Resident Evil Requiem for Nintendo Switch 2

I'm not going to talk too much here about what a great game Resident Evil Requiem is, both as the ninth instalment in the quintessential survival horror series (and celebrating its 30th anniversary) and in terms of its quality as a modern zombie, scare and action game. For that, you're better off reading the full review of Resident Evil Requiem by Ben Lyons on Gamereactor.

I'll just say briefly that I agree with all the points, pros and cons highlighted by my colleagues, and that I also loved its balance between two styles (although I like to see it as three: Resident Evil 2, 4 and 7). One thing that fascinates me is how aware Capcom is of its own fiction and how it takes advantage of it. It's not just a very successful classic and modern game design; it's knowing how to put to good use the rules that it has been establishing for three decades.

Back in 1996, the first Resident Evil delighted users of the first PlayStation (and later Saturn, both with their CD-ROMs), and despite the tremendous effort involved in releasing the second instalment on a Nintendo 64 cartridge, it was in the GameCube era that Capcom cultivated a fervent community of Nintendo fans. The brilliant and pioneering Resident Evil Remake, the exclusive Resident Evil Zero prequel, and above all the groundbreaking Resident Evil 4 made the genre a favourite for users of the Kyoto-based manufacturer. But at the turn of that generation, Nintendo decided to stop competing in the race for raw power and leave it to others, which, despite Capcom's constant adaptations (with a strong presence on Wii and 3DS), left its players without the newest entries, or having to deal with the cloud on the first Switch. Until today.

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Resident Evil Re9uiem for Switch 2 marks the first time a Nintendo console has received a numbered main instalment since those days of RE4 at the beginning of the century, and once again features its most representative face (Leon S. Kennedy) on the cover. Best of all, it confirms what the more than worthy adaptations of Resident Evil: Biohazard (7) and Resident Evil: Village (8) on Nintendo Switch 2 had been suggesting: all three, the complete trilogy, are fully playable and thoroughly enjoyable on this compact and therefore limited hardware.

This is no longer the story of the past with Doom or The Witcher on Switch 1. There are compromises, of course, but they haven't stopped me from having a great time, feeling the tension and fear, or moving smoothly and accurately. Granted, those aliased green grasses (like many other items when you examine them) cut more than Leon's axe. Granted, there may be a slight hiccup when entering some areas. Granted, Grace and other characters haven't had their hair styled with a Dyson in this version, in the most glaring element of the whole. Granted, the backgrounds and props may look a tad blurry, or the DLSS tasks may give themselves away by trying to scale something more pixelated to keep everything running smoothly.

But really, if you like the Switch 2 experience (or its predecessor, or a Steam Machine-style handheld), believe me when I say that it's not disappointing at all. We'll soon be publishing our graphics and gameplay comparisons so you can see how you have to look at the finer details and more advanced effects to find the most glaring differences with the other consoles.

The game loads at full speed on Switch 2 and includes all the HDR options, achievements, and surround sound with adjustable positions you'd expect from a modern title, even if these terms unfortunately sound a bit unheard of on Nintendo consoles. The subtle stereo vibrations when running with Grace are top-notch, and the motion aiming is satisfying and takes you back to the days of the Wii and 3DS (we don't understand why it's not enabled by default, even on PS5; in fact, it's quite hidden). And by the way, this version is also very, very polished and optimised, with no trace of the many bugs, glitches and other issues we found in RE4R at launch.

For all these reasons, I highly recommend Resident Evil Requiem for anyone who only has a Switch 2 or who particularly enjoys switching from TV to handheld mode (with headphones, of course). If you're not looking for maximum fidelity and visual luxuries above all else, this is a very serious port that knows where to make sacrifices and therefore retains the shock value and immersion of the lead version, a great job by Capcom and automatically one of the best games in the Nintendo Switch 2's young catalogue.