Darkness conceals every corner of Resident Evil Requiem. An ornate lighter flickers toward the middle of the screen. The floors are awash with blood, glistening against the struggling flame. Footsteps ring out, intrusively denying any sense of calm as the first-person camera seems to revel in concealing as much of the environment as it reasonably can. I catch myself and realize that for the first time in more than 25 years, I'm scared of a Resident Evil game.
The identity of the Resident Evil series has been subject to vast experimentation over its near 30-year lifespan. From its survival horror origins back in 1996, the franchise mutated into third-person shooter design when 2005's Resident Evil 4 dropped, before going full bombastic army action in 2012's much-maligned Resident Evil 6.
