{"id":84881,"date":"2025-08-21T00:08:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T00:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/84881\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T00:08:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T00:08:15","slug":"heres-why-resident-evil-requiems-tension-is-off-the-charts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/84881\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s Why Resident Evil Requiem’s Tension Is Off the Charts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Preview:<\/a><\/p>\n

Capcom understands Resident Evil\u2019s<\/a> secret sauce, and that\u2019s evident in this first demo of upcoming entry, Resident Evil Requiem<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At a recent demo event prior to Gamescom<\/a>, playing on a PS5 Pro, we were able to test out about 20 minutes of the upcoming survival horror. Except, we played through this demo twice: once in first-person and once in third-person. Both have their advantages, as we\u2019ll get into later.<\/p>\n

There was very little context for this demo, beyond our introduction to protagonist Grace Ashcroft, the daughter of Raccoon City survivor Alyssa Ashcroft from the Resident Evil Outbreak<\/a> games. That\u2019s a deep cut which will surely delight long-time fans of the franchise.<\/p>\n

In the opening cutscene of the demo, the Japanese publisher flexes its RE Engine muscle by pulling the camera close to the heroine, as she struggles to escape from a hospital bed, where some kind of nefarious experiment is taking place.<\/p>\n

\"Preview:<\/a><\/p>\n

She\u2019s eventually able to break the container of the IV drip she\u2019s been inexplicably hooked up to, and in a wince inducing sequence she uses the broken glass to cut herself free, snatching at her skin in the process.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of scene you\u2019ll want to watch through your fingers, but that\u2019s just Resident Evil doing what it does best.<\/p>\n

From there, with full control \u2013 again, both in first-person and third-person \u2013 we were able to move Grace around the corridors of a seemingly abandoned hospital.<\/p>\n

The lighting is the first thing that stands out here, and we suspect it\u2019s going to play a fundamental part in the gameplay.<\/p>\n

For example, our first destination was an empty kitchen room, but we couldn\u2019t see anything at the end of the corridor. It was only later, when we discovered a lighter, we decided to return here with an actual light source.<\/p>\n

\"Preview:<\/a><\/p>\n

This is all intended, of course, but Capcom\u2019s meticulous design makes you feel like you\u2019re in Ashcroft\u2019s shoes and figuring it out as you go along. Upon returning, we discovered there was a dead body in the darkness \u2013 and a Quasimodo-style beast lurking behind us.<\/p>\n

For the purposes of this preview, we\u2019re going to refer to this monster as Quasimodo, because \u2013 at least at the time we\u2019re writing this \u2013 Capcom hasn\u2019t given him an official name. He\u2019s got big bug eyes, poor posture, and looks a bit like the kind of biological waste you\u2019d find in your toilet after a bhuna, though. A face very much fit for a flamethrower!<\/p>\n

Anyway, ever since Resident Evil 3: Nemesis<\/a>, this franchise has played host to some brilliant scenarios where you\u2019re being stalked. But more recently we like to think of Jack from Resident Evil 7: Biohazard<\/a> or even Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil: Village<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Preview:<\/a><\/p>\n

This feels like more of that, but we suspect it\u2019s going to play an even bigger role.<\/p>\n

Our ultimate objective was to find a screwdriver so we could remove the fuse from an electronics box and place it somewhere else, enabling us to make our escape. Very Resident Evil, eh?<\/p>\n

But with Quasimodo stalking us, it wasn\u2019t easy. Initially we tried to outrun the foe, but he just kept tracking us down again. Eventually, we learned we needed to play a game of cat-and-mouse with him, moving a hospital trolley gradually from one side of a small room to the other in order to climb up to a toolbox.<\/p>\n

Unlock the toolbox. Get the screwdriver. Steal the fuse. Get the f*ck out.<\/p>\n

It sounds easy (and, to be honest, it is) but it\u2019s white knuckle tense \u2013 we could feel ourselves gripping tighter and tighter on the DualSense as we felt our pursuer\u2019s hulking footsteps closing on our position.<\/p>\n

\"Preview:<\/a><\/p>\n

As we alluded to earlier, we played through the demo twice to see both perspectives \u2013 this will be an option available at launch.<\/p>\n

What we found staggering about this is that while the demo plays out exactly the same in first-person and third-person, both options have tailored animations. For example, Grace slips and stumbles when running in third-person, but she doesn\u2019t in first-person. It\u2019s the same game, but an immense amount of care has been invested into both.<\/p>\n

And in some ways this will make for some tough decisions come launch day, on 27th February. We think the transition between cutscenes and gameplay is much more natural in third-person, but first-person lends itself better to a more immersive, higher-stakes gameplay experience. It\u2019s going to be difficult to choose.<\/p>\n

\"Preview:<\/a><\/p>\n

One final point we\u2019ll conclude on: as Grace made her escape, she was followed by Quasimodo, who visibly gets fried by natural sunlight. Remember when we said we expected this to be a game all about lighting? We think sunlight is going to be a sanctuary here \u2013 not only because you\u2019ll be able to see, but also because it\u2019ll keep you safe.<\/p>\n

Obviously, this demo only reflects a small sliver of the overall game, but it\u2019s impressive as hell. The tension is off the charts and the presentation is among the best we\u2019ve seen on the PS5 to date. If it\u2019s anywhere near representative of the final product, then this is going to be an all-timer for sure.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on Resident Evil Requiem now we\u2019ve been lucky enough to go hands on? Are you looking forward to learning more about the plot in this game, and where it\u2019s all going? Have you got the mental fortitude to escape from hulking flesh monsters? Scream in the comments section below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Capcom understands Resident Evil\u2019s secret sauce, and that\u2019s evident in this first demo of upcoming entry, Resident Evil…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,50617,5105,21615,21275,38309,61],"class_list":["post-84881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-capcom","tag-features","tag-previews","tag-ps5","tag-resident-evil","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}