Resident Evil Requiem - Switch 2 Review

Well, well, well. It has been 21 long years since a Nintendo console saw a main entry Resident Evil at the point of release. That was Resident Evil 4 and at the time Nintendo was enjoying an ‘exclusivity agreement’ with Capcom on the latter’s generational game series. However things have significantly changed in the years since… If you cut me, I’ll bleed neon red and neon blue (for those concerned for my health, I basically mean I’m a Nintendo fanboy), but it’s safe to say that Nintendo has lagged behind its competitors in the hardware technical stakes for the best part of the last decade. We’ve watched on enviously as AAA release after AAA release either passed us by or was released on that weird cloud service thing. But not anymore! The advent of the Nintendo Switch 2 has changed all of that, as we welcome Resident Evil Requiem to the console (insert Paul Rudd ‘Hey, look at us!’ GIF here).

The Good

Resident Evil Requiem is, of course, the ninth entry in the storied franchise. For those who aren’t aware, the gameplay style of Resident Evil games has lurched like a zombie back and forth between two very different gameplay styles. Sure, they’re generally tagged as survival horror games, but in fact, in recent times (well, the last 20 years), the series has very much been associated with more action-heavy gameplay. In fact, since the original trilogy on the PS1 only really has entry no. 7 that can truly be called a survival horror title, the others have all seen many cans of whoop-ass opened on unassuming baddies. I, for one, still hark back to the old-style Resident Evil games as some of the finest video games ever created, because they are! I love the slow pace, the limited ammo, the fear of dread and the puzzle-solving. Therefore, I’m not ashamed to say I basically fell out of love with the series as a result when it embarked on its new direction. It’s all a matter of taste, of course; I have still played the more action-oriented Resident Evil games and they’re bloody awesome. Resident Evil 4 completely revolutionised third-person action games. They’re just not for me, and that’s fine. That brings me to Requiem and Capcom have made a very bold choice; they’ve basically decided to merge the two styles (survival horror and action) into one game! As with many Resident Evil titles, there are two protagonists; in this case, series favourite Leon Kennedy and new face Grace Ashcroft, who is the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft from Resident Evil Outbreak.

Grace is the timid, young newcomer who is portrayed as a fairly nerdy and clumsy FBI analyst. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that when you play as Grace it’s survival horror, and when you play as Leon it’s the aforementioned whoop-ass action. Resident Evil Requiem flips between the two characters pretty seamlessly and after a fairly choppy back and forth between the two in the opening hour or two, it settles down a lot more, and you start to enjoy longer stints of gameplay as either Grace or Leon. The segments are sequential, meaning you can’t change between them at will; however, their stories are interconnected and they both operate in the same geographical space (mostly). Things you do as Grace open things up for Leon and vice versa, and it all works together so incredibly well. The near-constant change of pace keeps things fun and refreshing.

Grace’s segments are classic Resident Evil, which is a joy to see: exploring dark spaces with a couple of bullets, inspecting files and finding keys. It all sounds a bit 90s but the twist is how the enemies behave. There is general zombie fodder (if you can still call them zombies), but there are also ‘feature’ enemies who are bigger and more powerful. Many of the feature enemies have unique personalities and you can play them off each other in the fairly confined space that Grace operates in or lure them into traps. You even find yourself memorising their patrol paths so that you can sneak around, which adds a kind of Metal Gear Solid feel to the proceedings. It makes the general getting from A to B that much more terrifying and thrilling. Such an original idea!

TL;DR

• Dual-genre gameplay is brave and comes off
• Constant change of pace keeps things fresh
• The traditional Resident Evil gameplay has been revived to triumphant effect

The Bad

As I have said previously, it’s all a matter of taste, but I did find some of the Leon segments in Resident Evil Requiem a bit dull, linear and repetitive; every time the perspective changed from Grace to Leon, my heart sank. There are probably people reading this thinking I’m mad, like, how can this guy find the bits where you’re slowly creeping around in the shadows fun! But I found with Grace there was a lot more nuance and thoughtful gameplay at hand, whereas Leon felt a bit like button-mashing until everything was dead.

I have seen reports of some poor performance on other consoles, but honestly, Resident Evil Requiem ran pretty well on the Switch 2. I had no crashes but there were some fuzzy textures if you looked up close in certain areas. However, that’s being quite nit-picky for what is probably the best game (technically) I’ve ever played on a Nintendo console!

TL;DR

• Leon segments just not for me, and will probably bore survival horror purists
• Some fuzzy textures if you really looked hard for them

Final Score: 9/10

Quite simply, no one does it better than Capcom. The sheer amount of care and thought that has gone into the game design and the level design in Resident Evil Requiem is staggering, and that’s before you mention the sound effects, the art, the music, etc. It’s just such a polished piece of entertainment and the move to the dual-genre approach is a bold one that will please most gamers. Don’t let this doddery old fool put you off; Resident Evil Requiem is the first true AAA sensation on the Nintendo Switch 2 and is the beginning of an exciting future for Nintendo players.

Thank you for checking out our Resident Evil Requiem Switch review, thank you to Capcom (via Five Star Games) for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

• Andrew Caluzzi (Inca Studios / Camped Out)
• Bel Cubitt
• Bobby Jack
• Jack Caven
• Nintendo Maniacs
• RedHero