Resident Evil Requiem protagonist Grace Ashcroft is not having a good day. Whatever’s come before, it pales in comparison to waking up, upside down, tied to a hospital bed, in an unfamiliar location. And what comes next is much, much worse.
In a recent hands-on game preview, ScreenHub was invited to experience an opening level from Resident Evil Requiem designed to highlight the struggles Ashcroft will face in her upcoming adventure.
What was clearest in this snippet is that she’ll be put through the ringer, with this new Resident Evil placing emphasis on struggle and helplessness, as Ashcroft encounters all sorts of roaming horrors.
Resident Evil Requiem preview – quick links
Resident Evil Requiem‘s Grace Ashcroft is a compelling protagonist
Unlike many other games in the Resident Evil series, Requiem is not led by an action hero. Ashcroft is simply an analyst, who becomes embroiled in a world of horror as she investigates the death of her mother (one of Resident Evil Outbreak‘s key protagonists) in a mysterious hotel.
It’s clear, based on the game’s preview, that Ashcroft’s investigations don’t exactly go as planned. While the preview was siloed and without context, it does appear that during her visit, she’s waylaid by mysterious forces, and knocked unconscious.
Lost, alone, and scared, she eventually manages to free herself from her hospital bed imprisonment, and discovers the gravity of her conundrum. She begins this segment locked in a shadowy hospital wing, where doors are barred, or require keys.
Players begin, just as confused as Ashcroft, which is to the benefit of this level’s sense of mystery and fearful anticipation. There’s an air of dread laced into every step. You’re never sure what’s around the next shadow, or when you’ll inevitably activate the primary chase sequence that unleashes monsters into your world.
The sense of dread that builds is spectacular, and so unlike the dread that accompanies other Resident Evil games, because Ashcroft is scared and weak – at least, for now. She isn’t a police officer or a combat veteran. She doesn’t have access to guns (yet). She’s just a scared young woman.
Your journey is about overcoming that helplessness, to forge a path forward, in any way you can. You begin by making your way slowly down a nearby corridor, stumbling across an array of items that may or may not be useful in your journey – bullets, but no gun, a container that holds nothing, a key, and eventually, a lighter.
Taking steps into the darkness
The lighter is the most useful of the bunch, as it allows you to enter a darkened room that was previously blocked. The only catch is that once you enter this room, you’ll wish you hadn’t – because it’s in a double jump scare that this hospital level reveals its true horror: a giant, fleshy beast in the shape of a deformed woman (and presumably, a former patient).
Resident Evil is a franchise of great and terrible monsters. Capcom loves a leery, bloody beastie with long limbs and gnashing teeth, and you get the works in this opening segment. Of course, the worst (and best) part is that Ashcroft has no weapons to fight back. You’re at the mercy of this twisted creature, and must use your environment and ingenuity to escape their wrath.
It’s a wildly compelling set-up, with trial and error, as well as clever thinking, needed to overcome the odds. Ashcroft is very small, and the roaming patient-beast is very large. You need to use this to your advantage, while figuring out where you can pause safely, and how to escape her wandering eyes.
It was only by countless deaths that the path forward became clear – when to pause beneath a sheltering table, and when to stride forward to collect the necessary items to advance (in this case, a screwdriver, and a fuse). All the while, you hear the death-rattle breath of the monster overhead, and must learn when to turn your lighter on and off, and when to proceed with caution.
Resident Evil Requiem demands a strategic approach
In this particularly frightful skirmish, Resident Evil Requiem revealed a distinct need for strategy. While this is inherent in most Resident Evil games, the stakes here feel higher, with nothing to defend yourself, and a real reliance on stealth.
Ashcroft won’t survive without your ingenuity, so you’ll really need to lock in, to figure out how to move through this game’s world. While this particular mission was siloed, as mentioned, it speaks to a more horrific approach – and not just in its jump scares. This segment was laced with a tension that amped up its horror significantly, forcing you to watch on with a sense of trepidation and heaviness in your gut.
Grace Ashcroft must be protected. You’ll need to keep your wits if you have any hope of keeping her alive, and Resident Evil Requiem – at least, so far – provides plenty of reasons to try.
As previously announced, Resident Evil Requiem is set to launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch on 27 February 2026.
