Resident Evil Requiem Hands-On: A Brutal Evolution of Combat and the End of the Open-World Rumor

If Resident Evil 4 Remake was a celebration of action, and Resident Evil 7 was a return to horror, Resident Evil Requiem is the ambitious, blood-soaked attempt to fuse them into a single, cohesive nightmare. After spending three hours with the game ahead of its February 27 launch, it is clear that Capcom is done choosing sides. Instead, they have built a mechanical playground that leverages the series’ entire history, creating an experience that feels simultaneously nostalgic and terrifyingly fresh. The biggest takeaway from our hands-on session isn't just the sheer variety of gameplay, but the confirmation of a new "Hemolytic" crafting economy and the definitive end to the "open-world" speculation that has plagued the game’s marketing.

A Tale of Two Engines: The Duality of Fear and Power

The core friction of Requiem lies in its dual-protagonist structure, which feels less like separate campaigns and more like two different genres coexisting on the same disc. On one side, we have Leon S. Kennedy. His segments are a direct evolution of the high-octane gunplay established in the RE4 remake. He is heavier, faster, and more lethal than ever. The headline feature here is the chainsaw. For twenty years, the revving of a chainsaw signaled impending doom for Leon; now, the weapon is in his hands. This is not just a cosmetic addition—it fundamentally changes the combat loop. The chainsaw allows for crowd control and visceral finishers that save precious ammunition, but its fuel is scarce, forcing players to make split-second tactical decisions. Do you burn fuel to clear a hallway, or save it for the inevitable boss encounter?

On the other side of the spectrum is Grace Ashcroft. The daughter of Resident Evil Outbreak protagonist Alyssa Ashcroft, Grace is not a super-soldier. Her sections, set in the claustrophobic Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center, force the player into a First-Person perspective (though this can be toggled). Grace cannot roundhouse kick a ganado into submission. Her gameplay is built around the new "Shove" mechanic—a desperate, stamina-draining push used to create just enough space to flee. The shift in pacing is jarring by design. You go from feeling like a god of war with Leon to feeling like prey with Grace, a whiplash effect that keeps the tension dangerously high.

The Hemolytic Economy and the Evolution of the Undead

Perhaps the most significant innovation in Requiem is the "Hemolytic Injector," a mechanic exclusive to Grace that completely overhauls the series' resource economy. In previous titles, survival meant scavenging for gunpowder and herbs. In Requiem, the environment itself is the resource, provided you are brave enough to harvest it. Grace must use the injector to extract blood from fallen enemies or environmental pools. This blood is then refined at synthesis stations to create vaccines and ammunition.

This system introduces a brilliant risk-reward dynamic. To craft ammo, you must get intimately close to the things trying to kill you. This is compounded by the return of a mechanic that veteran fans have dreaded since 2002: resurrection. Requiem introduces "Blister Heads," this game’s answer to Crimson Heads. If a zombie is not decapitated or dissolved with a chemical agent, it will eventually rise again, faster and deadlier. This turns every corpse into a ticking time bomb. Do you spend your limited blood resources to craft a dissolving agent, or do you save it for ammo and risk a Blister Head spawning behind you later?

The enemies themselves have also evolved. In a move that adds a layer of uncanny surrealism to the horror, the zombies in Requiem retain fragments of their former selves. During the preview, we encountered the "Lounge Singer," a rotting corpse that hummed a distorted melody before lunging, and a janitor who obsessively flicked a light switch on and off. It creates a soundscape that is confusing and deeply unsettling, forcing players to listen for human cues rather than just monster growls.