By now, we’re all abundantly aware that the nextResident Evilgameis coming next year, and it’s calledResident Evil: Requiem. It’ll star a rather deep-cut character,will have third-and-first-person modes at launch, and will seek toreveal the “hidden truth” behind Raccoon City.
That said, the subtitle of Requiem is more than just a clever way forCapcomto stick the number “9” into the marketing — Resident Evil Re9ieum. And it’s also more than just a way to continue the tradition set forth byResident Evil 7: BiohazardorResident Evil: Village (RE:8). According to the game’s developers, it has a rather deep meaning, one that could help shed further light on the story.
Too Many People Have Been Impacted By Raccoon City
As revealed during Thursday’s Capcom Spotlight presentation, where Resident Evil: Requiem received a new trailer, with some short gameplay footage, “Requiem” is an ode to those who’ve come before in the Resident Evil series, specifically those directly impacted by the events in Raccoon City.
“The series became really popular with stories set during the original zombie outbreak, and since then we’ve seen a lot of characters face hardships due to Raccoon City, who have faced those hardships and grown,” art director Tomonori Takano said.
Director Koshi Nakanishi further called it a eulogy, while also noting that “Requiem” marks a milestone.
“There were a lot of characters who were involved in the original outbreak, who lost their lives or were changed drastically as a result of it,” Nakanishi said. “So many characters have come out of Resident Evil. This game is a Requiem, a eulogy to those who came before.
“Resident Evil is a series that was born from Umbrella and the Raccoon City zombie outbreak, and we chose ‘Requiem’ to mark a milestone in the series.”
If it wasn’t already abundantly clear, there is going to be a lot of history to revisit and unpack when Requiem comes out. The return to Raccoon City made it clear, and the reasoning behind why “Requiem” was chosen further highlights the importance of all those past experiences.
