Resident Evil Requiem throws you into a harrowing night alongside two very different protagonists: the battle-hardened Leon Kennedy and the resourceful newcomer Grace Ashcroft. Capcom's latest survival horror entry runs roughly 10 to 12 hours, but those hours will chew you up if you go in blind. Whether you're struggling with ammo scarcity, inventory headaches, or that terrifying creature you simply cannot fight, this guide covers the essential knowledge you need before your first session and go through your first hour og gameplay smoothly.
Leon and Grace
Understanding the core split between these two characters is the single most important thing you can do before pressing start. Their playstyles aren't just cosmetically different; they demand completely separate strategies.
Leon and Grace character overview
With Grace, you'll want to play cautiously, conserve every bullet, and think twice before engaging anything directly. With Leon, you have the firepower and mobility to go on the offensive, so use it.
Should You Fight or Run?
Here's something new players get wrong constantly: not every zombie needs to die. Ammo is deliberately scarce in Resident Evil Requiem, and burning through your reserves on low-priority targets will leave you dangerously exposed when a tough enemy or boss appears.
If you're passing through an area you won't revisit, consider kiting zombies away from the path you need and slipping past them. A single shot to a zombie's leg slows it down significantly, buying you the space to maneuver. Save your heavier firepower, especially shotgun shells, for elite enemies and bosses.
That said, when you do need to fight as Grace, there's a reliable trick: land one or two shots to a zombie's head, then execute the melee push when prompted. The zombie drops to the ground and takes several seconds to recover. Use that window to put 3 to 4 more rounds directly into its head. It's far more ammo-efficient than trying to track a moving target.
Mastering Melee Weapons
Leon's Hatchet
Leon's Hatchet is arguably his most valuable tool, and not just for dealing damage. Its parry function lets you negate incoming attacks from standard enemies and even certain boss strikes, turning a dangerous moment into a counter-attack opportunity. The catch: both attacking and parrying drain the Hatchet's durability rapidly. Sharpen it constantly, even mid-combat, because a fully depleted Hatchet leaves you without your best defensive option at the worst possible time.
Grace's Makeshift Knife
Grace's Makeshift Knife staggers enemies temporarily, which creates the opening for her push move. It also serves a critical function if you get grabbed: having a melee weapon equipped lets you break free from a grab significantly faster than if you're unarmed. Always keep it accessible.
How to Handle the Girl
During Grace's chapters, you'll encounter the Girl, a nightmarish creature that cannot be harmed by any weapon in your arsenal. The only viable response is to run. She appears multiple times, and each encounter follows the same rule: find a well-lit room and get inside it fast.
Light is the Girl's one weakness. Prioritize moving toward illuminated spaces whenever she's nearby. Also watch overhead for holes in the ceiling since she can drop down through them, so don't assume a lit corridor is automatically safe until you've checked above.
Crafting: What You Need to Know for Each Character
Resident Evil Requiem Beginner's Guide for Your First Hour of Gameplay
Crafting works differently depending on who you're playing, and mixing up the two systems is a common early mistake.
For Leon, crafting is straightforward: combine Scrap with Gunpowder to produce various ammo types. Simple and fast.
For Grace, the process involves more steps. You first need to unlock recipes by finding and using laser microscopes scattered through the environment. Once you have a recipe, you gather Infected Blood from environmental stains, transfusion bags, or fallen enemies, then combine it with Scrap to craft ammo and injectors. It takes more planning, but the payoff is access to powerful tools like the Hemolytic Injector, which causes a zombie to violently detonate.
Always craft when your inventory is getting cluttered. Combining multiple Green Herbs into a single stronger healing item frees up slots while making each herb more potent. The Med Injector functions identically to a triple Green Herb combination and fully restores your health in one use.
Inventory Management: How to Keep Things Under Control
Resident Evil Requiem Beginner's Guide for Your First Hour of Gameplay
Inventory pressure is constant in Resident Evil Requiem, and the two characters handle it through entirely different systems.
As Grace:
- Store non-essential items in Storage Crates found in safe rooms and retrieve them later
- Hunt for Hip Pouch upgrades to permanently expand your carry capacity
- Backtrack to deposit items rather than leaving them on the ground; a healing item you abandoned could be the one that saves you later
As Leon:
- Earn credits by eliminating enemies and collecting Tracking Modules
- Spend credits at Supply Boxes on weapons, ammo, armor, and upgrades
- Sell weapons you no longer need at Supply Boxes; you can repurchase them later if circumstances change
- One permanent inventory slot upgrade is available per Supply Box, so grab it when you can
Exploration Tips: What to Look For
Resident Evil Requiem Beginner's Guide for Your First Hour of Gameplay
Resident Evil Requiem rewards thorough exploration heavily. Here's what to keep your eyes open for:
- Yellow tape, ropes, or paint on crates and objects signal that they're destructible or interactable. Break them open for ammo and crafting materials.
- Hanging briefcases can be shot down and looted.
- Chains on ladders can be shot to drop the ladder and open new paths.
- Mr. Raccoon statuettes (25 total) make a faint wind-up toy sound when you're close. They're well hidden but worth tracking down.
- Charms provide passive buffs. Grace keeps them in her inventory; Leon attaches them directly to his weapons.
- Locked drawers, safes, and BSAA containers hold some of the best loot in the game. Passcodes are almost always found in nearby files, so read every document you pick up.
- Antique Coins are scattered on surfaces throughout the Care Center and reward you with significant upgrades for Grace. Don't skip them.
One thing that surprises many players: your flashlight does not attract zombies. Sound and line of sight are the only triggers for enemy awareness, so leave that light on without hesitation.
Weapons: Matching Firepower to the Threat
Leon's arsenal grows considerably as the campaign progresses. Knowing when to use each weapon type keeps your resources from running dry at critical moments:
- Pistols and handguns: Reliable against weaker infected and good for conserving heavier ammo
- Shotguns: Reserve these for tough variants, elites, and boss encounters where stopping power matters
- Sniper rifle: Exceptional for picking off distant targets and landing headshots without entering danger range
- The Requiem handgun: A powerful high-caliber pistol available to both Leon and Grace. It staggers elites and bosses reliably, but ammo is rare, so use it strategically
Is There Replay Value After the Credits Roll?
Absolutely. Finishing the campaign once is just the beginning. Resident Evil Requiem tracks your performance across a set of challenges that reward Challenge Points, which you spend to unlock gallery content, character model photos, alternate costumes for Leon and Grace, new weapons, and even infinite ammo cheats. Speedrunning the whole campaign under four hours or completing it without using a single healing item are among the harder objectives waiting for you on subsequent runs.
There are also 75 files spread across the game, a full set of 25 Mr. Raccoon statuettes, all the locked containers, and New Game Plus and Insanity Mode to push your skills further. One playthrough leaves a lot on the table.
If you're now ready for more Resident Evil Requiem, check out our latest guides to get you going.