I really enjoyed Resident Evil 7. Over the past ten years or so, the franchise had slowly drifted from its roots through a mix of mainline releases and side projects. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (to give it its full name) brought that original spirit back and reminded everyone why Capcom continues to lead the horror space. It pulled off two major feats at once: it paid respect to the beginnings of Resident Evil, while also laying a clear path for what would come next over the following decade. Today, it still feels like an unmistakable landmark—one of Capcom’s bold statements—and even with Requiem now out, its impact is easy to see.
Grace Ashcroft’s standout new addition in Requiem simply wouldn’t be possible without Resident Evil 7. The 2017 entry took cues from films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Evil Dead, and Saw, resulting in a setting that feels intensely grounded and genuinely unsettling. The story plays out largely in one place, with a protagonist who is deliberately—yes!—fragile and easy to overwhelm, rather than a “superhero” of the kind we see from the implausibly unstoppable Chris Redfield, who seems permanently built for punching boulders.
After the ramped-up chaos of Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, Ethan Winters’ harrowing stretch across a few nights in rural Louisiana was a welcome change. It moved at a calmer pace, yet still managed to push your pulse higher than the action-heavy games that came before Resident Evil 7. You can spot a comparable tempo in Village as it feeds into Requiem. Ethan starts by scrambling on his hands and knees, staring in disbelief at his reattached hand, and burning through roughly half a magazine of ammunition just to keep a clearly unwell Jack Baker at bay. Then—somehow—Village turns Ethan into the very superman he was supposed to stand against in that earlier game. Still, I think that was intentional: let us spend the opening stretch dodging Lady Dimitrescu, then reward us in the back half with a high-energy spree that helps bleed off pressure. It’s more Cabin in the Woods than Texas Chain Saw Massacre, more Alien vs. Predator than Alien.
In the years since Resi 7, we’ve also received remakes—especially the standout Resident Evil 2 Remake (go ahead and argue with me). Those titles tend to strike a slightly better balance between action and survival, but they still rely heavily on firearms, flamethrowers, chainsaws, and hatchets to put down the shambling undead. By the time Requiem launched, long-time Resident Evil fans were ready for something new. There’s another tonal adjustment here, just not a full reinvention on the scale of Resident Evil 7.
Then comes Grace Ashcroft. She isn’t only a superbly timed upgrade to the Resident Evil protagonist lineup—she’s also among the most carefully layered characters the series has seen (at least, based on first impressions). Right from the start, three key things become clear about her: she’s terrified of what’s happening around her, she’s completely outside her element, and she won’t back away or run from any situation. That’s the heart of her character setup, and it creates a horror hero who feels compelling and personal (she’s just as scared as you are), while also strengthening the story’s momentum (nothing will stop her from pressing forward).
Two major elements sharpen and support how her character is built: first, her performance. Honestly, good grief—someone get Angela Sant’Albano an award, like, yesterday. The 25-year-old American/Italian actress turns in a fantastic portrayal here, and it’s also her first step into video games. It would have been easy for Grace to feel flat while she moves through the hospice that dominates much of the game’s first half, but that’s not what happens. Her fear isn’t one-note—it’s braided into her determination, sometimes even tangled up with it. Her overriding, all-consuming drive is to finish this – whatever the hell it is – to the end. At times she’s stubborn, at times she’s steady, and at other moments she’s so emotionally overwhelmed that she goes numb. Every line and tremor from Grace’s mouth felt believable to me, and that’s not easy to pull off in a setting as wildly strange as the world of Resident Evil.
Now it’s time to deal with the Leon-shaped situation hanging over everything. His sections in Requiem are serviceable. I honestly think the experience would be better if they were cut entirely, even if that meant a shorter game focused solely on Grace. Still, I understand why Capcom kept him involved; if Requiem had been nothing but a long, extended Grace segment, I might have had a full heart-related event. Leon—someone whose vibe somehow mixes gloomy moodiness with camp—works as a counterbalance for Grace, acting like a pressure release right when things are about to become too much. Since Ethan Winters was generally more comfortable with a firearm and a knife than Grace, Capcom had more room to let him “off the leash,” so to speak, during Resident Evil 7. Grace doesn’t get that same flexibility, regardless of whether she’s holding Leon’s hefty, signature weapon.
So, about this Requiem DLC then. I really hope it’s devoted entirely to Grace. The second half of Resident Evil Requiem already feels like it can stand on its own, and the ideal follow-up would be another Grace-focused chapter that digs deeper into the character we’ve met so far. I think (judging by the near-universal praise the game has earned already) Capcom understands just how much players value the first part of 2026’s first genuine GOTY contender. Give me another place to explore. Make another terrifying thing for me to chase (nope, still not done with that). Let Angela Sant’Albano shine, pouring as much depth as she wants into Grace, and properly cement this white-haired heroine as a major presence in the franchise going forward. She absolutely deserves it.
The only drawback is that we’re going to have to wait. “It will take some time, so we appreciate your patience,” said Resident Evil Requiem’s director, Koshi Nakanishi, when discussing the DLC. But that’s okay—apparently we’ll be getting some kind of bonus mini-game in May. For now, I guess we’ll have to make do with that.