New gameplay footage and interviews for Resident Evil Requiem are starting to surface, and they finally give us a much better picture of how Leon S. Kennedy plays, how the dual-protagonist structure works, and what Capcom is aiming for with this entry.
Between a short gameplay clip shared by Famitsu and a few pieces of information shared by various media, Requiem is looking like it is going to be a very deliberate mix of classic survival horror and modern Resident Evil action.
Leon Is Back, and He Plays Very Differently From Grace
Capcom has been very clear about one thing: Grace Ashcroft and Leon S. Kennedy are not meant to feel the same to play.
Grace’s sections lean heavily into evasion, puzzle-solving, and limited resources. She can fight, but she is clearly not a military or biohazard veteran.
Leon, on the other hand, is exactly that. His gameplay focuses on crowd control, heavy combat, and confident decision-making, much closer to what players loved in Resident Evil 4 Remake.
According to director Kōshi Nakanishi, Leon has been fighting bio-weapons for nearly 30 years in-universe, and that experience shows. He is older, more tired, and more cynical, and that weight is reflected both in his design and his personality. He still has the dry humor, though. One preview even mentions Leon calmly joking, “I want a second opinion,” when he was facing a chainsaw-wielding doctor.
Combat Feels Like RE4, With Some New Changes
Leon’s arsenal will feel familiar to anyone who played recent remakes. He uses pistols, shotguns, grenades, and a new weapon called the Requiem revolver, a high-powered, hand cannon-style gun that trades ammo capacity for raw stopping power.
Weapons feature familiar stats like Power, Precision, Reload Speed, and Stability, and upgrading them is said to work similarly to RE4 Remake. Inventory management also reflects that influence, with Leon carrying a large attaché-style case that lets players rotate and optimize their gear. On the other side, you have Grace, who is stuck with way less firepower.
One major gameplay change is Leon’s combat hatchet! This one replaces the classic knife. It hits harder, enables stronger staggers, supports parries, stealth takedowns, and even environmental interactions like prying open sealed doors. It does not break, but it does lose sharpness, that you can restore manually.
Chainsaws, Crowd Control, and Power
Yes, chainsaws are back, and yes, Leon can pick one up and use it after defeating certain enemies. Parrying chainsaw attacks, managing it, and deciding when to go aggressive or disengage seems to be a big part of Leon’s combat.
Previewers repeatedly mention how enemies that were terrifying as Grace become manageable as Leon, reinforcing the contrast Capcom wants players to feel. Switching between those two power levels is clearly part of Requiem’s “tension-and-release” design.
Clair is the “beginner player”. She lives through that for the first time, so to speak. Leon is experienced. He knows when to strike and how.
A More Serious Leon, but One Fans Will Recognize
Outside of gameplay, Leon’s updated design has been getting a lot of attention, especially in Japan, where fans jokingly dubbed him the “hot uncle.” According to Capcom, that did not happen by accident. His appearance went through heavy internal review, with developers (particularly female staff) paying close attention to small details like facial aging and posture.
More importantly, Capcom spent a lot of time aligning Leon’s personality with his long history. He is not easily startled anymore. He has seen too much. That emotional fatigue is a core part of how Requiem portrays him, especially when contrasted with Grace, who is still processing her own trauma.
Returning to Raccoon City, With a Purpose
Requiem takes place roughly 30 years after the Raccoon City incident, and Capcom describes the game as a reflection on its long-term consequences. The developers refer to an “Umbrella curse,” not just the corporation itself, but the lasting damage it caused to everyone connected to it.
Leon and Grace approaching Raccoon City from completely different life stages is important to that theme. This is not just nostalgia. It is about showing how that event still echoes decades later.
What This All Tells Us
Based on these early impressions, Resident Evil Requiem is not trying to pick between RE2 horror and RE4 action. It is clearly deliberately doing both, and using its two protagonists to make that contrast meaningful rather than messy.
Requiem could definitely end up feeling like a reflection on everything the series has built over the last 30 years. As a reminder, Resident Evil Requiem launches on February 27 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2.
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