Resident Evil 9, officially titledResident Evil Requiem, finally received its first trailer. While the popular horror survival series was always going to get another entry,the tone of the game has been more up in the air. As a series,Resident Evilhas struck a delicate balance between survival horror and action. The locations, infected monsters, and limited resources allow for stellar survival horror, while the characters, with their ever-expanding arsenals and combat backgrounds, allow for bombastic action scenes.
I’m worried thatRE9will embrace the more action-packed parts of the series, especially with its rumored protagonist.Straying too far into action territory has been a problem for the seriesin the past, like when Chris Redfield punches a boulder into a volcano inResident Evil 5.Resident Evilis at its best when it’s semi-grounded survival horror, as seen inRE7, and I’m hopingResident Evil 9will resist the temptation to fall into the habit of valuing action over horror.
Resident Evil 9 Could Be Too Action-Oriented
Rumors Of A Legacy Protagonist Are Worrying
While not confirmed, the biggest danger forRE9’s tonemay betherumored return of Leonas a main character. One of the core four main characters of the entire series,Leon S. Kennedy is a character that’s decidedly associated with the action side ofResident Evilgames. His extensive military training and experience surviving multiple Umbrella Company incidents around the world make him far too competent for a survival horror experience akin toRE7, in which Ethan Winters, an average guy, had to fight for survival with no training or readily available weapons.
While the trailer forResident Evil 9hasrevealed some promising survival horror aspects, including a mysterious hotel and a new main character, other parts have given me cause for concern. The beginning of the trailer, which follows an FBI agent as he walks through his office and speaks to Grace Ashcroft, a new main character, about a series of mysterious illnesses, had me immediately intrigued. The lead-up to the discussion about a spooky hotel and a dramatic family connection to the case (which, of course, connects to a previousREmain character) felt completely in line with the eerie, but grounded, vibes ofResident Evil 7.
The key addition of the trailer, however, is the reveal of Raccoon City as a major location for the game. While it is exciting to return to the site of some of the scariest events of the series,seeing Raccoon City again has made me nervous that the series is going to delve more intoRE3-style actionthanRE7survival horror.
The combo of Leon and Raccoon City can only lead to a fair amount of action, since it’s unlikely he would ever go near the city again without being heavily armed. On top of that, decades of T-virus-infected monsters will have been lying in wait, which also likely means waves of enemies ready to be gunned down.
Requiem Should Be More Like RE7 Than RE8
Slow Paced Horror Should Always Come Before Action
Resident Evilhas had a great streak in recent years. The success of new mainline titles, as well as modern remakes ofResident Evil 2, 3,and4, has brought on a sort of modernRE-naissance. AfterRE6fell flat with fans and critics,the series was able to bring itself back to its survival horror rootswith Ethan Winters inRE7. Thefirst-person camera, new types of mold monsters, and a complete lack of legacy characters for the bulk of the game gave the seriesa completely clean slateto work with.
As a fan of the franchise’s horror focus, I’m convinced thatRE8took the series in the wrong direction afterRE7. While it did continue the story of the Winters family, it added far more action elements than the previous game, most egregiously near the end when Chris Redfield blasts his way through the villages full of werewolves.
WithRE9returning to Raccoon City, and potentially re-introducing the legacy characters that go along with that location,it’s looking like the game might be more action-oriented than I’d like. The seventh game allowed for a total reset in theResident Evilfranchise, andRE9should aim to follow in its footsteps rather than whatRE8ended up being.
