With the release of Resident Evil Requiem, survival horror fans can step back into the ruins of Raccoon City for a new nightmare. This entry in the Resident Evil game series blends stealth-heavy survival horror with explosive action in a way that constantly keeps you on edge. Featuring dual protagonists, brutal combat and resource management, Resident Evil Requiem can get overwhelming real quickly. If you’re just starting out, this beginner-friendly guide will walk you through everything you need to know to survive from the very first hour.
Resident Evil Requiem Review: A Horror Gaming Masterpiece
By expertly blending pure horror and over-the-top action, Resident Evil Requiem becomes the ultimate Resident Evil experience.
Understand the Dual Protagonist System
One of the most important things to grasp early is how differently Leon and Grace play. Requiem constantly switches between the perspectives of Leon Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft, and each character demands a completely different mindset.
Grace’s sections lean heavily into survival horror. She has limited inventory space and fewer weapons. By default, her gameplay uses a first-person perspective, which adds tension and immersion. Since ammo is scarce, direct confrontation should usually be your last resort when playing with Grace.
On the other hand, Leon plays more like action-horror. His default third-person perspective gives better situational awareness in combat, and he has access to more firepower.
You can switch camera perspectives in the options menu at any time, so don’t hesitate to adjust things if a section feels uncomfortable.
Don’t Miss These Items
In the opening hours, you’ll spend several hours inside the Roadsill Care Center. There’s a small parlor here that contains a cabinet of unique upgrades. These are permanent upgrades that you will not find again once you leave this area.
The four major items you should definitely purchase before leaving the Care Center are:
- The upgraded hip pouch (which adds two inventory slots)
- Steroids to increase maximum health
- A stabilizer to improve gun handling and firepower
- The override manual, which increases blood collector capacity by 50.
To buy everything, you’ll need 17 Antique Coins. You can find these if you thoroughly explore and defeat key enemies. There are coins hidden in safes, dropped by specific enemies like the terrifying “singers,” and found inside destructible crates and antique vases.
Aim for the Head
Headshots are the best way to kill both human and zombie enemies. Blister Heads are a new type of enemy in RE9. They are mutated versions of previously defeated zombies whose heads were left intact. Blister Heads are faster, more aggressive, and far tougher than their standard counterparts.
Leon can decapitate enemies with his Hatchet, while Grace can use her injector strategically. Make sure to always use Hemolytic Injectors or destroy zombie heads with gunfire or melee weapons.
If you simply need breathing room, aim for the legs instead. Shots to the lower legs or feet usually stagger zombies and force them to kneel. This brief moment gives you enough time to run past them safely if you’re low on ammo.
Manage Your Inventory
Since Grace has limited inventory, you’ll have to use storage crates to deposit items for later retrieval. Hip Pouch upgrades expand her capacity and are absolutely worth finding. Leon eventually gains access to supply boxes where he can purchase upgrades and sell unwanted weapons.
Make sure to stack a lot of lockpicks when you’re controlling Grace.
Thankfully, the map keeps track of missed items. Icons mark areas where useful resources remain. If your inventory was full earlier, you can return later and pick up what you left behind without guessing where it was.
Keep An Eye Out for “The Girl”
One of the most terrifying encounters in Resident Evil Requiem comes during Grace’s chapters, when you’re hunted by a relentless stalker known as “The Girl.” Unlike regular zombies, this isn’t an enemy you’re meant to fight head-on, especially in the early game.
The Girl is fast, aggressive, and incredibly good at tracking you. She can reposition quickly and even appear from unexpected places, including ceiling openings. Her main weakness is light. Bright rooms damage her and force her to retreat, so make sure to always run into one if she’s chasing you.
Grab Healing Items
Healing resources are just as important as ammo, sometimes even more so. Green Herbs are scattered throughout the world, usually tucked into corners or sitting on shelves you can overlook while rushing through an area. Make it a habit to scan rooms carefully before moving on.
If you’re playing as Grace, make sure to carry at least one strong healing item. This is especially important since she’s more vulnerable in direct combat. Leon can take more punishment, but tougher enemies later in the game can still drop him quickly if you’re unprepared.
Combining herbs is one of the smartest ways to manage health efficiently. A double Green Herb combination restores significantly more health than a single one and takes up the same amount of inventory space. Medical Injectors act as a full heal and are best saved for emergencies or boss fights.
Craft More
Crafting is one of the biggest advantages you have in Resident Evil Requiem, and you should be using it consistently. Both Leon and Grace rely heavily on crafted resources to stay alive, though their systems work a little differently.
Leon’s crafting is simple. If you combine scrap with gunpowder, you’ll produce ammo for various weapons. If you’re running low on handgun rounds or shotgun shells, crafting can quickly refill your supply before a difficult fight.
Grace’s crafting system is more complex but also more flexible. She uses infected blood combined with scrap to create ammo, medical injectors, and Hemolytic Injectors.
One well-placed Hemolytic Injector from behind can save you multiple rounds of ammo and prevent a corpse from mutating later.
Watch Your Health Carefully
Health management in Requiem is more dangerous than it first appears. When your status reads “Fine,” you can usually survive a heavy blow and escape. But once it drops to “Caution,” especially in the orange zone, you’re in real danger.
At low health, attacks that might normally leave you wounded can instead kill you outright. This becomes risky when you’re dealing with tougher enemies.
You can always reload your last save and try again if a fight goes badly, or you burn through more resources than you intended.
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