I've been taking my time with Resident Evil Requiem. It's hard not to. While the trailers have promised me plenty of rollicking action as super agent Leon Kennedy, the bulk of these opening hours have focused on newcomer Grace Ashford. An FBI Agent, she's usually a deskbound data analyst. When an investigation into a mysterious death at a derelict hotel goes awry, she's trapped in an old-fashioned care center during a lockdown, and must survive shambling undead while getting her mitts on special keys to unlock the way out – it's a classic Resident Evil set-up.
What's less classic about Resident Evil Requiem is the presentation of this depowered horror. Its first-person perspective builds on the one introduced in Resident Evil 7, itself a back-to-fundamentals take on the series that began with terrifying horror, seeing everyman hero Ethan Winters hounded through a southern American house by its evil residents. In Resident Evil Requiem, exploring the care center is just as scary, and so far it's managed to keep that tension up through several hours of exploration in a way I felt Resident Evil 7 moved on from a touch too quickly.
