Resident Evil Requiem is one of the scariest Resident Evil games I’ve played, and I only got to see a 30-minute demo at Gamescom, so I dread to think about what the rest of the game will be like. That’s due to a very deliberate choice by the developers to try and steer this next RE game towards horror, rather than action.
“I understand how Resident Evil 4 and Village became more action-heavy,” producer Masato Kumazawa says in an interview with Press Start. “Yes, that we have to admit. Looking back at the feedback, we understand how fans prefer more horror. Requiem was in development way before Village. We wanted to focus on the horror and horror be the main part.”
Playing as Grace Ashcroft, a technical analyst for the FBI, those of us brave enough to wade into Requiem won’t get the comfort of an unshakable protagonist. While she does know how to handle a gun, Grace isn’t a fighter and therefore must run away from all the monsters that you’ll find lurking around. This was actually the predominant reason as to why Leon Kennedy doesn’t return as our protagonist—he’s just too cool.
“With Requiem, we decided to make sure it was scary until the end,” Kumazawa continues. “But to put more details and be more specific, it’s not about scaring people the entire way, but using elements of non-horror to improve the horror.
“For example, you have horror, but then you put a bit of action in there. By putting in the action and making sure the player isn’t thinking about the horror, the next horror part will scare more effectively than non-stop scares.”
The small chunk of Requiem that I played must’ve been one of the scary ones then, because hiding under a table from the grotesque stalker in-game, as I freaked out to the PR and devs about how scary this game is, sure as hell can’t have qualified as the “action” segment.
I’m hoping that these breathers are peppered into the horror, as I really don’t think my heart could’ve taken another 12 hours of that sort of terror. And I think that likely goes for most people. The odd action sequence not only makes the following horrors worse, but also makes the experience more palatable. But I’m sure players will let the devs know whether they think Requiem nails the classic RE balance of horror and action.
“I am not sure if all development teams are doing this, but I personally try to read as many or all the comments on social media,” Kumazawa adds. “So please make sure you give your opinions! My mental health is very strong—I am fine to read the comments.” Now that’s brave.
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