New Resident Evil Requiem Leon and Grace gameplay sends hype into overdrive

Capcom revealed a new look at Leon and Grace gameplay in Resident Evil Requiem and it has sent hype for the upcoming game into overdrive.

Resident Evil Requiem is the latest mainline entry in the series which stars Leon Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft as the dual playable protagonists. Ahead of its release on 27 February, Capcom revealed more details about the game in a 13-minute showcase.

Grace sections are more like Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 7, which focus more on the horror aspects of gameplay, whereas Leon's sections are more like Resident Evil 4 with tense action.

Gameplay certainly looks as brutal and as gory the franchise has ever seen, such as in the ways that infected enemies can be killed.

Speaking of which, these enemies retain the characteristics of when they were alive - for example, there is a custodian who continues to clean, and their actions affect how you can dodge or take them down.

Leon has a hatchet that can be used to parry attacks and take down enemies which can be sharpened but the focus is on gunplay with him. Enemies can be targeted in certain areas and finished off with melee attacks with Leon able to use weapons they were carrying - including a chainsaw.

The returning Leon Kennedy is one of the main protagonists in Resident Evil Requiem / Capcom

Grace's sections feature much more closed spaces with scarce ammo and players will have to think carefully about taking enemies on or avoiding them altogether. She has a deadly gun called Requiem which can quickly get her out of tight spots.

The gameplay showed Leon's default perspective is third-person and first-person for Grace but this can be changed at any point in the settings.

There's a crafting system where players will need to harvest infected blood to create specialised injectors for things like taking enemies out stealthily.

The game takes place after the events of Resident Evil 6 with Leon still working as a DSO agent.

Developers said they tried to make a horror game with Leon as the sole main character bit that it didn't feel right having the iconic character feel "timid".

The deluxe edition of the game will have five bonus costumes for Grace and Leon, including a Lady Dimitrescu costume for Grace, along with weapon skins and screen filters.

Grace Ashcroft is the other main playable protagonist in Resident Evil Requiem alongside Leon Kennedy / Capcom

A lot of fans have been talking about the game online with one of the most popular talking points being about how much of a "beast" Leon is this time around.

In the comments on a thread in the Resident Evil Subreddit, one said: "He's channelling that Resident Evil 6 energy."

"Those blood and gore effects, my god," another commented.

A third said: "Leon pulling some heat actions haha I'm so excited."

"Environmental takedowns are cool af," declared a fourth.

And a fifth said: "So glad they kept Leon as an unstoppable force of nature. This looks like his Resident Evil 4 moves with even more blood."

Resident Evil Requiem releases on 27 February on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC and cloud services.

Elsewhere from indy100:

• Resident Evil Code Veronica Remake update is extremely encouraging
• Resident Evil Requiem key Leon details and future remakes 'leaked' online

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