The moment the screen fades in, we know this isn’t the Resident Evil we’ve grown accustomed to in recent years. There are no grandiose set pieces, no quippy one-liners from a battle-hardened protagonist. Instead, Capcom’s Resident Evil 9: Requiem trailer opens with a quiet, unsettling shot of rain-slick pavement reflecting neon signs—a visual tone that immediately signals a return to the series’ most intimate, psychologically charged horror.
At the centre of this storm is Grace Ashcroft, the daughter of Resident Evil: Outbreak’s ill-fated journalist, Alyssa Ashcroft. Her presence alone suggests that Requiem isn’t just another chapter in the franchise’s ongoing war against bioterrorism. This is a story about legacy, trauma, and the ghosts of Raccoon City that refuse to stay buried.
A Protagonist Unlike Any Before Her
Grace Ashcroft isn’t a soldier, a special agent, or even a survivor hardened by years of combat. She’s an FBI analyst—someone who studies crime scenes, not fights through them. The trailer frames her as an outsider to the series’ usual power fantasy, a woman driven not by duty, but by a deeply personal vendetta: uncovering the truth behind her mother’s murder.
Alyssa Ashcroft’s fate has long been one of Resident Evil’s most haunting loose ends. In Outbreak, she was a resourceful but vulnerable journalist trapped in Raccoon City’s collapse, her story left unresolved. Now, Requiem positions her death as the catalyst for Grace’s descent into a nightmare that mirrors her mother’s. The trailer’s most chilling moment comes when Grace discovers a bloodstained press badge in the ruins of the Wrenwood Hotel—the same location where Alyssa was killed years earlier. The way Grace’s fingers tremble as she picks it up tells us everything we need to know: this isn’t just a mission. It’s an exhumation.
Raccoon City’s Ghosts Rise Again
The trailer’s biggest surprise is the return to Raccoon City—or what’s left of it. The nuclear strike that wiped the city off the map in Resident Evil 3 has left behind a skeletal wasteland of crumbling buildings and irradiated debris. Yet, something stirs in the ruins. The brief glimpses of the Raccoon City Police Department, its iconic facade now half-collapsed, suggest that Requiem will bridge the franchise’s past and present in ways no previous game has attempted.
Rumours of dual timelines seem all but confirmed. Flashback sequences show Alyssa investigating the Wrenwood Hotel before her death, while Grace navigates the same location in the present, her flashlight cutting through darkness where her mother once stood. The implication is clear: history is repeating itself, and Grace may be walking into a trap set decades ago.
A New Breed of Horror
Directed by Resident Evil 7’s Koshi Nakanishi, Requiem appears to be doubling down on the psychological terror that made RE7 such a standout. Grace is described in press materials as “introverted and easily scared,” a stark contrast to the near-superhuman resilience of Chris Redfield or Leon Kennedy. This isn’t a game about fighting back—it’s about surviving long enough to uncover the truth.
The trailer’s most unsettling sequence showcases this shift in tone. Grace, strapped to a gurney in what appears to be an abandoned hospital, watches in silent horror as a creature—something between a Licker and the Regis monsters from Outbreak—crawls across the ceiling above her. There’s no music, no dramatic sting—just the slow, deliberate creak of the creature’s limbs as it closes in. It’s a masterclass in tension, and a clear statement of intent: Requiem wants to terrify, not entertain.
Gameplay innovations seem tailored to amplify this fear. The trailer confirms the ability to switch between first- and third-person perspectives, a feature first experimented with in Resident Evil Village. Here, though, the mechanic feels more deliberate—first-person for claustrophobic investigation, third-person for desperate combat. Early reports suggest Grace’s forensic tools, like UV lights and audio recorders, will play a key role in piecing together the mystery, though using them risks drawing attention from whatever lurks in the dark.
The Monsters We Inherit
Every great Resident Evil game is defined by its villains, and Requiem seems poised to deliver one of the series’ most tragic antagonists yet. The trailer’s closing moments hint at a grotesque, humanoid figure whispering to Grace in Alyssa’s voice—“You’re the one I’ve been searching for.” Is this a hallucination? A mutated remnant of her mother? Or something far worse?
The creature design leans heavily into body horror, with limbs that stretch unnaturally and faces that seem to melt into the darkness. One particularly disturbing shot shows a hallway of figures frozen in agonised poses, their bodies fused to the walls—a clear nod to Resident Evil 7’s moulded enemies, but with a more overtly psychological edge. If RE7 was about family, Requiem seems to be about inheritance—the idea that some horrors are passed down, not escaped.
The Lingering Questions
While the trailer answers some questions, it raises even more. How deep do the connections to Outbreak run? Will other survivors from that game resurface? And what role, if any, will legacy characters like Leon Kennedy play? Leaks suggest he’ll appear in a secondary capacity, possibly as Grace’s handler, but Capcom has remained tight-lipped.
Then there’s the matter of gameplay structure. The ruins of Raccoon City appear expansive in the trailer, sparking speculation about semi-open environments. Could Requiem blend the tight corridors of classic RE with the exploration of Village’s later areas? And what of multiplayer? Given Outbreak’s co-op roots, fans are hopeful for a modern take on shared survival, though nothing has been confirmed.
A Bold New Direction
Resident Evil 9: Requiem looks unlike anything the series has attempted before. It’s a game that seems less interested in global conspiracies than in personal ruin, less about saving the world than surviving its worst mistakes. By centring Grace Ashcroft—a woman defined by grief rather than combat prowess—Capcom is signalling a return to the raw, intimate horror that made the franchise a legend.
As the trailer fades to black, we’re left with one final image: Grace standing in the ruins of the Wrenwood Hotel, her mother’s voice echoing in the distance. It’s a haunting note to end on, and a promise that Requiem won’t just continue the Resident Evil saga—it will redefine what the series can be.
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Muzhameer Putra