Resident Evil Requiem’s Rhodes Hill Is the Ultimate RPD Remake

This nonfiction includes mild spoilers for the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center conception of Resident Evil Requiem.

With Resident Evil turning 30 this year, it’s nary astonishment that Requiem leans into nostalgia. Leon S. Kennedy is backmost successful a starring role, and the game’s trailers diagnostic ominous shots of a crumbling Raccoon City constabulary presumption – the labyrinthine haunted location that our floppy-haired leader had to combat done backmost successful 1998. But portion this latest variation of Resident Evil features its just stock of nonstop nods to the past, it’s Requiem’s caller ideas that really consciousness the astir nostalgic.

The story’s aboriginal sections, successful which you play fresh-faced protagonist Grace Ashcroft, are wherever Requiem astir successfully evokes the earliest days of Resident Evil. Despite utilizing the series’ modern first-person position by default, it’s classical ‘90s endurance fearfulness successful the truest sense, close down to the ink ribbons, should you wish. The gathering that Grace explores, the marque caller Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center, is simply a next-generation echo of Resident Evil 2’s Raccoon City Police Department, implicit with a puzzle-locked exit and deadly stalker prowling the halls. As overmuch arsenic it relies connected the triumphs of the past, though, this RPD tribute demonstrates the timeless qualities of Resident Evil, and however the aged hits tin beryllium made to consciousness similar modern breakthroughs.

Within conscionable a fewer steps, it’s wide that Rhodes Hill takes each of its foundational cues from the RPD. The archetypal locked doorway you brushwood yields lone to an ornate key. Around the corner, a metallic shutter prevents entree to the wider facility, the adjacent bare fusebox signalling that you’ll request to find a replacement constituent to progress. Beyond awaits a reception table flanked by sweeping stairs, the precise exemplary of Raccoon City’s extravagant main precinct. And, similar Resident Evil 2’s classical location, Rhodes Hill is divided into 2 halves, the westbound and eastbound wings, done which you request to scour eerie chambers – galore of which indispensable archetypal beryllium unlocked utilizing a steadily mounting postulation of keycards – successful hunt of a means of escape.

The enterance hallway of the Rhodes Hill Center echoes the plan of the RPD. | Image credit: Capcom

Requiem, if it’s not wide by now, is little reverential to Resident Evil 2, much indebted to it. That’s thankfully not excessively overmuch of a occupation erstwhile developer Capcom owns the archetypal slope of ideas, but it does locomotion the knife-edge betwixt remake and reimagining conscionable a small excessively dangerously astatine times. For instance, the center’s last exit is unlocked utilizing a trio of quartz cubes, each dispensed by ornate machines upon solving a three-symbol puzzle. Yes, it’s the RPD medallion puzzle successful an ill-fitting mask.

And yet this attack ne'er feels similar originative bankruptcy, nor does it consciousness similar cynical nostalgia. That’s partially owed to Capcom’s archetypal endurance fearfulness look having endured the trial of clip – Resident Evil 2’s fundamentals felt arsenic caller successful the 2019 remake arsenic they did 2 decades anterior – but mostly due to the fact that Rhodes Hill is arguably the strongest mentation of this situation format that the bid has offered up since we visited the RPD. More expansive than some the Baker Estate and Castle Dimitrescu, and possessing a myriad of absorbing loop routes and shortcuts, navigating its corridors is simply a afloat engaging experience, careless of whether you recognise the unsmooth outline of Raccoon City’s constabulary presumption oregon not.

The facility’s layout and the mode you prosecute with it are undoubtedly classical Resident Evil, but Capcom isn’t acrophobic to bring immoderate subtle modernity to the proceedings. Requiem pulls a instrumentality I’ve ne'er seen successful a Resident Evil before: galore of the center’s zombies are genuine characters, alternatively than generic force fodder. There’s the broad, burly cook whose methodical chores person you second-guessing your way done the kitchen. Out successful the adjoining corridor, there’s the antheral I cognize arsenic “Flick”, who obsessively turns the lights connected and off. Elsewhere, a rotting maid continues to scrub the floors, moving from country to country to cleanable up each the humor I’ve spilt. And supra the eating room, a would-be opera prima warbles from the balcony – a shrill dependable that sends 1 of the centre’s noise-sensitive patients into a murderous frenzy.

This is classical Resident Evil astatine its astir nostalgic, but rendered with the afloat cognition that the past isn’t rather capable to make existent magic.“

Such chiseled personalities are made imaginable acknowledgment to Requiem’s accent connected old-school endurance horror. Despite the Resident Evil 2 homages, playing arsenic Grace feels much akin to exploring the Spencer Mansion successful Capcom’s bold 1996 original. This is simply a brutal situation wherever avoiding confrontation is the overmuch smarter play (especially since, successful a motion to the 2002 remake, defeated zombies tin instrumentality to beingness arsenic overmuch much assertive “Blister Heads”). But wherever the comparatively elemental archetypal Resident Evil often saw you fleeing threats and moving past zombies, the much precocious force AI systems of contiguous mean Requiem adopts a much stealthy approach, encouraging you to cautiously tiptoe astir foes – thing fearfulness games successful wide person adopted implicit the past decennary oregon so.

By shifting the engagement benignant distant from cautious shooting assemblage to tense stealth, the situation requires acold less enemies, frankincense allowing the improvement squad the clip and resources to marque each zombie consciousness unique. And, since your tasks person you looping and backtracking done the building, you repeatedly sneak by the aforesaid zombies, contributing to the consciousness that you stock the abstraction with precise existent (albeit besides precise dead) people, alternatively than a autobus load of replicated video crippled assets.

This attack lends Rhodes Hill a precise antithetic ambiance from immoderate different Resident Evil location, including those that await successful the 2nd fractional of Requiem. While determination is admittedly a comedic constituent to these creatures retaining elements of their surviving personalities, it’s besides unnerving, and the thought of contending with a person alternatively than a faceless force is inherently much frightening – that’s portion of what makes the series’ stalker characters, similar Jack Baker and Mr. X, truthful scary. He whitethorn deterioration that comic small hat, but you’d ne'er situation to halt and laughter astatine it. Requiem’s retooling of the ambiance present is impervious that honing that iconic endurance gameplay is arsenic overmuch successful the immaterial arsenic it is successful the carnal things you do.

Rhodes Hill's cleaner is conscionable 1 of respective eerie characters you'll encounter. | Image credit: Capcom

Of course, Capcom knows that characterful enemies are nary replacement for terrifying stalkers, and truthful Rhodes Hill has a mates of its own. First up is “The Girl”, a towering, gangly, bug-eyed hag that ensures your archetypal content of the Chronic Care Center is suitably horrifying. Later, you’ll person to contend with the eastbound wing’s guardian, “Chunk” – a colossal, baby-faced, hallway-filling mound of soma that moves faster than his value should logically allow. Both run successful the classical stalker manner of prowling the corridors and dynamically impeding your progress. There are absorbing alterations to the formula, with The Girl utilizing Alien: Isolation-style hidden pathways to instrumentality you by astonishment successful a mode Mr. X could lone imagination of, but these enemies are undeniably adhering to the fearfulness playbook primitively written for 1999’s Resident Evil 3 and its relentless Nemesis.

Unlike Nemesis and his much modern relatives, though, 1 of Requiem’s stalkers isn’t an invincible obstacle. Against each odds, the gargantuan Chunk tin beryllium killed, removing this terrifying chess portion from the board. Such a feat is simply a gangly challenge… well, for Grace astatine least. Leon is overmuch amended equipped to instrumentality down not conscionable Chunk, but each of Rhodes Hill’s zombies, and his accomplishment connected the country pursuing Grace’s lengthy expedition makes for a fascinating rotation connected 1 of Resident Evil’s astir beloved classical features: the dual playthrough.

The series’ aboriginal games enactment a batch of accent connected playing done the communicative twice, seeing the aforesaid situation from 2 antithetic perspectives. Exploring the archetypal game’s Spencer Mansion is simply a notably antithetic acquisition depending connected whether you play arsenic Jill Valentine oregon Chris Redfield. Capcom would remix this attack for Resident Evil 2, utilizing the “A/B” playthrough strategy to guarantee Leon and Claire’s runs done the RPD had absorbing differences. While Requiem doesn’t follow this thought wholesale, you tin spot the signifier of it erstwhile Leon arrives connected the scene. After tiptoeing astir Rhodes Hill arsenic Grace, cautiously picking your battles and conserving ammunition, you get to research the country again arsenic the practically superheroic Leon. With a caller determination acceptable seemingly modelled aft John Wick, Agent Kennedy tin blast, kick, and hack his mode done each the zombies that antecedently saw you fleeing for the information of the well-lit harmless room.

This power is undeniably cathartic. Because the determination remains successful situ, each the problems you encountered arsenic Grace tin present beryllium tackled head-on by Leon. Those Blister Heads that were clogging up the lounge and forcing you to instrumentality the agelong route? A shotgun blast to the lumpy look volition marque you consciousness amended astir each the occupation they caused you. Leon’s deadly arsenal tin marque abbreviated enactment of that burly chef, crook Chunk into a puddle of mush, and interruption unfastened locked cupboards that were inaccessible to Grace. In short, Requiem is capable to usage the aforesaid determination to connection a wholly different, complementary acquisition by shifting the position and toolset.

If it weren’t for the information that Leon’s clip astatine Rhodes Hill was truthful brief, I’d accidental this was the eventual mentation of Resident Evil’s dual playthrough idea. As it stands, it’s simply the champion thought of it – which inactive means his swift, bloody crusade done what minutes earlier felt similar the astir frightening spot connected Earth is 1 of Requiem’s precocious points. A highest rooted successful a classical idea, but elevated by a modern twist.

It’s that doctrine that makes the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center enactment truthful well: this is classical Resident Evil astatine its astir nostalgic, but rendered with the afloat cognition that the past isn’t rather capable to make existent magic. The injection of subtle modern ideas, from Leon’s action-fuelled retread of the halls to the characterful zombies and accrued accent connected stealth, elevates the series’ top hits, making it consciousness similar experiencing them for the archetypal clip each implicit again. Rhodes Hill whitethorn deliberately evoke your cherished memories of the RPD, but by galvanizing the aged with the modern, Capcom has made the eventual tribute to the past: thing new.

Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.