I think it is safe to say that Capcom has claimed the crown for the King of Q1 when it comes to releasing powerhouse titles to start off the new year. This year, it was Monster Hunter Wilds, last year Dragon’s Dogma 2, and before that, the Resident Evil 4 remake. I could go on, and we already know what the game will be for 2026! Debatably, the biggest announcement to come out of Summer Games Fest this year was Capcom’s big reveal of the next entry in their Resident Evil series with Resident Evil Requiem. During the Game Days event, Capcom went even further by allowing members of the press to check out a behind-closed-doors extended gameplay video, and it further cemented in my mind that this game is going to be one of the biggest releases of 2026.
From what we know so far, Requiem puts players in the role of Grace Ashcroft, the daughter of Resident Evil Outbreak’s Alyssa Ashcroft, an investigative reporter for the Raccoon Press. Grace, now grown up and an FBI analyst, has been investigating strange deaths linked to a mysterious virus. The pre-recorded gameplay we were shown opened where the reveal trailer left off, with Grace strung up and in a rather dire predicament. After a quick cutscene, Grace had freed herself, and off we went.
The environment shown was much more put together and more reminiscent of the Spencer Mansion of the original Resident Evil. Bedrooms were tidy, there was a large room with clean marble floors, and halls that are *mostly* in good shape, especially compared to, say, the Bakers’ home from RE VII. Still, despite the building’s lack of decay, there are plenty of pitch black areas, chandeliers swinging menacingly, and closets that have a 50/50 chance of a freaky jumpscare (I nearly jumped out of my chair three times).
Creepy hallways and dark rooms will only do so much in a horror game; you need some horrific-looking creatures to really seal the deal. That role was filled by a giant, mutated woman who chases you around, first introduced via a gruesome scene where her claw grabs and devours the remains of a dead scientist. Her appearance alone was enough to cause many of us in the theater to jump. The fact that she would periodically stop hunting you and disappear before surprising you later on by dropping from the ceiling made exploring all the more tense, fulfilling Requiem’s “Mr. X” role, at least for this early area.
The content that Capcom showed off in this demo was a bit of a letdown, coming off more of a checklist to prove that what we were watching was, in fact, a Resident Evil game. Fuse puzzles, spooky hallways, and a new Mr. X stand-in. Check, check, and check. It’s not as though any of those are blemishes on the game; the game is gorgeous and, even in the snippet I saw, is overflowing with a terrifying ambiance that only Capcom and Resident Evil can capture. You can tell that Capcom has nailed down what they want this series to be, and Requiem looks to deliver more of the good stuff to players. My issue is that it feels like they played it a bit TOO safe. I wanted to see something new, just a little taste, of what new things Requiem looked to bring to the table. Instead, it was more of Requiem’s take on established early game staples of the series.
The surprise they saved until the very end of the demo was that Resident Evil Requiem will allow players to toggle between first and third-person views straight from launch, freely from the options menu. This option was added in a patch later to Resident Evil Village (Resident Evil VII has it as well, but requires downloading a fan mod to do it, making it only available on PC). It’s neat that the feature is included from the get-go, but again, nothing we haven’t seen before.
Resident Evil Requiem looks to be on track to deliver yet another stunning and terrifying experience that I have little doubt will be in the discussions for next year’s Game of the Year awards. The reveal trailer has plenty of little gory goodies to pick through and craft theories around in the meantime until we get a more substantial look at new gameplay. Was I hoping for more from Requiem’s debut gameplay? Sure. Has it turned me off from the game? Not in the least.
Resident Evil (9) Requiem will be launching on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam early next year on February 27, 2026.
