longer.blue

Mild Resident Evil Requiem Spoilers Ahead The story is... fine. It's engaging enough and has enough attachment to the series lore that fans will be engaged with what's happening, while also not being so obtuse that newcomers won't be able to follow along. Though near the end it does become a bit too referential. Hunk, Mr. X, a Wesker clone, the BSAA, TRICELL... like alright already, it's a Resident Evil game, I get it. Except we can never reference the events of RE4, for some reason. You spend a good chunk of the game back in Raccoon City, including the original setting of Resident Evil 2. The return to the Raccoon City Police Department reminded me a lot of the return to Shadow Moses in Metal Gear Solid 4. It's cool and it hits you hard with nostalgia, but at the end of the day it's very surface level and they don't really do much with it. Though I did love seeing Leon reflect on the events of RE2 and how much personal regret he has for not being able to save everyone. The bosses are... I mean, they aren't bad, but they're not exactly great. Mr. X is fine, and honestly I think his implementation is better here than in RE2R. What else is there...? A knife fight with Hunk, who literally comes out of fucking nowhere? Okay, sure. A giant plant? A giant spider? Like... are we serious with this? The only standout bosses were The Girl (who is Grace's only proper boss fight, btw), and Victor Gideon. Which, speaking of that, he's a Nemesis. Leon specifically refers to him as being a Nemesis. I may have missed something, but how does Leon even know what a Nemesis is? Grace Ashcroft - I do like her, but her demeanor comes off like a socially awkward Redditor. Constantly stuttering in cutscenes and whimpering during stealth sections. Again, not a bad thing, and I'll take it her Ethan being basically a nothing character. But it did get annoying at some points. I did love how helpless I felt while playing as her, having to manage my resources carefully. Her sections were honestly the strongest part of the game. She's a great addition to the series and I hope to see her stick around. Leon Kennedy - I think Leon "suffers" because of the absolute perfection that was 2023's Resident Evil 4 Remake. The over-the-top action in that game is genuine peak. If that game's combat is a 10/10, this game's is... maybe a 7/10? It's most of the way there, but it never quite hits the same peaks that RE4R does. One thing I noticed is that he was weirdly unresponsive to turning (played on PC with KBM, for reference). You don't unlock Leon's upgrade system until just over the halfway mark, which is weird. And he takes up so much of the latter half of the game-- once you get to Raccoon City, you basically have about 6 hours of play time left, of which Grace gets *maybe* 1 hour. It's unbalanced. And he doesn't quite have the same variety that That said though, he's still just as much of a smart ass as ever, so don't fret if you were worried about that. There's still plenty of quips. And while I wish there was more balance between the two of them, I will say Leon has some really cool level designs in his sections and I never felt bored playing as either character. I just wish Grace had more time to shine. Anyway, all that to say the game is a lot of fun, though not without it's flaws. I wouldn't say it was disappointing, or that it didn't meet expectations, and I'm not trying to say "this game is bad because RE4R is better". Could the game have been better? Absolutely. Is it bad? Not at all. So... yeah! I'd say give it a shot. There's a lot to love.