Finding Hope in the Horror I Call Home: Resident Evil Requiem Review

Grace Ashcroft Resident Evil: Requiem

SPOILERS AHEAD We never left the mansion; the horrors we made our home were always there. It's how we experience a new fear each time that’s what makes the Resident Evil series unlike a lot of horror games I’ve played. Resident Evil takes the horror I’ve known and loved from childhood and instills growth in its world, from the characters to even the zombies lurking in the halls.  Resident Evil Requiem brought the story back to its roots and incorporates the best parts of every installment in the series.  From utilizing a new form of “Crimson Head” to giving Requiem a clean transition between Grace and Leon’s chapters. This instalment carried a feeling of “this is it, isn't it? My time with the series is coming to a close, huh?” From the time I was a kid to now, a 33-year-old adult, Resident Evil has always been my calm in the storm. From the many Dr’s. appointments, to the feeling of my skin being on fire from the severe eczema I faced. When I stepped into the Spencer Mansion, I was, in a weird way, calmed and distracted from the pain. This franchise, while it's very close to my heart and has helped me numerous times, doesn't mean it's free from constructive critique.  I feel the more we love a game, the more it is our responsibility to constructively look at it in all its beauty and flaws. Resident Evil 9 approached both new and longtime fans with sincerity and an open heart, which you can find bleeding most of the time, with a key stuck inside. I don’t know how, but Capcom made it Work: Doing dual perspectives is one of the hardest things to narratively concoct. The balancing act that needs to happen is delicate and patient. Leon already has a preexisting strong story, where Grace is new, and I knew nothing about her going into this game other than that she is the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft. The switch between both stories was smooth in its transition, and each segment carried weight over to the next. Grace's segments were chaotic and filled with tense moments that brought me to the edge of my seat. Leon's moments while having horror also balanced that action aspect I loved from Resident Evil 4.  Both sections were well crafted and had their own identity; nothing felt rushed or like I was playing similar characters. The story and pacing, as well as the call-backs to previous Resident Evil titles, were so well done! The call-backs were well timed and instilled pure nostalgic emotion that felt elegantly placed instead of a cheap way to get people into the game. Capcom knows their audience and placing Jill's barrette on her desk, along with Barry’s scavenger hunt, then adding Mr. X? We are no cheap date, and Capcom knows this, they know the sanctity of the world they have created with Resident Evil, and after 30 years, placement and pacing and how you tell the story is everything.  Resident Evil Requiem's story is an organic continuation of Resident Evil, and when it comes to seven and eight, I consider those extensions of the world of this franchise. Do you need to play them to play Requiem? No, not at all. While there are nods to them, they are not linked in their story. The story in Requiem took its time and created an immersive world for me to theorize over and get lost in. While the game itself is linear and to the point, the story is anything but simple. Just as I think I’m gaining clarity, I have more questions. Bringing about a redemption arc for Spencer wasn’t shocking, but that it actually happened, where not everything was what it seemed, that was the shocking part. Especially in the ending, where you have the choice to destroy or release Elpis. By destroying Elpis, you destroy any hope for a cure to the T-Virus. Releasing Elpis, you’re actually saving many people. It was Spencer's way of saying, “Ok, I messed up. Here’s my apology,” and no, it’s not a half-baked make-up guru apology where he’s sitting in front of his couch forcing tears, it’s an actual cure to the chaos he created. Where do we go from here, though? Where is the logical next step if Resident Evil 10 is going to take place? My prediction is that there will be an end to the series, one more game to close up the wound, and bring about a final act to the 30-year-long franchise.

Leon Kennedy in the care center

From Shaking at the Trigger to Witty Lines While Rolling Heads: Playing as both Leon and Grace is very different in both the experience and gameplay.  As Leon, you’re an experienced fighter, gunman, and quick with the snappy remarks. As Grace, you’re clumsy, terrified, and over everything that’s going on. Both characters breathe life into the gameplay, where I got to experience different playstyles with both Leon and Grace.  Grace gets to utilize crafting in a very unique way by incorporating the blood of her enemies, no, really, you have to gather blood from the corpses you kill to craft everything from bullets to Hymolytic injectors. While Leon is just actively carrying a whetstone now to sharpen his hatchet. Gone are the days of using a simple hunter's knife. Even the music in each section is different, for Leon it’s synth mixed witha tame version of what we hear in DOOM 2016, but in Grace's parts there's more of a focus on the atmospheric sounds, the creeks in the walk to the grunt the girl makes. I feel Capcom could have amped up the volume on the music a touch more with Leon’s sections. A perfect example is fighting a horde of zombies at a gas station. The music overlaying it is incredible, but it could have been amped up much more for the whole sequence. When a literal metalhead of a zombie walks out onto center stage, I thought we were going to get a face-melting, Lorna Shore-esque approach. Instead, the gameplay, weapons, and zombie grunts were overpowering the music when there could have been more of a balance. With Grace, the music is softer, and the ambiance is what matters here. With her, the approach to her sections was more along the lines of Resident Evil 1 Remake, where you feel that onset of dread and anticipation creep in. Her sections were well crafted, especially in the bunker, where you need to be careful about how you manuver are key aspects in survival horror and need very little music accompanying it. If there had been more music added in Grace’s sections, I feel it would have taken away from the experience, so it’s nice that Capcom went for a more classic approach. Leon and Grace still maintain a level of growth. While Leon is a seasoned pro in the art of rolling heads, and Grace is a data analyst who was thrown into a precarious situation, both had tremendous personal growth in the game. Leon is at peace with the curse Unbrella thrust upon him and others, accepting death, while still not being too fond of it. Grace went through unimaginable trauma as a young woman who saw her mother murdered, growing into someone who learned to be brave and survive.

Leon and Grace

The Grace in Horror: There’s a certain gracefulness (no pun intended)  about how this game was done. Modern horror games lack the genuine feeling of being on your toes a lot of the time. With Resident Evil 9, horror came back home and said, “We never left, we just wanted to find a new way to scare you.” Having enemies that can partially talk really creeped me out, but also made me think of Lisa saying “mother” towards the end of Resident Evil 1 Remake. This installment also created a reimagining of the iconic crimson heads we all know and love. There’s a graceful dance in horror that, when done correctly, makes the player think, while grossing them out. It's a delicate balance that a lot of older franchises, much like Resident Evil, maintained. Silent Hill is a perfect case of another franchise that never lost its elegance in horror.I love the way even the mechanics were an elegant dance from parrying attacks, to utilizing the combat from Resident Evil 4 that made that instalment fantastic to play. Grace, being a newbie in survival horror, it’s not surprising that she’s falling all the time and shaking at the steering wheel of the Requiem. But that’s what makes this game fantastic, the flow of playing two incredibly different personalities. A ball of Skin and a shocking ending: We need to address the bicep in the room, the reason we find Leon to be the most attractive, and overall, one of (going out on a limb here), the best male characters in the Resident Evil franchise is because of the way he makes the player feel (safe and seen), and he is the most emotionally and empathetically intelligent. I say all of this brings up Leon's death in the first ending, the bad ending, mind you. The ending to destroy Elpis acted like a strong case of whiplash; we see a character we’ve known for the better part of 20 years get killed in front of us. It leads me to theorize on how the final installment of Resident Evil will play out regarding which characters live and which ones die. When it came to the second ending, it was both good and felt off. Why wasn’t Grace utilized at all in the final boss battle against Gideon? I get that she was knocked out, but Capcom could have used her as a way to give more ammo to Leon casually, and help him out in the greater difficulties. I spent a good chunk of the game playing her character, learning about her playstyle, clumsily fighting my way through monsters, and shooting zombies who had stinky stinky breath. The least that could have been done was to have her help out a bit in the final boss. As a whole, the final boss felt underwhelming, a Nemesis that bounced in place like a balled up peice of flesh. The boss fight with Mr. X was more enthralling than fighting with Gideon, and that's due to the fact of the clever combination of nostalgia and that it was genuinely good.  Gideons boss was a two-parter that felt like there could have been more to it. Horror Got Older and Wiser: Resident Evil is my home; it's the place that taught me about Molotov cocktails, comedy amidst disaster, and the value of never leaving anyone behind. Requiem delivers a powerful sequel to an ongoing story, Raccoon City is still alive and well, and we are the heartbeat that maintains the want of the stories that have survived and continued for 30 years.  Resident Evil Requiem was a thrilling, unforgettable experience that may have added more questions, but created a finality to the series. This is survival horror; while it has new elements added, the core of what it is, the soul of Resident Evil, is still the same.