Resident Evil Requiem PS5 Pro Review: Grace Delivers

Capcom rebooted Resident Evil Requiem, internally the ninth mainline entry, during development, scrapping a multiplayer open-world concept to refocus on what the franchise does best: corridors, conserved ammunition, and the certainty that something worse is waiting behind the next door. The result is the strongest non-remake mainline entry in over twenty years. Grace Ashcroft’s first-person survival horror sections are amongst the most terrifying content Capcom has ever produced. Leon Kennedy’s third-person action sequences carry the series’ combat legacy with polished confidence. The split is uneven: the back half leans too heavily into action at the expense of horror, and the narrative plays its greatest hits rather than writing new ones. On PS5 Pro, the RE Engine delivers ray-traced visuals at 60 fps, setting the benchmark for the generation. At $69.99 for the runtime, the price will divide opinion. The quality will not.

Game Snapshot

Presentation and World Design

The RE Engine remains Capcom’s most valuable asset. Resident Evil Requiem is built for ninth-generation hardware exclusively, and the technical dividend is visible in every frame. The Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center, Grace’s primary environment, delivers the franchise’s most atmospheric setting since the Baker estate: deteriorating medical infrastructure, oppressive lighting, and environmental storytelling that rewards slow, cautious exploration. Leon’s sections span broader locations including the ruins of Raccoon City, rendered with a spectacle that contrasts Grace’s claustrophobia.

On PS5 Pro, Requiem is a genuine showcase. Ray-traced reflections and global illumination run at approximately 1080p native, temporally upscaled to near-native 4K at a locked 60 fps. The optional 120 fps mode strips ray tracing but delivers responsiveness that benefits Leon’s combat-heavy sequences. The temporal upscaling is remarkable, and the PS5 Pro version sits a class apart from base consoles. Base PS5 and Xbox Series X run at approximately 1080p with basic upscaling at 60 fps, without ray tracing. The difference is visible. Buyers on base PS5 or Series X should not expect the showcase version. The experience is strong on both, but the Pro gap is the widest in the current library, placing it alongside Kingdom Come: Deliverance II as a definitive argument for the hardware.

Angela Sant’Albano’s motion-capture and voice performance as Grace anchors the presentation. Multiple outlets singled her out as “one of the most believable figures in the franchise.” Nick Apostolides returns as Leon with the assured confidence the character demands. The production quality is uniformly excellent.

Resident Evil Requiem: Gameplay and Combat

Requiem’s defining design decision is the dual-protagonist structure. Grace’s sections play in first person with survival horror rules: limited ammunition, ink ribbon saves on classic difficulty, puzzle-solving that demands environmental observation, and a persistent threat called “the Girl” that cannot be killed and must be evaded. These are the game’s best hours. Resource scarcity creates tension that no amount of combat polish can replicate, and the first-person perspective forces a vulnerability that the franchise has not committed to this fully since Resident Evil 7.

Leon’s sections shift to third-person action with firearms, melee counters, and the kind of high-competency combat that the RE4 remakes refined. The gunplay is precise, enemy encounters are well-paced, and the set-piece design delivers spectacle without sacrificing control. The perspective toggle, allowing players to switch between first and third person at will, is a technically impressive feature that adds flexibility without breaking the design intent of either character’s sections.

The horror is the better half. The imbalance is real. The first half strikes a near-perfect balance between the two styles. The second half leans approximately two-thirds Leon, one-third Grace. The horror recedes as the action accelerates, and the final act plays closer to an action game than a survival horror title. For players who came for Grace’s corridors, the shift feels like a betrayal of the game’s strongest material. For players who prefer Leon’s combat, the front half may feel slow. The tension between the two styles is Requiem’s defining characteristic. It is the game’s greatest strength and its most visible flaw. For a PS5 Pro showcase that commits fully to a single tonal register throughout, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 demonstrates what that consistency can achieve.

Story and Characters

Grace Ashcroft investigates mysterious deaths amongst Raccoon City survivors, uncovering connections to her mother’s murder, Spencer’s consciousness-transfer experiments, and a bioweapon called Elpis. Leon Kennedy, suffering from T-virus mutations, assists the investigation whilst confronting his own deterioration. The premise is compelling. The execution is safe.

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The narrative runs through the franchise’s familiar playbook: Umbrella conspiracies, returning characters, Raccoon City callbacks, bioweapon escalation. It plays them near-perfectly. What it does not do is surprise. The story functions as a 30th anniversary celebration, prioritising nostalgia over innovation. The pieces are assembled with evident craft, the voice performances are strong, and individual scenes land with emotional precision, but the overall arc follows a trajectory that series veterans will anticipate before the characters do.

Grace is the standout. Her introduction as a civilian analyst drawn into biological horror provides a perspective the franchise rarely explores: someone who is not a trained operative, not a returning hero, not prepared for what she finds. The vulnerability is genuine, and Sant’Albano’s performance ensures it never reads as weakness. Leon, by contrast, is exactly who players expect him to be: competent, quipping, reliable. The two protagonists complement each other well, but the game’s emotional weight rests on Grace’s shoulders. She carries it. For newcomers, the heavy reliance on series lore makes Requiem a difficult entry point. Prior knowledge of at least RE7 and the RE2/RE3 remakes enriches the experience considerably.

Resident Evil Requiem: Value and Longevity

At $69.99 for roughly a third of what open-world competitors deliver in playtime, the value case rests entirely on quality. The tight pacing earns the runtime: in a sea of needlessly long videogames, Requiem proves that ten hours is all you need if every second counts. Every hour earns its place. There is no padding.

Replay value comes through unlockable difficulties, speedrun modes, collectibles, and the perspective toggle that offers meaningfully different experiences through the same sections. The first playthrough is so impactful, particularly Grace’s horror sequences, that subsequent runs may feel diminished. This is the trade-off of a game designed around shock and dread: the unknown does not survive repetition.

The commercial response has been extraordinary. Five million copies in five days made it the fastest-selling Resident Evil game at that point; six million by 16 March confirmed sustained demand. The aggregate user reception across review platforms sits at 9.5, the strongest reception any Resident Evil entry has recorded. Steam’s 96% positive rating (“Overwhelmingly Positive”) and a 344,214 peak concurrent player record reinforce the consensus. The audience has spoken decisively. For anyone choosing their next PS5 game, Requiem is the easiest recommendation of 2026.

Technical Notes

Resident Evil Requiem on PlayStation Store confirms PS5 Pro as the definitive console platform. Full ray tracing at a locked 60 fps produces the most visually impressive survival horror on console. The experience is devoid of bugs and glitches, with no technical drawbacks worth flagging, a rare assessment for a launch-window console release. A 120 fps option trades visual fidelity for responsiveness, a worthwhile toggle for Leon’s faster-paced encounters.

Base PS5 and Xbox Series X deliver a solid 60 fps at approximately 1080p without ray tracing. The Pro gap is visible. The visual gap between base and Pro is meaningful but not essential: both consoles deliver a quality experience. The Nintendo Switch 2 version runs at 360p handheld and 540p docked with DLSS upscaling, a technically competent achievement for the hardware that prioritises portability over fidelity.

At approximately 73 GB on PS5, Requiem is the largest game in the franchise’s history. A Photo Mode arrived via patch on 27 March 2026. DualSense integration is effective: adaptive triggers add resistance to weapon handling, and haptic feedback reinforces environmental texture, footsteps on different surfaces, rain impact, the mechanical clunk of door mechanisms.

Final Word

Resident Evil Requiem is Capcom proving that the franchise’s best tricks still work when executed with this level of precision. Grace Ashcroft’s first-person horror sections are the best the series has produced since the Baker estate, the kind where you turn a corner in Rhodes Hill and the sound design alone makes you stop moving. Leon’s action sequences are polished to a mirror shine. The split between the two creates a rhythm that works beautifully in the first half and tilts toward action in the second, a flaw that matters because the horror is so much better. On PS5 Pro, the RE Engine delivers a visual standard that sets the bar for the generation. At the $69.99 price point, the premium is steep for the runtime. The quality is not in question. Six million copies and a 9.5 user score that stands as the platform’s all-time record confirm what the first ten minutes make obvious: this is one of the best PS5 games available, and Grace Ashcroft deserves her own trilogy.

FAQ

Is Resident Evil Requiem worth buying?

Resident Evil Requiem is worth buying as the highest-rated original mainline entry since RE4 (2005), with critical reception in the high 80s to low 90s across platforms and a user reception score of 9.5. The twelve-to-fourteen-hour campaign is tightly paced with no filler. At $69.99, the value depends on tolerance for shorter premium experiences. The quality of the content is not in dispute: six million copies sold and 96% positive Steam reviews confirm broad consensus.

How long is Resident Evil Requiem?

The main story takes approximately twelve to fourteen hours at a standard pace. Rushing the campaign can reduce this to eight to nine hours. A thorough playthrough including side content reaches sixteen to twenty hours. Completionists will find twenty-five or more hours across all difficulties, collectibles, and speedrun modes. The pacing is proof that a focused ten-hour run is sometimes all a survival horror needs.

Is Resident Evil Requiem scary?

Resident Evil Requiem is one of the most frightening games in the franchise’s history, particularly during Grace Ashcroft’s first-person survival horror sections. Resource scarcity, the persistent threat of “the Girl” (an unkillable enemy requiring evasion), and the claustrophobic Rhodes Hill setting create sustained dread. Leon’s third-person action sections are less frightening but maintain tension through enemy design and pacing.

Can you play Resident Evil Requiem in third person?

Resident Evil Requiem offers a perspective toggle that allows switching between first-person and third-person views at any time, regardless of which protagonist is active. Grace’s sections are designed for first person and Leon’s for third person, but the toggle gives players full control over their preferred perspective throughout.

Is Resident Evil Requiem on Nintendo Switch 2?

Resident Evil Requiem launched on Nintendo Switch 2 on 27 February 2026 alongside all other platforms. The Switch 2 version runs at 360p in handheld mode and 540p in docked mode with DLSS upscaling. Critical reception of the Switch 2 version sits at 90, confirming a technically competent port that prioritises portability.

Do you need to play other Resident Evil games before Requiem?

Not strictly, but it is recommended. The plot draws heavily on series lore, particularly events from RE7 and the RE2/RE3 remakes. Requiem is not recommended as an entry point for franchise newcomers. Players familiar with at least the recent remake trilogy will appreciate the narrative callbacks and character relationships significantly more.

How well has Resident Evil Requiem been received critically?

Resident Evil Requiem has received high critical reception across platforms, with aggregate scores in the high 80s to low 90s on PS5, PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. The user reception score sits at 9.5, the strongest the series has recorded, and around 95 percent of professional reviews recommend the game.

Is Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil Requiem?

Leon S. Kennedy is one of Resident Evil Requiem’s two playable protagonists, voiced by Nick Apostolides. Leon’s sections play in third person with action-focused gameplay, including firearms, melee counters, and set-piece sequences. The story addresses Leon’s T-virus mutations and his role as a DSO agent assisting new protagonist Grace Ashcroft.