It is hard to believe that a decade ago it seemed like Resident Evil might be a dying franchise. The last mainline installment, Resident Evil 6 in 2012, had not been well received by the fans and, even worse, Capcom had released Umbrella Corps in 2016, one of the most reviled games in the series. Then Resident Evil: Biohazard arrived like a godsend in 2017, returning the series to its survival horror roots and revitalizing the brand. This was the game that first got me into series, and what a time to become a fan because ever since then, Capcom have been on a roll. Over the years, they have released Resident Evil: Village and numerous remakes, which are considered among the best video game remakes of all time. Well, now we have another banger with Resident Evil: Requiem, the ninth mainline installment.
Resident Evil goes back to the Umbrella well with RE9.
After finishing my first playthrough, I am excited to say that Requiem is definitely in the top five best Resident Evil games. It does a truly fantastic job of blending the survival horror of Biohazard with the over-the-top action of 4. The story follows FBI Agent Grace Ashcroft (Angela Sant’Albano), the daughter of one of the previous game’s protagonists, Alyssa, Tasked with investigating a mysterious disease tied to the Raccoon City Incident, Grace finds herself kidnapped by Umbrella scientist Dr Victor Gideon (Antony Byrne) and must survive his care facility of horrors.
You have to wonder how these crazy looking, mad scientists keep getting people to help with their potentially world ending experiments.
Grace’s segments of the game are pure survival horror, and I found myself screaming many a time when faced with terrifying zombies. What makes these zombies so unique is that they retain parts of their personalities from when they were alive. A massive zombie chef tries to cook human flesh, a maid cuts herself repeatedly on glass trying to keep everything clean, and some zombies even apologise for trying to hurt you when they are killed. It makes them not only scary but also pretty pitiable. But the true horror of Grace’s segments is The Girl, a hag-like monstrosity with a weakness to light that pursues Grace throughout the facility.
The Girl is Resident Evil‘s scariest stalker enemy since the baby in Village.
With Grace’s limited stock of weapons, every fight with the undead could be her last. It is a good thing then that she is not alone because the one-man army Leon Kennedy (Nick Apostolides) is also investigating Gideon, with Sherry Birkin (Eden Riegel) acting as his handler. Leon’s segments of the game are when the over-the-top action comes into play and, I have got to say, after a few hours of hiding in the dark terrified as Grace, it is such a relief to kick zombie ass as Leon, shooting them, hacking them up, and cutting them apart with a chainsaw. I never thought the survival horror of the series could blend so well into the action and yet Capcom achieved this.
How Leon is still doing roundhouse kicks on zombies in his 50s is unknown to me. Not complaining though. Rule of cool, and all.
They even provided different styles of gameplay for different playthroughs, with the choice between first or third person for both Grace and Leon. I went with the recommended first-person for Grace and third-person for Leon, which felt perfect for their playstyle’s differing atmosphere. Just as perfect was the game’s use of nostalgia, which can be a slippery slope. Too much and it will feel like the game is just pandering to fans for cheap points, rather than doing something new. Thankfully, Requiem offers plenty of new with that old, and the old content is lovingly handled.
Returning to the RPD was just one of many nostalgic moments in Requiem.
Well, I have spent so long lathering this game with praise, you have to be wondering if I have any problems with it. A few, but I really had to think about it for a bit. For starters, I think we can all agree that there was one antagonist who deserved a boss fight but did not get one. Along with this, there is one segment of the game which reminded me of the cannon section in the Resident Evil 4 remake. Since that was my least favorite section of that game, you would be right in assuming it was my least favorite part of Requiem as well. Finally, there is one reveal towards the end that feels like a bit of a copout, but it was a convenience that made me smile so I can let it go. And that is it for my issues. The rest of the game is so good that it overwhelmingly overshadows any bad.
The game looking fantastic also helps matters.
Resident Evil: Requiem is one of the best Resident Evil games. The story is investing and the gameplay styles of Grace and Leon blend perfectly. I know it is only March, but it would not surprise me if Requiem ended up topping a lot of best games of 2026 lists. And, with new story DLC probably dropping at some point, the game is only going to get better. If you are a Resident Evil fan and have somehow not played this yet, hurry up and do so. It is one of the series’ best.
I live in New Zealand, which is currently in lock down because of the Carona Virus pandemic.
In the days leading up to the lock down, I was bored and looking for a game that I could get lost in for hours.
So, I looked up some and came across Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, a JRPG that had been praised for its story, characters and gameplay.
I bought the game not two days before the lock down was announced, so I ended up with a great way to pass the time indoors in the experience that is Tales of Vesperia.
Directed by Yoshito Higuchi, the game is set in Terca Lumires, a world infested with monsters.
The people use an energy source known as Blastia to generate shields to protect the cities from monsters, and also to help in their everyday lives.
When a Blastia from the Lower Quarter in Zaphias is stolen, former knight Yuri Lowell (Troy Baker) and his faithful dog Repede go on a journey to catch the thief.
From there, they encounter an assortment of wacky characters who join them on their quest, including an innocent noblewoman named Estelle (Eden Riegel), a young guild enthusiast, Karol (Julie Ann Taylor), a hot headed mage, Rita (Michelle Ruff), eye candy Krytian, Judith (Alison Lees Taylor), young pirate, Patty (Sandy Fox), and the mysterious Raven (Joe J. Thomas).
They also meet up with Yuri’s longtime friend and knight Flynn (Sam Riegel), who occasionally joins you on your journey and has a great dynamic with Yuri, especially when Yuri starts to go on a dark path that is both unexpected and great.
All of these characters are fantastic and, as you spend the game watching them interact, they begin to feel like a family.
The various skits across the game helped to solidify the characters’ relationships and endear them to the viewer.
Watching Yuri and Karol’s bond grow throughout the game to the point that they felt like brothers was heartwarming, and Raven’s antics and Rita’s obvious crush on Estelle brought numerous laughs.
The only downside to the party is Patty who, although a great character, doesn’t really feel like she belongs in the story for the first half of the game.
It is pretty clear that she was added for the Definitive Edition.
Not only this but, sadly, many of the villains are incredibly one dimensional to the point that I was constantly bored whenever they were on screen.
They are all cliched mustache twirlers, with the exception of the main antagonist, Duke (Jamieson Price), who is thankfully just as compelling as the main cast.
Duke was the one antagonist with a solid motivation and the only one I did not roll my eyes at when they appeared on screen.
Despite my problems with the villains though, I can clearly say that, thanks to the main cast, the characters are definitely the best part of the game.
The story is also solid because, while it is nothing special, it has a nice sense of pacing, starting out with the simple goal of catching a thief, before slowly growing into a world ending situation that our characters must deal with.
And then there’s the gameplay, which, I’ll admit, I was pretty terrible at.
You want to know how terrible?
Well, you know those two comic relief characters who constantly exclaim, “I say!” whenever they talk?
Yeah, those two bozos kicked my butt on multiple occasions.
I say that these two two idiots made me groan with anguish every time I had to fight them alone as Yuri!
Given how poorly I played, you should take what I say about the gameplay with a grain of salt.
However, despite how bad I was, I still enjoyed the gameplay, leveling up the characters, and gifting them with new Artes
If anything, my poor play style added a level of challenge to the gameplay.
There are some things that the game doesn’t tell you about how to play though, so that can be frustrating.
But, all in all, the characters, story and gameplay are all a lot of fun.
Granted, the game is pretty dated, since it first came out in 2008, and there are some inconsistencies.
For example, the speech bubbles that are displayed sometimes do not match up with what the characters are saying or are in the wrong place, and some voice actors have been replaced for new scenes.
Some have said that these new actors are very distracting but, honestly, I couldn’t tell too much.
Yet, despite the dated nature of the game, I still found that, in quite a few instances, its animation is quite beautiful.
Overall, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition was a great way to pass the time in my isolation.
The story and gameplay are solid and the characters are fantastic, even if the game is a little dated in certain aspects
THE REVIEW MONSTER 