Resident Evil has always been an interesting balancing act between fresh experimentation and reverence for previous horror games. The series has reinvented itself multiple times, embracing different approaches to the horror genre that range from the painfully claustrophobic to the ridiculously bombastic. Resident Evil Requiem does a great job of reflecting that with its monster design, with enemies ranging from throwback monsters to creepy new zombies. Requiem has some real fun with the big threats that hunt the players, including some monster confrontations that pay off decade-old enemy encounters.
However, Requiem also features some of the most realistic enemies ever in the series. In doing so, the game breaks from a subtle franchise tradition that’s reflective of the purposefully absurd universe that it has constructed. It’s a clever way to flip the gameplay style mid-action, but it takes the action into a more grounded perspective that some players don’t appreciate amid the rest of the horror action that defines the game.
Requiem Is The First Mainline Resident Evil Where You Fight Humans
For the most part, the Resident Evil series has pitted players against hordes of the undead and mutated monsters. Even when there are large groups of apparently human enemies, such as the initial encounter with the villagers in Resident Evil 4, it always turns out that they are infected with a new strain of whatever bioweapon is at play in the game. Resident Evil Requiem largely follows the same model, with players encountering all sorts of monstrous variants and infected enemies, with the closest thing to duels with other people occurring during boss battles. However, Leon’s segment of the game eventually forces players to face off with a black-ops team of mercenaries sent to dispose of him.
This forces the player to actually face off against other unenhanced people, with the most dangerous of them actually deploying a good number of weapons and tactics in their extended duel with Leon. Led by a commando implied to be HUNK, a formerly established commando working for Umbrella, these encounters serve as a direct contrast to the way that most of Resident Evil‘s enemies are relatively mindless and simple monsters that need to be dispatched by the heroes. In contrast, the elite guardse have more specific motivations and tricky tactics, requiring the players to respond in kind if they want any chance of overcoming them. It’s an interesting addition to the game, but it’s also one that has left some fans conflicted.
Why Some Fans Love The Connection Commandos (And Why Others Hate Them)
The idea behind the commandos is an interesting one, a unique challenge that no other mainline entry in the series has afforded. Many of the lead characters of Resident Evil are incredibly capable action heroes, with the likes of Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Leon Kennedy all capable of delivering amazing acrobatics and feats of strength. It’s easy to imagine them fending off legions of the undead or giant monsters through a mix of sheer grit, clever tactics, and dangerous weapons. Seeing them go up against a different kind of enemy that can think and plan their way to victory using different methods just the same is a clever twist on a formula that usually relies on brutal and almost animalistic impulses.
It’s not the lumbering dangers of something like Mr. X or Nemesis, or the non-stop transformations of Miranda. It’s a more grounded threat, directly reflective of the heroes. For some fans, that’s why the commandos section of Requiem is so exciting. The commandos have weapons that can tear through Leon like tissue paper, and actually take the time to strategize around their opponents. As a result, the combat encounters against them feel especially intense, building to a final face-off with the commander that forces players to counter someone with the same basic skill set as Leon. It’s a clever challenge and one that reinforces the very human danger that lies at the heart of the franchise.
On the other hand, some fans come to Resident Evil exactly because they want to face off with monsters and zombies, not humans. The battle against the mercenaries feels more in line with a Call of Duty game, taking players out of the horror-action tone that otherwise defines Leon’s segments of the game. While the complexity of the actual battle might be more engaging, it somewhat blunts the monster design and creepy atmosphere that otherwise define the series. For some fans, it feels out of place on a gameplay level, especially as players have to fight through multiple control rooms full of soldiers. While the concept does make sense on a story level amidst all of Zeno’s posturing and the Connection’s conspiracies, having the commandos face off with the player feels like a distraction from the game players have been engaged in. On top of that, speculation that the lead soldier is actually the fan-favorite character HUNK makes his eventual death at the hands of Leon all the more frustrating for those who’d been awaiting his return, seemingly cutting off that branch of the franchisep.
Directly fighting human enemies in Resident Evil is an interesting tweak on the central gameplay, finally providing players with an enemy that’s just as quick-witted and dangerous as they are. It’s also the kind of boss that separates itself so heavily from the primary gameplay loop that it can feel like a distraction. It’s still the same underlying action, quickly lethal and tension-filled struggles, but with an opponent who will reposition or unleash a hail of gunfire as soon as possible. As opposed to much of Resident Evil Requiem, which is focused on building on the classic archetypes and set-pieces that came before and refining them for raw adrenaline, these battles feel like they’re from a different game. Regardless, it’s a clever way to keep players on their toes as they advance further into the game, and it sets up one of the most unexpected encounters in the game. It’s also far from the only way Requiem plays with pacing, delivering on an experience that revs up at a terrific speed throughout.
