Following the release of a new trailer for the highly anticipated Resident Evil Requiem, it may have just confirmed that the game will have open-world elements.
Resident Evil Requiem will take us back to Raccoon City, roughly 30 years after a nuke was dropped in an attempt to cover up Umbrella Corp. causing the T-Virus outbreak, thus plaguing the city with zombies and other horrific mutations.
Last year, we were treated to a plethora of fantastic gameplay trailers that introduced a brand-new character, Grace Ashcroft, and we later learned that the legendary Leon S. Kennedy will return in one last hurrah.
Being of no relation to the Ashcrofts of Resident Evil Code: Veronica, as far as we know, Grace is an FBI agent and daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft, a playable character and news reporter from Resident Evil Outbreak.
There have been rumours that Resident Evil Requiem could be open-world, or in some sections, at least, have large open areas to explore. Perhaps on a larger scale than what we had in 2021’s Resident Evil Village.
At the time of writing, the open-world elements have not been officially confirmed by Capcom. However, a recent trailer showcasing the power of NVIDIA graphics cards may have given us the strongest indication yet.
Could Resident Evil Requiem Be Open-World?
The trailer in question, which highlights the impressive 4K path tracing and DLSS 4, shows Grace wandering the streets. I assume these segments aren’t Raccoon City, as the environment doesn’t appear to be destroyed after the nuke was dropped in 1998. My guess would be that this is a nearby town, somewhere on the outskirts of Raccoon City – and with Grace being an FBI agent, her investigation leads her to the crumbled city of monsters.
That being said, that’s not to say that Raccoon City won’t be explorable to an extent, because despite being destroyed, it will be an epic moment for fans to see what the city looks like today.
While you could explore Raccoon City in the likes of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, despite giving vibes of having a huge location, they were all very linear.
I’m not saying that Raccoon City won’t be linear (because I don’t know yet) in Resident Evil Requiem. I’d say being linear is very likely, but it still has the potential to provide us with the most explorable game in the series yet. Thirty years on, the city will still be radioactive, but I’m sure Capcom will find a way for us to explore some of its outdoor locations. Only time will tell.
Resident Evil Requiem will be released next month on 27 February for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2.
