Raccoon City was the American setting the place Resident Evil started. After a number of instalments set all over the world, Resident Evil Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa shared why the collection is returning to the ruins of this iconic metropolis.
In a PlayStation Blog interview, Kumazawa defined that after newer titles that had explored “the broader universe” of Resident Evil, Capcom needed a narrative that “continues the overarching narrative rooted in Raccoon City and the key machinations of the Umbrella Company.”
Following the T-virus outbreak, the US authorities ordered a missile strike to destroy town with a view to eradicate the virus. In having gamers return to its ruins about 30 years later, Kumazawa mentioned that the group additionally needed a personality “with a private connection to town itself,” introducing Grace Ashcroft, the presumed daughter of Resident Evil: Outbreak’s Alyssa Ashcroft.
Kumazawa described Grace as a “relatable protagonist,” including, “By making Grace somebody who displays the participant’s personal vulnerability, we consider gamers will get pleasure from a gameplay expertise stuffed with pressure and immersion. When strolling alone down a darkish hallway, her respiratory turns into erratic; when an enemy all of a sudden seems, she jumps in fright. Grace is a personality with a low tolerance for worry, however she grows all through the story and ultimately begins to confront varied horrors with braveness.”
The sport’s director Koshi Nakanishi had additionally echoed this sentiment through the recreation’s look at a Capcom showcase, when explaining that the choice to not have Leon Kennedy as a protagonist was that he would have been “a foul match for horror.”
Kumazawa additionally elaborated on Resident Evil Requiem’s idea of “addictive worry,” a compulsion to need to know what is going to occur subsequent although you would possibly discover it terrifying. “The rationale behind this idea is that latest entries within the collection, similar to Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4, whereas nonetheless horror titles, leaned closely into motion,” he defined. “With the most recent installment we needed to return to a recreation that places a robust give attention to horror.”
The return to Raccoon City and to the collection’ horror roots can be good timing for Resident Evil’s thirtieth anniversary subsequent yr, when Resident Evil Requiem releases. It hits Xbox Sequence X|S, PS5, and PC on February 27, 2026.