As one of the biggest franchises in Capcom’s line-up, it was no surprise to see Resident Evil: Requiem have a playable demo at NYCC 2025. After a successful string of remakes and original sequels, Requiem promises to terrify audiences.
And after playing through a horrifying thirty-minute demo on PlayStation 5, I have a lot to say about my experience.
A Cold Opening – Demo Impressions
The demo began with my character, Grace Ashcroft, waking up attached to a hospital bed. Breaking free from her bindings, she explores her surroundings for clues or a way out. Along the way, she comes across a horrifying monster out to eat her.
However, the monster hates light, giving Grace a chance to escape by finding items to access new areas in the limited play space. The demo ended with Grace nearly escaping, but being pulled back into the darkness.
To say the experience kept me on my toes would be underselling things. I was tense the entire play session, and the key reason was the lack of any weapons to defend myself. The most horrifying aspect of the experience was the intelligence of the monster. Once they realized I was running toward the light, they kept finding ways to turn it off, forcing me to solve the puzzle before all my light sources ran out.
Familiar Haunts – Memories of Past Resident Evil Adventures
If I could compare Resident Evil: Requiem to any specific Resident Evil, it has to be Resident Evil 7. That game left you powerless in the early goings, and the raw, palpable tension genuinely horrified me.
While Requiem didn’t scare me as much, I felt on edge and often told myself, ‘come on, come on…’, when trying to scramble up to get a toolbox before the monster caught me. Speaking of puzzle solving, the intuitiveness of the puzzles had many ‘oh, that’s how I solve that’.
That great feeling of knowing how to move forward, after learning to handle the horror around you, was awesome. It’s similar to the older Resident Evil games, and that is a welcome feeling following the more action-focused approach of games like Resident Evil 4 Remake.
An important feature worth noting is that, unlike Resident Evil Village, Requiem has full support for a third-person perspective from launch. The demo encouraged me to stick with first-person, but both perspectives were available for the demo session.
Beauty Within the Horror – Presentation
Running on the impressive RE Engine, Resident Evil: Requiem weaves together realism and horrifying creature designs well, not unlike prior Resident Evil games.
A special shoutout goes to the monster design, downright terrifying looking both in the light and dark. In addition, the impressive hair physics and strong facial animation seen from prior RE Engine games are in full effect. This was noticeable in the intro cut-scene with Grace, selling the reality and terror of the situation she found herself in.
A Stable Resident – Performance
Most impressively, the game’s performance across PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch is 2. Both consoles were playable at the Capcom booth. On PlayStation 5, it looked crisp and sharp like other Resident Evil games on the platform. Meanwhile, Nintendo Switch 2 looked fantastic, running at a seemingly smooth frame rate and mostly matching the visual quality featured on PlayStation 5.
Closing Thoughts on Resident Evil: Requiem
My experience with the Resident Evil series stems from the original RE4 on the Wii and later installments like Resident Evil 2 Remake and Resident Evil 7. So returning to the series with Requiem, I can’t wait to see what other horrors await.
Stunning visuals with rock-solid performance, strong level design encouraging you to stay on your toes, and a horror reminiscent of Resident Evil 7 all make this one biohazard to keep an eye on. Resident Evil: Requiem releases on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on February 27, 2026.
Enjoy our NYCC 2025 coverage here at Lords of Gaming!
