Last night, Capcom gave everyone at The Game Awards the long-expected reveal that Resident Evil Requiem will, in fact, see the comeback of rookie cop Leon S Kennedy as a protagonist alongside Grace Ashcroft. Of course, Leon isn't really a rookie these days – but the developers believe age is only making him cooler.
If the new trailer didn't make it clear enough, Capcom's now explicitly confirmed that Leon and Grace represent two different gameplay styles. "Grace's gameplay is based on Resident Evil 2," director Akifumi Nakanishi explains in an interview published by Automaton, "whereas Leon's gameplay includes martial arts and melee moves, based on Resident Evil 4."
Nakanishi describes Grace as "the biggest scaredy-cat in Resident Evil history," but Leon is a "seasoned veteran," and the compliments for the longtime series hero don't stop there.
"One thing's for sure, Leon isn’t just handsome, he's cool personality-wise too," Nakanishi says. "He's the type who doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself to save others, but he's not arrogant about it, and he has a passionate inner self. I hope you'll also look forward to the dry wit and subtle sarcasm that only an older guy can bring."
I'm starting to feel like Capcom has a favorite here. Certainly, the "hot uncle" vibes radiating off the new Leon have garnered plenty of fans, and even the original Resident Evil 2 director Hideki Kamiya has weighed in to wish the one-time rookie cop the utmost happiness in his advancing years.
One additional detail worth noting here: Capcom's making a big deal of its crossover deal with Porsche, which will see Leon driving a custom Cayenne Turbo GT in the game. Now that's a midlife crisis worthy of Leon's legend.
These are the best Resident Evil games to fill the time until Requiem's launch next year.
