Resident Evil 9 Requiem Review – The Perfect Balance Between Horror and Action

Back in 1999, a much younger version of me turned on the PS1 without realizing my older brother had left a copy of Resident Evil 2 inside the console.

Everything started normally — the old Sony Interactive Entertainment logo on a white background, accompanied by that strange broken-piano sound. The console kept loading, the disc drive struggled against a pirated copy, and then suddenly I heard it for the first time:

“RESIDENT EVIL TWO!!!”

That was it. The moment that changed me as a gamer forever. It probably desensitized me to violence, blood, and trauma — though that’s a conversation for my future psychiatrist.

Leon became my hero, and Resident Evil became one of my favorite gaming franchises of all time. When Resident Evil 4 launched on the Nintendo GameCube, I immediately spent all my saved birthday money on that iconic purple Nintendo box.

Now, more than twenty years later, Leon is once again the face of a Resident Evil game. Resident Evil 9 Requiem is the ninth mainline entry in a franchise that has now lasted nearly thirty years.

Grace Ashcroft – The Face of Pure Fear

Resident Evil 9 Requiem feels like a collection of the best elements the series has ever offered. The game follows Leon S. Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft as they survive a nightmare filled with blood, gore, chainsaws, terror, and of course, cheesy one-liners that feel ripped straight out of the early 90s.

The two protagonists could not be more different.

Grace is essentially an FBI office worker thrown into field operations for the very first time — and immediately trapped in a situation where she clearly does not belong. That vulnerability directly affects gameplay.

Playing as Grace feels closest to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. The first-person perspective, slower pacing, stealth-focused movement, and avoidance-based gameplay create overwhelming tension. Through her nervous breathing and panicked reactions, the game constantly reminds players that horror is not only surrounding her — it’s inside her as well.

Honestly, I had to pause several times while playing. My palms were sweating, my heart rate skyrocketed, and I genuinely haven’t felt this level of tension since Silent Hill 2.

I’d even go as far as saying that Resident Evil 9 with Grace sections is the scariest Resident Evil experience so far.

That said, there were moments where her constant breathing and panic sounds became slightly irritating — but never enough to meaningfully hurt the overall experience.

Leon Kennedy – When Fear Changes Sides

And then there’s Leon.

A man who could literally say “I am Batman,” and everyone would just nod in agreement.

His confidence, experience, and absolute composure completely transform the atmosphere of the game. The tension never disappears, but it evolves into something different. Fear gives way to control.

Playing as Leon is pure gaming catharsis. After hours of vulnerability and anxiety, suddenly you feel powerful. Every movement feels deliberate, every shot precise, and every zombie encounter shifts from desperate survival into complete domination.

The combat is fast, brutal, and stylish in a way that honestly reminded me of movies like John Wick.

What makes Leon special is the feeling of total control over chaos. Blood, screams, destruction — it all becomes part of a perfectly choreographed action symphony. You are no longer prey hiding in dark corridors.

You become the force entering the room.

That contrast between Grace and Leon is not simply a character swap — it fundamentally changes the emotional rhythm of the game. One moment you feel anxiety and helplessness, and the next you’re experiencing adrenaline-fueled empowerment.

The game first breaks you down, then hands you a weapon and says:

“Your turn.”

Leon isn’t just a protagonist.

He’s release. Catharsis. The moment horror transforms into stylish action without losing its identity.

And honestly, it’s gaming bliss.

Pacing, Structure, and Tension

What’s especially impressive is how the character switching changes your perception of time itself.

With Grace, every hallway feels endless. With Leon, those same spaces disappear in seconds. That’s not simply a perspective change — it’s manipulation of pacing and rhythm.

Of course, the game isn’t perfect. There are moments during the middle portion of the campaign where pacing slightly slows down. Certain sequences could have been shorter, and a few sections stretch tension longer than necessary.

Still, the game never loses focus. There’s never a feeling that you’re wandering aimlessly.

What impressed me most is how carefully Requiem handles escalation. It doesn’t waste its best moments too early. The buildup is gradual, controlled, and confident, which makes the final act feel genuinely earned instead of artificially explosive.

In an era where many AAA games suffer from bloated runtimes, Requiem remains tight, focused, and compact.

And that might be its greatest structural achievement.

Horror Beyond Monsters

Resident Evil was never only about zombies, gore, or cheesy dialogue.

At its core, the series has always been about consequences — about people believing they could control something that never should have existed in the first place.

Requiem pushes that idea even further.

Instead of relying purely on jump scares or grotesque monster reveals, the game builds a constant feeling of inevitability. From the beginning, you understand that something went wrong long before Leon and Grace arrived.

The story moves slower than some players may expect, but intentionally so. It gives you time to absorb locations, listen to silence, and truly feel the weight of the environments.

And honestly, that silence becomes the game’s most terrifying weapon.

Without spoiling anything, Requiem successfully balances personal trauma with a larger global threat. This doesn’t feel like “just another outbreak.” The stakes are emotional, intimate, and deeply unsettling.

Grace sees the horror as something impossible and overwhelming. Leon sees patterns — history repeating itself yet again.

That contrast affects not only gameplay, but also how players emotionally process the narrative itself.

Requiem never tries to be the loudest entry in the franchise. Instead, it builds tension patiently and methodically.

And once the full picture finally becomes clear, you’re left not with shock — but with emotional weight.

Maybe that’s the scariest thing of all.

RE Engine at Full Power

Technically, Resident Evil 9 Requiem is one of the most polished horror games in years.

On PlayStation 5, performance remains extremely stable. Frame rates are smooth, loading times are nearly nonexistent, and animations feel incredibly fluid.

Visually, RE Engine once again proves how powerful it truly is. Textures are detailed, lighting is atmospheric, and character models are packed with subtle detail.

Even in the darkest environments, image clarity remains excellent thanks to strong volumetric lighting and shadow work — something absolutely essential for horror games.

The PC optimization is equally impressive, which honestly feels refreshing in a time where so many AAA releases launch with terrible performance problems.

Even more impressive is the PlayStation 5 Pro version, which fully utilizes Sony’s new PSSR AI upscaling technology. It’s the first major game to truly showcase what this technology can do, delivering visuals that often resemble native 4K while maintaining high frame rates and sharp image quality.

And most importantly — all of these technical features actually work together seamlessly.

Resident Evil 9 isn’t simply a visually pretty game.

It’s a blueprint for what horror games in 2026 should look and feel like.

The Final Evolution of Resident Evil

When I started my second playthrough immediately after finishing the first, it became clear what Requiem truly represents for the franchise.

Resident Evil no longer struggles to find its identity.It finally reconciles with itself.For years, the series constantly shifted between pure survival horror and explosive action. Between fear and empowerment.Requiem stops choosing sides.It embraces both.And that might be its greatest strength.Resident Evil 9 is not revolutionary in the same way Resident Evil 4 was. Nor is it a full “return to roots” like Resident Evil 7. Instead, it becomes something different — a perfect fusion of old and new. Horror fans get dread. Action fans get power. Veteran fans get continuity.

And for the first time in years, it feels like all of those elements coexist naturally within the same game.

This is not nostalgia bait.

Leon exists here for a reason.

Grace exists here for a reason.

Together, they represent two philosophies that divided the fanbase for years — and Requiem finally proves they can coexist beautifully.

If Resident Evil 7 saved the franchise, and the remake era rebuilt its commercial dominance, then Resident Evil 9 Requiem feels like the moment the formula finally stabilized.

A realization that horror doesn’t need weakness to feel terrifying.

And action doesn’t need excess to feel exciting.

Requiem doesn’t redefine survival horror.

But it absolutely confirms that Resident Evil remains the genre’s most important pillar.

The review copy was provided by CDMedia.