At the withering age of 29, I’m old enough to remember when Resident Evil was a shambling husk of its former self. Capcom was trying to turn the series into a Gears of War clone defined by shallow stories and excessive explosions instead of the claustrophobic survival horror it’s known for. 2012 was a very different, and very dark time for the video game icon.
Resident Evil 5 is a great third-person shooter and incredibly fun co-op game that built on – if not improved on – the formula first introduced with the fourth entry, while Resident Evil 6 is terrible and Capcom should feel bad for making it. It’s overblown and ridiculous with shallow gunplay and awful encounter design made even worse by too many characters, too many campaigns to play through, and a complete misunderstanding of why we love Resi in the first place. You will find defenders sometimes, but I promise they’ve been huffing too much glue.
So, when Capcom finally got its mojo back with the release Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, it felt like it was not only listening to fan complaints, but seeking to create a new universe that both honoured what came before and sought to tell new and exciting stories. Ten years later, and that vision is still ongoing, and might just reach its crescendo with Resident Evil 9 in 2026.
Resident Evil 9: Requiem Feels Like The New Universe Reaching Its Full Potential
The Resident Evil timeline is complicated. Capcom has stated in the past that Resident Evil 7: Biohazard follows on from the events of Resident Evil 6, despite clearly taking place in a different world with new interpretations of existing characters. To me, it almost feels like it’s meant to be a soft reboot that acknowledges events of the past while also having narrative freedom to do whatever it likes. That would explain new takes on characters like Leon, Jill, Chris, and Wesker and how they appear in both new entries and remakes, all of which are seemingly tied into the same universe.
Perhaps I’ve not been looking in the right places, but has Capcom confirmed if Resident Evil 7, Village, and Requiem take place in the same timeline as its remakes of 2, 3, and 4? It sure seems like they do, especially with the return of a ruined Raccoon City in Requiem and fans already theorising that an older, more weathered Leon Kennedy could make a return. Then again, maybe I’m the fool for taking a story as pulpy and ridiculous as Resident Evil this darn seriously. But I love how it all connects, and how it’s been almost a decade since we saw its narrative rebooted and geared in a new and exciting direction.
When we returned to Racoon City in 2019’s Resident Evil 2 remake, it felt like returning to a hometown for the first time in decades. A faithfully recreated icon of the survival horror genre that was more ambitious than ever. New interpretations of familiar stories, puzzles, and characters that have since become legend all challenge our perceptions while offering a healthy dose of nostalgia. It felt like an expansion of the gameplay formula introduced with 7 a couple of years earlier, something that Village would build on while bringing these myriad takes on the formula closer together. With Requiem, they have finally met in the middle.
And I Can’t Wait To Return To Raccoon City And Explore It All Over Again
Capcom has already said that Raccoon City won’t be the main setting in Requiem, but I didn’t expect it to be. Resident Evil 2 and 3, despite beginning in the fictional city filled with zombies, you will eventually leave it behind for underground labs that prove more sinister. The ninth main entry might feature images of a nuked Racoon City, but if Village or Biohazard are any indication, we could explore an entire region, jump across time, or some sort of twist nobody will see coming in Requiem. Either way, it’s a return the series earned.
You can choose to play Requiem from either a third or first-person perspective, which is both of the rebooted styles of play coming home to roost.
When the reveal trailer panned across a ruined Raccoon City Police Department, you could hear a chorus of cheers in the Summer Game Fest crowd, with fans recognising that we were not just returning to an old stomping ground, but a destroyed place that holds loads of amazing secrets still to be uncovered. Yes, the lore is nonsense, but I’d be lying if it didn’t compel me.
Is this going to be yet another entry in the rebooted universe that leads to something better, or will it finally tie a bow on lingering plot threads we’ve been questioning for years? I am so ready, and unlike Resident Evil 6, Requiem has more than earned its return to Raccoon City and its potential embrace of excess. Capcom is on top of the world right now, and I hope it’s not at risk of faltering.