than merely surrounding the legacy material.
- Does the return pay off narratively? Raccoon City has value as more than a recognizable setting if revisiting it develops the current story and its characters.
- Can a newcomer follow the stakes? A story can reward familiarity without requiring it for basic comprehension. The available official framing establishes the lore connections, but does not establish how much prior knowledge a new player needs to understand the plot.
By that measure, Requiem’s dependence on the past is real, but “too much” is an interpretation rather than a measurable property. Capcom and Nakanishi present the callbacks as deliberate continuity and evolution; the game’s new character and zombie behavior offer counterevidence to the idea that it is only recycling. The risk is that its most recognizable material may overshadow those newer ideas for players who want the series to move further from its established landmarks.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The case for the nostalgia
There is a credible alternative reading: a return to Raccoon City can be the point, not a failure to invent a different setting. PC Gamer’s reviewer praised the action, horror, puzzles, and series eccentricity, calling Requiem a “highlight reel of the best moments in the series” and saying its return to Raccoon City did not tread on precious memories. That is one reviewer’s response, not evidence of a universal consensus, but it shows how the same concentration of familiar elements can feel celebratory rather than overdone. PC Gamer’s review makes the favorable case clearly.
Best Value
![Resident Evil™ Requiem Deluxe Edition Steelbook - [Nintendo Switch 2]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41pI1d4fpDL._SL160_.jpg)
- Resident Evil Requiem is the ninth title in the Resident Evil main series. Prepare to escape death in this breathtaking experience that will shake you to the core.
- A new era of survival horror begins in 2026. Technological advancement combined with the vast experience of the development team in combining stories with finely crafted characters and gameplay ensure a more immersive experience than ever before.
- Experience the classic survival horror of the series through combat, investigation, puzzles, and resource management. The gameplay allows you to freely switch between first-person and third-person perspectives and experience the horror from the angle that best suits your playing style.
- It all begins when a corpse--the victim of an unknown disease--is found in an abandoned hotel. Grace Ashcroft, crime analyst at the FBI, is commissioned with the investigation. But the location of the corpse is exactly the place where her mother died eight years ago.
- Nervous of being confronted with her past, Grace sets out for the hotel. As it turns out, the case is linked to the truth behind the misfortune of Raccoon City, the biological catastophile that once shocked the world. Is this chapter finally drawn a final line?
Commercial success does not settle the artistic question, but it does underscore the scale of the franchise context. Capcom reported more than 5 million Requiem units sold by March 4, 2026, and its series total exceeded 183 million game units as of December 31, 2025. Those figures show the audience for the series; they do not reveal whether players think Requiem relies too heavily on nostalgia. Capcom’s sales update provides the dated figures.
Do you need to know the older games?
Requiem is framed as a lore-connected mainline entry, so familiarity can add context to its return to Raccoon City and Grace’s family link. However, the available sources do not establish that newcomers cannot follow the story without playing earlier games. The most defensible expectation is that returning players will recognize more of the references, while newcomers should not treat a full series catch-up as a confirmed prerequisite.
Capcom’s 2025 integrated report likewise presents Requiem as part of the franchise’s continuing story and identifies Grace as a new character connected to an earlier title. That combination—new lead, established world—is the clearest description of the game’s approach.
Verdict: a deliberate reunion with a genuine risk of over-reliance
Resident Evil Requiem leans heavily on the series’ past by design: Raccoon City, lore connections, and gameplay echoes are central to how Capcom presents it. The game also has fresh components, especially Grace’s perspective and the zombies’ usable residual habits, that keep “greatest hits” from being a complete description. Whether the balance works is a matter of emphasis: the callbacks are a strength when they deepen the new story or transform familiar play, and a weakness when recognition does the work on its own.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
