The game doesn’t aim for a single mixed experience, separating survival horror and action on purpose.
According to director Akifumi Nakanishi, the upcoming entry is structured “almost like playing two games,” with its campaign split between two protagonists who approach fear in completely different ways.
Why Does Resident Evil Requiem Feel Like Two Different Games?
Following the game’s reveal at The Game Awards 2025, director Akifumi Nakanishi explained that the campaign is built around Grace Ashcroft and Leon S. Kennedy, whose playable sections are nearly evenly split but dramatically different in tone, pacing, and gameplay philosophy.
Grace follows a classic survival-horror approach inspired by Resident Evil 2, while Leon’s chapters are faster and more combat-focused, drawing from Resident Evil 4.
How Do Grace and Leon’s Gameplay Styles Differ?
Nakanishi has been clear that Leon simply isn’t a character who convincingly “cowers” in fear anymore; after decades of bioterror incidents, forcing him into helpless horror would feel dishonest.
Leon’s sections focus on speed, new melee and martial-arts-inspired moves, and a level of control that sharply contrasts with Grace’s vulnerability.
Despite their differences, Requiem tells a single story that alternates between both perspectives and occasionally brings Grace and Leon together as events escalate.
How Does This Structure Affect the Game’s Horror and Pacing?
The director explains that the game is designed around a controlled ebb and flow, where Leon’s sequences provide a sense of safety after Grace’s harrowing encounters, only for the fear to return when control switches back.
He says it’s like stepping into a cold bath straight from a sauna, where the opposing sensations amplify one another.
This contrast is also tied to Leon’s characterization in 2026, with the team deliberately portraying him as older, heavier with experience, and emotionally shaped by years of unending crises, especially as Requiem marks his first return to Raccoon City since Resident Evil 2.
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