Resident Evil Requiem expertly blends action and survival horror | hands-on

Resident Evil Requiem is an ambitious new chapter for Capcom’s iconic survival horror series, and after spending a large chunk of time with the upcoming game, it feels more clear than ever that this is shaping up to be one of the very best entries in the entire franchise.

Earlier this month, Capcom invited GamesBeat to its offices in San Francisco, CA, to try an extended demo of Resident Evil Requiem ahead of its release on February 27, 2026.

The preview session was over two hours long and included segments featuring both of the game’s primary protagonists: Leon Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft.

The demo was split into three sections, beginning with a brief action-heavy scenario as Leon, before transitioning into a much longer and slower-paced section with Grace exploring, solving puzzles, and piecing together the story, before capping things off with another brief action-focused Leon section.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ghp3N_tvJ5E?feature=oembed Structuring the preview session this way was highly effective because it allowed for each character to demonstrate their strengths and how it impacts the gameplay.

By default, Leon’s sections were in third-person with Grace’s in first-person, but I was able to freely swap between camera perspectives as both characters anytime I wanted.

As someone who has been playing the series since its inception on the original PlayStation, I opted to play mostly in third-person. Part of my soul felt like that was a more authentic Resident Evil experience, but ultimately, first-person absolutely felt more tense and claustrophobic.

Leon Kennedy is showing off his zombie-slaying skills. Source: Capcom Resident Evil Requiem RE9 Since the Resident Evil 2 Remake and Resident Evil 4 Remake both feel particularly current and fresh, it seems like Leon never really went away at all, but in reality, the last time Leon was a key playable character in an actually new video game, was over a decade ago with 2012’s Residnet Evil 6—unless you count his appearances in things like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Re:Verse.

His return here is significant. In terms of the narrative, Requiem takes place the furthest we’ve been yet in the series’ timeline, and we’ll finally get to return to Raccoon City. Opposite Leon is Grace Ashcroft, a young FBI agent who is the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft, an investigative reporter featured in Resident Evil Outbreak, the spin-off PS2 cult classic that brought multiplayer to the series for the first time back in 2004.

For Leon’s first segment of the demo, he’s checking in at a clinic to see Dr. Gideon. Obviously, this is a sham, as the clinic is quickly overrun by zombies, and he’s got to fight his way out. What struck me the most in this brief sequence is just how fast-paced the game feels when Leon’s in control.

In addition to just having a tremendous amount of firepower across his arsenal, he can parry attacks and quickly dispatch enemies with a hatchet. Between attacks, he can sharpen the hatchet to keep its durability up, and if an enemy drops a powerful item, like a chainsaw, Leon even has the option to pick it up and use it against the hordes this time around.

Visually, Requiem may very well be the goriest game in the series so far. Body parts explode in an eruption of gore, Leon stomps and smashes skulls to pieces, the sleeves of his jacket become drenched in red, as the splatters stain the walls and ceiling all around. It’s bombastic and gratuitous, while still keeping just enough of its gritty and grounded edge to avoid fully succumbing to a feeling of hyperbole.

Grace is more fragile, but still very capable. Source: Capcom in Resident Evil Requiem RE9 When the game switches perspectives to Grace, the tonal shift is immediately apparent. You’re no longer able to make a zombie’s head explode by stomping on it, and your inventory is much smaller. She doesn’t really have many weapons at all, initially, so sticking to the shadows and keeping quiet are essential.

Somehow, Capcom is able to expertly thread the needle between these two playstyles in such a way that neither feels better or more fun than the other, and the juxtaposition isn’t out of place at all. They slot into their roles very naturally, and even when interacting it feels extremely appropriate for Grace and Leon to work together.

An addition I was quite fond of in Grace’s segment is the blood sample collector item. Once an enemy is downed, Grace can collect samples of their blood and use those samples to craft items. She can also discover vials spread around the game as collectibles and examine those samples to learn new crafting recipes.

In previous Resident Evil games, the crafting mechanics are extremely basic, so this new system adds more layers of depth, which is great, but it does this in a very lore-appropriate way without adding too much additional friction. It feels like a reward if you’re the type of person who likes to look in every corner of every room for supplies.

Collecting enemy blood in Resident Evil Requiem. Source: Capcom Overall, the preview did its job of making me extremely excited and curious to see how things shake out. It seems like Capcom has done a wonderful job of marrying the two gameplay formats in a way that doesn’t feel disjointed, and the lore drops and narrative breadcrumbs I spotted during this session have me endlessly intrigued about what happens next.

Capcom is arguably the most consistent and experimental AAA publisher in the industry right now. They’re doing an excellent job at shepherding their marquee properties like Resident Evil and Monster Hunter, while continuing to innovate with new IP such as Pragmata, and even reviving dormant properties like Onimusha with remasters and brand new games. Even Mega Man is making a comeback of his very own, while Street Fighter continues trucking right along. Not to mention big swings for market share in top genres like open-world action-RPGs with Dragon’s Dogma 2.

Resident Evil Requiem is an exciting chapter for the long-running series that aims to blend the fast-paced action combat of the recent remakes and revivals with the slow-paced and methodical horror of RE7 and RE8. Despite the major differences, the two characters feel like necessary halves of a whole. I’ll be eager to see if they can pull this off successfully or not.

Resident Evil Requiem releases on February 27, 2026, for PlayStation 6, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.



The post Resident Evil Requiem expertly blends action and survival horror | hands-on appeared first on GamesBeat.