Leon Kennedy of the great hair and lovely jacket fame was once considered to be the protagonist of Resident Evil Requiem, however he is simply too much of a bad ass to be the main focus of a Resi game right now.
That is coming from game director Koshi Nakanishi, who in a recent Resident Evil Requiem video said good ol’ Leon simply isn’t the kind of person who would “jump at something like a bucket falling”, and therefore making a “horror game based around him” is tricky.
“No one wants to see Leon scared by every little thing,” Nakanishi said. “He’s actually quite a bad match for horror.”
Resident Evil Requiem will instead be headed up by FBI intelligence analyst Grace Ashcroft, who is described as “introverted and easily scared”. The developer wanted to have a character who “experiences horror from the same perspective as the player”. Grace – and by extension us as the player – will learn to overcome any fear she has as the game progresses.
In a separate PlayStation blog, Resident Evil Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa said the aim of this release was to “focus on horror”, and Grace is a “relatable” protagonist unlike series regulars Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield.
“By making Grace someone who reflects the player’s own vulnerability, we believe players will enjoy a gameplay experience filled with tension and immersion. When walking alone down a dark hallway, her breathing becomes erratic; when an enemy suddenly appears, she jumps in fright,” Kumazawa explained.
“Grace is a character with a low tolerance for fear, but she grows throughout the story and eventually begins to confront various horrors with courage. By the time players finish the game, we’re confident everyone will have come to love her!”
So, does this all mean Leon isn’t going to show up at all in Resident Evil Requiem? Nah, I don’t think so at all. Thankfully, there isn’t too much longer before we find out, with the next entry in the Resi series releasing on 27th February next year, across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Steam.
Our Alex has been hands-on with Resident Evil Requiem already, admitting that even the relatively small chunk he played made him scream so loudly that those in the booth next door heard him. I wonder what Leon would think of that?