Resident Evil Requiem just became my most-anticipated game

My favourite thing out of Summer Game Fest (SGF) in June was Resident Evil Requiem. As a huge fan of the iconic Capcom survival horror series, I was overjoyed to see the first new mainline entry in the series since 2021’s Village. And during a hands-off demo at SGF, I got to see just how far Capcom is taking the horror in the new game.

But of course, seeing is one thing, and playing is another, and at Gamescom in Germany, I got to finally go hands-on with Requiem. And honestly, after letting it digest over the past few days, I’m confident in saying it’s my most anticipated game right now.

First, that hype starts with the premise. The focus on a more fresh-faced protagonist, the young, bespectacled FBI agent Grace Ashcroft (daughter of Alyssa, one of the characters from the oft-forgotten PS2 multiplayer game Resident Evil Outbreak), immediately makes the game more grounded than previous RE titles. Even RE7 and 8’s Ethan Winters, who started off as an everyman before becoming something else entirely, was still a pretty blank slate lead.

Grace, by contrast, feels much more alive in every moment. Whether it’s her overwhelming panic and uncertainty as her life is upended in the new Gamescom story trailer or her fearful, laboured breaths as she skulks around areas during actual gameplay, Grace’s emotional state is raw and palpable, deepening your connection to her. Capcom has also noted that she primarily works a desk job for the FBI, so outside of basic firearm training, she’s not inherently badass like Leon, Chris, Jill or some other past RE heroes, which should only make her more relatable.

Adding to all of that is just how helpless and desperate Capcom makes you feel in Requiem. In my demo, which was an extended version of what we saw at SGF, Grace finds herself hanging upside down from a medical bed, surrounded by tubes and vials containing her blood. (Between this and the story trailers, it begs the question of the mysterious significance of the Ashcroft family.) After craftily managing to break some glass to cut herself free, the sweat- and blood-soaked Grace begrudgingly trudges down the halls of what appears to be a rundown hospital to find an exit.

On top of her slow, laboured movements and aforementioned unsettling breathing, you never find a single thing to defend yourself during the demo — no gun, knife or the like. Instead, you soon pick up a glass bottle that you’re told can be thrown. All the while, phenomenally rendered lighting only partially illuminates parts of the environment, which, alongside eerie creaking sounds, always frighteningly suggests something could be hiding in the shadows.

But the biggest threat, which was teased in the reveal trailer, is some sort of giant demonic creature. With its grungy dress, cragged yellow teeth and grotesque goblin-like face, it almost feels like a more photorealistic and modern take on Lisa Trevor from the original game. (Some fans have even theorized she is Lisa, interestingly enough.) However, she feels several steps above the quintessential Resident Evil “stalker” enemies like RE2‘s Mr. X or RE3‘s Nemesis.

For one thing, the stature of Requiem’s monster is simply towering, which, in the claustrophobic labyrinthine walls of this hospital, really adds to the tension and desperation as you flee, since you can’t just skirt around her. This is especially harrowing in first-person, as the beast snarls its nightmarish fang-like teeth and leans forward to take a devastating bite of Grace’s shoulder, dropping you to critical health and making the screen shake as it’s filled with bloody red hues. (The death animation, which sees her full-on decapitate Grace by eating her head and then drinking the ensuing waterfall of blood, is downright haunting.)

What’s more, the beast’s AI is so much more unpredictable. At times, she can jump up to crawlspaces in the ceiling only to come back to the ground in other areas, not unlike the Xenomorph from Alien: Isolation. This results in nail-bitingly tense sequences in which you’re making a break for a room to hide in, only for the monster to drop in front of you and block the way. In a separate, scripted instance, the full illuminated light of a room — which you eventually realize burns her and keeps her out — blows a fuse, enabling her to crash into your room and start another chase. It’s easy to see how this cat-and-mouse dynamic might only evolve in larger areas.

It should also be noted that Capcom has made the commendable move to include both first- and third-person modes right off the bat. (Resident Evil Village’s third-person mode came in a post-launch DLC.) Given that people have a fondness for both the newer first-person titles as well as much nostalgia for the classic third-person POV, it’s great to have both options.

In the latter half of my demo, I switched to third-person and found it equally effective in different ways. For instance, one moment requires you to push a medical trolly over to a wall so you can stand on it to reach a box containing a screwdriver. In third-person, especially, it adds to the tension as you see Grace’s repeated attempts to quietly move the trolley, bumping into obstacles or knocking over and failing to catch a glass bottle. All the while, she becomes visibly agitated the more noise she makes and the footsteps and dangling chains of the monster become more pronounced.

In just 30 minutes, Capcom has already crafted perhaps the scariest section I’ve ever seen in a Resident Evil game outside of House Beneviento in Village. The immaculate lighting and sound, when coupled with a simply terrifying stalker, result in an unforgettable experience. Put another way: I checked my Apple Watch after playing the demo and it showed my heart rate had gone up by over 50 during my Requiem demo.

And best of all, this is only a tiny slice of the game. By all accounts, Capcom really hasn’t shown us much at all. On top of Grace’s enigmatic background (namely, the importance of her mother and why these villains want her), rumours and leaks suggest that fan-favourite Leon will play a major role in the game. Given that we haven’t seen him at this point in the RE timeline, while Chris was in both RE7 and RE8, only adds to the intrigue regarding what our favourite wise-cracking cop has been up to. Indeed, as a big Resident Evil fan, I’m eager to see how all of this comes together.

But even beyond what’s unconfirmed, we know for sure based on the trailers that we’re set to at least partially return to Raccoon City. The thought of seeing how iconic locations like the police department might look now, as well as whatever new locations Capcom might have in store for us, has me genuinely excited.

That’s ultimately why I’m so sold on Requiem; it’s so far doing everything I want from a sequel. On the one hand, it’s exploring tantalizing new characters and time periods in the lore, and on the other hand, it’s building upon the core horror experience in meaningful ways, especially through the unsettling new stalker enemy. I absolutely cannot wait.

Resident Evil Requiem launches on February 27, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

For more on Capcom on Gamescom, check out my previews of Onimusha: Way of the Sword and Pragmata. 

Image credit: Capcom