And it looked fabulous.
I’ve missed out on Resident Evil Requiem preview opportunities twice now: once at Summer Game Fest 2025 (because there’s no chance I’m visiting the USA right now), and a second time in Sydney a couple months ago (due to a family emergency). Needless to say, I was elated when I finally, finally got to go hands-on with Grace’s demo last week at Nintendo’s headquarters in Melbourne. And on a Switch 2, no less!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock since last June, Requiem has always been pitched as a horror-centric experience starring Grace Ashcroft, a wet behind the ears FBI analyst who just happens to be the daughter of Resident Evil Outbreak‘s Alyssa Ashcroft. Of late, we now know that Requiem also stars the iconic Leon S. Kennedy in action-packed encounters, but that’s neither here nor there for the purposes of this preview.
Grace’s twenty-minute demo experience looks a lot like the Resident Evil 7 “Beginning Hour” demo, and plays like Resident Evil Village‘s House Beneviento basement. The combination of those two set pieces is not only effective, but absolutely terrifying. Armed with nothing but a lighter and a single empty bottle, Grace wakes up in a strange house, stalked by a terrifying creature who likes to bite the heads of corpses. You’re not dead yet, but the monster seems happy to make you an exception.
You’ve had seven months to read up on how the demo experience plays out, using light and dark to tremendous effect. You’ve also read how players can switch between first- and third-person cameras at any point in the game (provided you’re not in a cutscene). I don’t really need to get back into all of that, though I will say I agree with the sentiment that first-person will be better playing as Grace, and likely third-person for Leon.
I’ll also say that I really, really want to play more.
What is new, in terms of previews like this, is how Requiem performs on the Switch 2. In short, it’s amazing. Playing in docked mode, Requiem holds its own (just like another Capcom game, Pragmata, looked damn near identical to me on Switch 2 as compared to my GeForce 2070 Super-powered PC). It doesn’t stutter, I never experienced pop-in, everything’s running natively and not being streamed from the cloud or anything like that.
Simply put, Requiem on Switch 2 is an option I would easily recommend to those who enjoy Resident Evil. I’ll be playing on PS5 for Trophies, of course, but you won’t be doing yourself a disservice if you choose to play on Nintendo’s newest. Those without a PC or another console might want to hold off on Requiem, though, if only to play 7 and Village first as they both arrive on the console on the same day. Spoilt for choice!
Before I forget, I mightn’t have been able to play Grace’s demo back in November of last year, but I was able to send through some questions to producer Masato Kumazawa; you can read that entire interview right here.
Expect Resident Evil Requiem from 27 February 2026 on Windows PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS5, and Switch 2.
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Resident Evil Requiem27 February 2026PC PS5 Switch 2 Xbox Series S & X
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