Resident Evil Requiem – The First RE Game to Make Me Jump

The latest installment in CAPCOM's Resident Evil franchise turned heads during the Summer Game Day trailer premiere. Despite the series turning thirty next year, the RE development team manages to breathe new life into every addition in its long history. Despite the Biohazard games defining the survival horror genre, I personally never found the games scary compared to its contemporaries. During Play Days, I experienced a hands-off extended first look of the gameplay. Even though the outside of the four walls was a warm sunny day, I felt a bone-chilling sense of dread as they began the presentation for Resident Evil 9.

The closed-door presentation began with an introduction from brand manager Trevor Mitch and a prerecorded message from the game's director, Koshi Nakanishi. Mitch shared how RE9 promises to be the first step in a bold evolution for the franchise as it returns to its survival horror roots, while “infusing it with high stakes energy.” Director Nakanishi advertised the element of “addictive fear” that makes it impossible to turn away because of the inherent curiosity to figure out how the story will unfold. The preview was captured on a PS5 pro and follows Grace Ashcroft, who is described as timid.

Building further from the trailer scene of Grace hanging upside down from a gurney, the audience sees the events through her trembling and frightened eyes. Unlike some of the previous headstrong and combative leads, Grace relies more on brains than brawn to tackle her predicament. As she utilizes her skills as an FBI investigator, she analyzes the situation and quickly frees herself by cutting the strips with broken glass. It's unknown why her blood was being siphoned into the bottle, but there's no time to contemplate. Once she begins browsing the sanitized, marble room—likely inside an old hospital—she makes her way out into the dark corridors.

In addition to the atmospheric horror, making use of shadows and flickering lights to heighten the tension, Grace's trembling, loud breathing further escalates the crowd's nervousness. The preview makes sure to keep the viewer on edge by dragging along Grace's vulnerable journey in the hallways, always preparing you for the eventual jump scare. After jumping back and forth to show a puzzle and skipping to gather the necessary parts, she discovers a grotesque body while exploring. Suddenly, a massive monster with bulging eyes and large teeth takes a large bite out of the decaying carcass. She limps slowly to escape from the creature, and rests in the same first room she started in. I can feel goosebumps coming up my arms, but right before Grace encounters the monster again, a menu pops up. We're suddenly given the option to switch between first- and third-person perspective at will, a function that was added onto Resident Evil Village as a paid update.

Although the RE games have always contained horror elements, the action and adventure usually remained front and center, which made the games more accessible to the average player. I've viewed RE as an approachable horror title, like a game I could recommend to a friend who is easily scared. But that all changed with this extended first look of the gameplay as my heart rate would jump from a resting rate of 78 to 108 at its height. What felt like an eternity in the corridors were only about five minutes in real time. The preview itself only lasted about twenty minutes, with more than half of it spent on slow, vulnerable movements going from room to room. RE9 is sure to be an exciting new game for serious horror lovers and longtime franchise fans.