Resident Evil Requiem might be a sport that “pushes the Resident Evil collection ahead,” says its director, as Capcom focuses on the idea of “addictive worry” for subsequent yr’s survival horror sport. And in case you consider the individuals making Resident Evil Requiem, a superhero protagonist and clear fan favourite like Leon S. Kennedy is simply not match for that type of expertise.
However whether or not that really disqualifies Leon from showing in Resident Evil Requiem stays to be seen. Capcom hasn’t fairly dominated out the previous Raccoon Metropolis police division rookie from exhibiting up within the sport, and even being playable.
Resident Evil Requiem’s solely confirmed playable character to date is Grace Ashcroft, an intelligence analyst for the FBI who’s investigating her mom’s loss of life — an incident which could simply be associated to the occasions of 2003’s Resident Evil Outbreak.
In contrast to many different Resident Evil stars, Grace will not be a superhero, says Requiem producer Masachika Kawata in a video that includes the sport’s inventive leads. She’s “extra like a typical horror sport protagonist,” overcoming challenges “together with her wit and ingenuity,” however can fall again on her FBI coaching. “She will deal with motion and firearms, particularly as she’s an FBI agent,” Kawata mentioned, “however her actions could be timid or hesitant.”
Sport director Koshi Nakanishi says that Grace is “introverted and simply scared,” in order that she experiences the sport’s horrors “from the identical perspective because the participant,” however can also be capable of act with “calm deductive reasoning.”
Nakanishi additionally addressed the elephant within the room, as Resident Evil returns to Raccoon Metropolis. The place’s Leon?
“We all the time thought of making Leon the protagonist,” Nakanishi says, “however making a horror sport based mostly round him is tough. He wouldn’t bounce at one thing like a bucket falling. Nobody needs to see Leon scared by each little factor. So he’s truly fairly a foul match for horror.”
Capcom’s coyness across the potential of Leon showing Resident Evil Requiem is, after all, the sensible play. The publisher-developer can’t reveal all the things out of the gate, but when Mr. Kennedy doesn’t seem in some capability — say, the way in which Chris Redfield did within the Ethan Winters-starring Resident Evil 7 biohazard and Resident Evil Village — that may be an enormous shock. That is Leon’s city, in spite of everything, and Requiem’s creators are speaking rather a lot about balancing the ideas of motion and horror of their subsequent sport, which they’re attempting to perform by providing each first-person and third-person views.
Personally, I’m betting on an older (Leon could be in his 50s at this level of the RE timeline) and wiser Mr. Kennedy exhibiting up sooner or later. It appears many hopeful followers are too. And we’ll know for positive quickly sufficient. Resident Evil Requiem is slated for launch on Feb. 27, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, and Xbox Collection X.
