We Played Resident Evil Requiem In Both First-Person And Third-Person

Officially, it’s called Resident Evil Requiem, but marque nary mistake: this is the ninth mainline introduction into the Resident Evil franchise, and acceptable to prima yet different caller protagonist: FBI Agent Grace Ashcroft.

While Capcom amazed everyone with a trailer during the Summer Games Fest trailer, we got a accidental to get the archetypal hands-on preview with Resident Evil Requiem (aka Resident Evil 9) soon aft the announcement. And fans volition beryllium blessed to cognize that Capcom is inactive keeping the bid rooted successful its newfound endurance fearfulness goodness.

First Person oregon Third Person?

The archetypal question for everyone is apt to beryllium whether oregon not Resident Evil Requiem volition beryllium successful the first-person position similar past mainline games Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village, oregon volition it beryllium playable successful third-person similar the Resident Evil remake games? The reply to that is both!

That’s right, from the leap Capcom volition fto players toggle betwixt first-person and third-person perspectives done the Options paper astatine immoderate constituent during the campaign. While it’s not the astir seamless mode to alteration perspectives, the information that Resident Evil Requiem lets you swap perspectives astatine each without needing to restart feels beauteous revolutionary for this series.

And with the position swaps comes an absorbing dilemma, astatine slightest 1 that I encountered portion playing Resident Evil Requiem. But first, fto maine acceptable the array for you.

Scary Times astatine the Wrenwood Hotel

The trailer shows cause Grace Ashcroft arsenic she awakes upside down connected a scary looking introspection table, and this is wherever the gameplay demo begins. Once free, Grace indispensable navigate what appears to beryllium a aesculapian ward. It’s unclear if this is successful the edifice oregon successful a abstracted location, but similar different Resident Evil locations specified arsenic Raccoon City Police Department, for example, this aesculapian ward appears to beryllium decorated by idiosyncratic who loves classical architecture.

Grace is beauteous powerless from the get-go, and she’s lone capable to prime up makeshift weapons similar solid bottles to usage arsenic projectiles. The constrictive hallways are sometimes bathed successful blinking reddish exigency lights, oregon nary lights astatine all, portion immoderate doors lone pb to axenic darkness. At immoderate constituent Grace finds a lighter that helps her navigate these antecedently unlit areas.

Capcom describes Grace arsenic a benignant of bookworm – arsenic evinced by the trailer erstwhile she’s surrounded by a stack of files. So portion she’s had combat grooming acknowledgment to being successful the FBI, she’s not a hardened combat seasoned similar Leon Kennedy oregon Jill Valentine. That means she’s much acrophobic of her nightmarish surroundings, and arsenic you research the acheronian hallways, you tin perceive Grace arsenic she lets retired calming breaths to dependable her nerves. It does a batch to convey however powerless Grace feels compared to much assured heroes similar Leon oregon Jill, and adjacent helps her basal retired against Resident Evil’s past caller hero, Ethan Winters, who was stoic to a fault.

I cognize online there’s been immoderate theorizing astir who the existent main quality of Resident Evil Requiem is. And portion Capcom has done bait-and-switches earlier for Resident Evil protagonists, Grace Ashcroft makes a compelling caller hero, whose vulnerability successful peculiar already helps her basal out. I’m funny to larn much astir Grace, peculiarly her transportation to the forgotten Resident Evil Outbreak games.

Eventually, Grace volition brushwood a horrifying caller monster that benignant of reminds maine of the carnal from the 2022 fearfulness movie Barbarian (Fun fact: Barbarian manager Zach Cregger is acceptable to nonstop the adjacent Resident Evil live-action movie). This monster volition stalk Grace done the acheronian corridors overmuch successful the aforesaid mode arsenic Mr. X oregon Lady Dimitrescu. Combined with Grace’s palpable fear, moving distant from this mysterious caller monster feels adjacent much terrifying and reminds maine astir similar the archetypal clip I played Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

However, this fearfulness I picture is mostly contiguous if you play the crippled successful first-person perspective. And arsenic Capcom revealed during the preview, you tin power perspectives astatine immoderate time. When I played the demo I did extended investigating successful third-person mode, including portion moving distant from Requiem’s caller monster. In third-person I recovered that the hostility of hiding and moving to inactive beryllium there, but the fearfulness origin was replaced somewhat with a much action-like feel. In third-person, moving distant from the monster felt a small much tactical than survival-horror, though fixed Grace’s constricted arsenal it was nary little stressful.

Like I said, with lone bottles to propulsion astatine the monster, Grace is amended disconnected moving away, and successful third-person Grace volition stumble implicit her ain feet portion getting away, highlighting her inexperience and adding much accent to the encounter.

Resident Evil Requiem manager Koshi Nakanishi says that the crippled volition enactment existent to the endurance fearfulness core, but item a benignant of thrill to the enactment – and I consciousness similar these 2 elements are highlighted whenever you swap perspectives. For exploration and dread, first-person is the mode to go, but for monster encounters, third-person feels livelier.

Visually, Capcom maintains the precocious standards acceptable by each erstwhile Resident Evil games since switching to the RE Engine (it’s chartless what motor Requiem is moving on) with peculiar accent added to the opposition betwixt airy and dark. There are moments wherever Grace volition crook connected a hallway airy lone for it to formed the smallest airy possible, portion casting menacing shadows.

With Resident Evil Requiem, you nary longer person to marque the prime betwixt first-person and third-person perspective, thing Capcom flirted with erstwhile it released a third-person enactment arsenic DLC for Resident Evil Village. While the equilibrium betwixt fearfulness and enactment people shifts depending connected the perspective, my main takeaway is that Resident Evil Requiem was breathtaking to play successful either mode, and looks to proceed Capcom's beardown drawstring of crippled releases.

Matt Kim is IGN's Senior Features Editor.