Last updated: 25 June 2026

Resident Evil Requiem Beginner Guide & Tips

Resident Evil Requiem (released February 27, 2026) splits its campaign between two very different characters: FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft, whose chapters demand stealth, careful resource management, and puzzle-solving, and DSO veteran Leon S. Kennedy, who fights through the same nightmare with an arsenal and RE4-style action. Understanding how those two playstyles work — and how to survive the resource-scarce early hours — is the difference between a tense, satisfying run and a frustrating spiral of game-overs.

01Know Your Two Protagonists

Resident Evil Requiem does not ask you to pick a character at the start — the story weaves between Grace and Leon automatically, so you will spend time in both pairs of shoes whether you plan to or not. That means you need to internalize two completely different mindsets before the opening chapter ends.

Grace Ashcroft is an FBI intelligence analyst facing infected enemies for the first time. Her aim is deliberately shaky, she takes damage more readily than Leon, and her starting loadout is minimal — a couple of small pistols and not much ammunition. Her sections are built around observation, evasion, and environmental puzzles. Fighting every threat is not just inadvisable; it will burn through your supplies before a critical encounter and leave you stranded. Think of Grace as the heir to Resident Evil 7 and 8's claustrophobic first-person terror.

Leon S. Kennedy arrives as the series veteran he is. His sections are third-person by default and draw clear inspiration from Resident Evil 4 — plentiful firearms, a hatchet for melee parries, the ability to pick up and use enemy weapons, and BSAA supply containers scattered through his zones that hand out items and upgrades. Leon can and should fight; his campaign rewards aggression in a way Grace's simply does not.

02Choose Your Perspective

Both protagonists can be experienced in first-person or third-person at any time through the settings menu. Grace defaults to first-person, which tightens the field of view and amplifies the horror — sounds are more directional and threats feel closer. Third-person gives a wider view of the environment, making it easier to spot enemies before they spot you and to judge whether a gap is crossable.

• First-person (Grace default): More immersive and tense; sound design hits harder. Enemy footsteps and ambient noise become critical information. Recommended if you want maximum atmosphere.
• Third-person (Leon default): Easier spatial awareness for combat and evasion. Better for tracking multiple enemies, judging parry timing, and navigating tight corridors without missing items.
• Neither choice affects difficulty — swap freely based on what helps you most in a given section. Some players switch to third-person for Grace's pursuer sequences and back to first-person for puzzles.

03Resource & Ammo Management

Ammunition is sparse across both campaigns, but the pressure falls much harder on Grace. Every bullet should do useful work; firing blind or panic-spraying is a reliable way to hit a fight completely dry. The following table shows how the two inventories differ:

Open the crafting menu in the pause screen regularly — do not save gunpowder for "later" in Grace's sections because later sometimes means an unkillable pursuer is between you and the next safe room. Craft healing items and ammo whenever materials allow, and dismantle duplicate or low-priority items into scrap to fund higher-priority recipes.

04Surviving Grace's Horror Sections

Grace's chapters are where most new players struggle. The temptation is to treat every encounter as something to be solved with bullets. Resist it. Running from a fight is not a failure state — it is often the correct strategy.

• Enemies track by sound. Walking speed generates far less noise than sprinting. When you know a threat is close, switch to a walk or crouch and pick a route rather than bolting in a straight line.
• Use distractions. Glass bottles thrown to the opposite side of a room reliably draw enemies away from a doorway. Lights being switched on and environmental triggers (flushing toilets, knocking objects) also distract standard enemies and can cause infighting when multiple threats are present.
• Torch discipline. Keep your flashlight or lighter on whenever you are actively exploring — it reveals hidden items, breakable containers, and important notes. However, in pursuer sequences it also signals your position, so learn to toggle it on only when essential.
• The Girl pursuer. She is immune to standard damage, can move through walls and the ceiling, and will end your run quickly if engaged directly. She is, however, vulnerable to sustained light. The priority is avoidance: stay low, use crouch-hiding under objects, and throw distractions. Only use your torch aggressively against her as a last resort because the same light that slows her also shows her where you are.
• Leg shots slow, headshots stop. When combat is unavoidable with standard enemies, a bullet to the knee staggers and slows enough for you to create distance; a headshot with Grace's pistol drops most standard infected before they can close in, conserving more ammo than body shots.
• Ink ribbons are a resource. On Standard and Insanity difficulties, saving at typewriters costs an ink ribbon. Treat each ribbon as something you spent — only save after meaningful progress, not before every small room.

05Playing Leon's Action Campaign

Leon's sections shift the game into a more aggressive register. Enemies are plentiful but so is firepower, and holding back too much will let crowds build up around you. The RE4-style combat loop rewards reading enemy patterns, using the environment, and mixing firearms with melee.

• Parry with the hatchet. Leon's hatchet can deflect incoming attacks. A successful parry staggers the attacker and opens a brief window for a follow-up shot or melee combo. The hatchet has limited durability, so save parries for dangerous swings rather than using it on every grunt.
• Pick up enemy weapons. Fallen enemies sometimes drop weapons or improvised tools. These are free damage and worth grabbing even if you immediately discard them after use — they preserve your main ammunition.
• Hit BSAA containers. Containers marked with BSAA insignia hold items and weapon upgrade components. Clear a room before hunting them to avoid being interrupted during a loot animation.
• Manage your briefcase layout. Leon's Tetris-style inventory means item shapes matter. Rotate and arrange regularly so high-value items (healing herbs, key weapons, grenades) do not block capacity when you need to pick something up urgently.
• Boss encounters are checkpointed. Leon's sections have more frequent auto-saves and checkpoints than Grace's, so don't be afraid to attempt boss patterns aggressively — dying costs less progress here. Use that safety net to learn attack windows quickly.

06Universal Tips for Both Campaigns

Several mechanics apply to both Grace and Leon and are easy to miss in the opening hours.

• Quick Turn. Press Circle (PlayStation) / B (Xbox) while holding the thumbstick back to spin 180 degrees instantly. This is faster than manually rotating the camera and is critical for breaking away from a chase or repositioning mid-fight without losing a second to camera control.
• Never stop crafting. Check your materials after every room. Surplus gunpowder sitting in your inventory at the item box is wasted potential. Craft ammo, healing items, and makeshift knives before depositing anything into storage.
• Read every document. Files, notes, and environmental text carry both lore and mechanical hints — enemy weaknesses, safe combination previews, and item locations are frequently hidden in readable text. The torch is your tool for finding them; dark corners often hide the most useful pages.
• Challenge screen unlocks bonuses. The challenge screen in the pause menu tracks in-game achievements. Completing challenges earns reward points you spend on concept art, character models, and powerful modifiers including unlimited ammo for specific weapons on replay — worth checking periodically even on a first run.
• Enemies retain behavioral memory. Standard infected sometimes react to contextual stimuli — a light turning on, a familiar sound — based on who they were before infection. Pay attention to the environment to predict unprompted movements and avoid triggering unnecessary aggression.