10 Most Emotional Moments in Resident Evil Requiem

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Published Mar 22, 2026, 10:30 AM EDT

Stephanie Watel is a writer for DualShockers. She has over three years of experience writing about all things video games, from news to lists to in-depth guides in a variety of genres. Her strongest niches start with RPGs and also include platformers, horrors of every variety, cozy builders and sims. She also enjoys a good looter shooter and the occasional gacha adventure.

Games have been her biggest passion since getting a Nintendo 64 for Christmas in the 90's and she carries that passion into all of her published content. With DualShockers, she specializes in crafting polished, informative, and enjoyable gaming guides that help pave a clear path for players and don't skimp on the details that matter most.

The Resident Evil franchise has gone through something of a metamorphosis in recent years that's helped put it back on track for the most part, in terms of how it needs to approach its particular brand of horror in the modern era. It's relinquished much of the campiness that worked in earlier titles and later the fast-paced, Mission Impossible-esque action sequences that harshly divided the fanbase.

Its latest approach comes in Resident Evil Requiem, which feels like it's found a near-perfect balance of chilling horror and satisfying action that doesn't feel redundant or overcooked in its execution. It brings a handful of beloved characters back into the fold, who each have a solid role to play without reducing them to fan service fodder (well, except for HUNK maybe). Meanwhile, newcomers like Grace Ashcroft are impressive additions that don't fall flat or rely on the weight of franchise veterans like Leon to provide meaning to the story.

Resident Evil Requiem: Hardest Bosses, Ranked

These mutant monstrosities will put you through your paces.

All in all, this game is by far one of the most emotional installments the series has had in years, with plenty of moments throughout Grace and Leon's journey that have already become quite memorable.

10 Zombies Remembering Themselves

What's Going On In Their Heads?

When talking about the Resident Evil franchise, there's one universal element that always comes to mind — zombies. They're a fixture of every mainline and spin-off game, even the movies. They're the mindless horde that serves the corporate hivemind that is Umbrella, claiming countless victims, from civilians all the way up to the President himself, and even further across the globe.

However, while the trope lives on, Resident Evil Requiem did manage to do something that I didn't expect after so many years of bullet-blazing faceless crowds of zombies from one game to the next. Something that, in hindsight, is so simple and yet so narratively compelling. When you encounter zombies in the halls of the Rhodes Hill Care Center, you'll notice that many of them aren't as mindless as those seen in past games. They appear to still retain some semblance of who they were before, inevitably being infected by Victor Gideon during the Code 6 lockdown that happened once Leon arrived.

They talk to themselves or others who aren't actually there, and linger in locations that are of significance to them. A zombified man in a suit reacts when lights are turned on in the halls, not as a visceral reaction (like predator to prey), but because he once helped manage the comings and goings of this care facility. Meanwhile, a zombified woman in a maid uniform desperately tries to clean pools of blood near a bathroom, fretting over "the mess", and she'll even blame it on you if she spots you.

Elsewhere, you'll see doctors and nurses who once all worked together, now lurking in the shadows with no other intent but to kill rather than save lives. To take it even further, there are two siren-like zombies whose singing can often be heard echoing from rooms away. Named Selena Corey and Eileen Zimmerson, files discovered in the game reveal that they were two patients who were receiving treatment for histrionic personality disorder, before the care center's outbreak claimed them as well.

This creative decision was an excellent approach by the developers to not only amplify the horror element of the game even further, but to add a nuanced dose of empathy to the most emotionally overlooked aspect of the franchise. This time, pulling the trigger carries at least a bit more weight.

9 Leon Returning to RPD

Welcome (Back) Leon

While Leon Kennedy returning decades later to Raccoon City is something we've known about since the first trailer for Resident Evil Requiem, walking across rubble to the crumbling R.P.D. headquarters in the game itself still hits plenty hard. I'll admit that I made it a slow walk to the front gate, taking in the sight of what was once a bastion of safety during the outbreak that started it all.

Of course, if you really put yourself in Leon's shoes, it hits a million times harder. A rookie cop who had no ego or power complex, only an unshakable will and desire to help those in need. That same will has driven him back here after so many years, even after having his sense of trust in others, especially those in power, shaken time and again. The visible emotions on his face as he walks through the halls and offices of the police station are palpable. The cycles of regret over not being able to save his fellow officers or the city he was recently sworn in to protect. You'll even find one remaining zombified officer to put out of their misery.

This was absolutely one of the most emotional locales in the entire game, and a journey in itself to explore in the brief time we get there (before a familiar figure in a trenchcoat crashes the party). Finding all the familiar rooms and easter eggs was a somber joy that I appreciated them including in the first place, and it helped bring a sense of closure to one of the franchise's most notable landmarks.

8 The S.T.A.R.S. Office

Barry Even Left Us a Souvenir

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Speaking of familiar rooms, one that definitely deserves its own special recognition is the S.T.A.R.S. Office. Found on the west side of the second floor, it's ironically one of the most intact parts of the whole building, a time capsule with plenty of mementos for you to find that hearken back to various characters and their respective games in the franchise.

There, you'll find former Captain Wesker's adjacent office with the S.T.A.R.S. emblem displayed prominently on the wall, along with desks and items belonging to some familiar elite members such as Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, and Chris Redfield. Furthermore, there's an unspoken puzzle you can solve that was actually left by Barry for the department's young recruits. While it takes a bit of running around, the Charms you get as a reward are well worth the effort.

Walking through the S.T.A.R.S. Office felt like the cherry on top of a nostalgic return to one of Resident Evil's most well-known locations, and it's even more emotional and poetic to think that Leon will likely be the last person to ever see it.

7 Leon's Fight Comes Full Circle

From Rookie to Savior

It's no secret that Leon's journey has been a long and arduous one, from his first day on the job as a rookie cop to a forcibly recruited special agent for the government, and finally with the DSO to focus his efforts on combating bioterrorism across the globe. His experiences with numerous catastrophes and seemingly endless fights that wind up with countless innocent victims have since left him jaded to an extent, but despite all that, his resolve to still fight for the betterment of the world hasn't changed in the least.

However, this story adds yet another more symbolic layer of justification for his actions that looms over him throughout the entire game. Similar to others who were also exposed to it, Leon has a residual form of the T-Virus (known as Raccoon City Syndrome), and his infection has escalated to stage three. While tracking down Victor Gideon and the cause of the same mysterious deaths that Grace was sent to investigate, he also hopes to somehow find a cure, not just for himself but for Sherry Birkin, who's also suffering the same effects.

Resident Evil Requiem: Hardest Bosses, Ranked

These mutant monstrosities will put you through your paces.

When Leon eventually crosses paths with Grace, he does everything in his power to ensure she stays alive, not for his own benefit but to save someone caught up in the chaos that Umbrella has wrought. He even gives her his incredibly powerful Requiem gun without a second thought, as a means to help her protect herself.

As the story progresses, he continues to act as an angel in the shadows for Grace, helping her and Emily escape to safety. His trust in her is, at least in part, what helps Grace gain more confidence, and she later returns the favor by helping him reach ARK's core. Their mutual trust drives them to survive no matter the odds, even as Leon begins to succumb to his infection in the final section of the game.

The scene of him collapsing upon reaching the door leading to the core was one of the game's most emotional moments for me, personally. His chance to finally do right by humanity is so close, but the virus that's caused him and the world so much anguish prevents him from reaching it. That is, until Grace finds him and helps him the rest of the way, and they manage to finally bury Umbrella together while also discovering the antiviral serum that provides the cure he (and humanity) desperately needs.

6 Justice for Kendo

Why It's All Worth It

Robert Kendo is perhaps one of the most tragic characters in the entire franchise, thanks in large part to the narrative spotlight he was given in Resident Evil 2 Remake (compared to the original). Leon encountered him and his infected daughter, Emma, during the initial chaos of the outbreak, and the scene is not only heartbreaking, it gave a face to how Umbrella's machinations affected civilians.

Despite Leon's attempts to help them, there was, sadly, nothing he really could do at the time, and the scene ends with the inevitable "off-screen". When Leon returns years later in this game, he passes through Kendo's ruined shop once more after leading R.P.D. and sees the same shed where Kendo retreated to with Emma. Inside is nothing but skeletal remains, but the sight is every bit as emotionally palpable as it was nearly thirty years ago.

The memory forever lingers in Leon's mind, and this moment strengthens his resolve, muttering "never again" under his breath before he goes to encounter Mr. X in the streets ahead.

5 Rescuing Emily From the Basement

Saving an Innocent Girl From the Bowels of a Nightmare

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As unsettling as it was wandering the halls of the Rhodes Hill Care Center, the most terrifying part was undoubtedly the basement. Just after managing to collect the Star Quartz from one of the game's strange puzzle boxes, Emily is ambushed and taken by the Girl into the basement level of the facility. This is essentially the Girl's lair, where it remains shrouded in darkness and full of zombies for her to munch on.

This is where Grace's courage is truly put to the test, and while she still struggles with her fear, her resolve doesn't waver. She's determined not to simply retrieve the last missing quartz she needs to escape, but to save an innocent young girl held captive by the same one who kidnapped her. She almost echoes Leon in this regard, and it only becomes stronger as the game progresses.

After traversing the bowels of the basement and witnessing what the facility is doing with countless human bodies, Grace manages to rescue Emily from the Girl's clutches. The two barely make it out alive after the elevator plummets (with a terrifyingly misleading cutscene that left many of us shaking a phantom limb), and Emily jumps into Grace's arms. It's here that Grace realizes the responsibility she has now, and her motive to escape now encompasses them both, not just herself.

The entire sequence is a well-crafted emotional arc in the narrative and signifies the first major shift in Grace's character development. It also makes me never want to go into that basement again.

4 The Girls at the Orphanage

Umbrella's Morality Was Nonexistent

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While one of the scariest sequences in the game, in retrospect, it's hands down one of the saddest as well. Previous entries in the series have often conveyed Umbrella's inhumane machinations in a broader scope, but Resident Evil Requiem is a game that did quite well to make it hit home how low they were willing to go regarding human life.

We witnessed the tragedy of Emily and Marie, and the game took it even further to the orphanage where they originated. This was where cloned children were subjected to horrendous experimentation in the ARK facility hidden beneath the orphanage itself. Attempts to transfer Oswell Spencer's plasma into the brains of each child as part of the Series 60 experiment were a resounding failure, and it led to those children developing mental abnormalities.

Upon starting Chloe's sequence, the children swarm and kill the scientists in the orphanage, giggling as if they're none the wiser about what they're actually doing. They then turn their attention to you as Chloe, and all you can do is play a terrifying game of hide and seek to stay out of their clutches.

This cat-and-mouse chase soon has you stumbling into the cold metal halls of the ARK facility, and the entire experience as an utterly terrified child who is herself one of the many clones is all the more tragic when she's inevitably found by other scientists. Reading memos in the lab about scientists eager to use children as test subjects was spine-chilling and gave some of the harshest perspectives about how Umbrella Corporation conducted itself at its most powerful stage.

Characters We Wish We'll See in the Resident Evil Requiem DLC Chris Redfield Rebecca Chambers Ada Wong

Resident Evil Requiem: 10 Characters We Hope We'll See in the DLC

If we only get to see one or two of these characters in Resident Evil Requiem's future DLC, we'll be happy.

3 Grace's True Origins

My Hope, My Requiem

While Resident Evil Requiem is absolutely full of heavy moments, perhaps the biggest emotional twist in the entire story is Grace's true origin and purpose. It's also probably my favorite aspect of the game from a narrative standpoint.

From almost the very beginning, the game cleverly sets her up as this chosen individual who harbors some unspoken power that Victor Gideon and The Connections desire from her. As the story progresses, they seem absolutely and unequivocally certain in her ability to unlock Elpis, Oswell Spencer's deepest secret hidden within the ARK facility. Alongside that, we're made to believe that she's Alyssa's actual daughter. Furthermore, it also alludes to the possibility of her being an Umbrella experiment due to her physical resemblance to Emily and the other cloned children.

However, all of this turns out to be one big red herring, as Grace is revealed near the end of the game to be a completely normal orphan who was adopted by Spencer during his final years to "make amends" for the pain and horror he caused with his research. In his final interview with Alyssa, he explains why he chose to take her in, and that he chose the name Grace as she represented "his hope" for the world. He even offers to let Alyssa hold her, which is symbolic of what follows.

After his death, guardianship of Grace was passed to Alyssa, and she then raised her as her own. Moments before her death in the prologue, Alyssa whispers to Grace that she's her "hope", echoing Spencer's words and bringing everything full circle. Grace was a completely normal girl who grew up with a normal, loving mother, but Alyssa's investigations into Umbrella and its rumored ARK facility led to a tragedy, pushing Grace onto an exceptional path to carry out Spencer's legacy. Or rather, her mother's legacy.

2 The Tragic Story of Emily and Marie

Two Sisters Living in Hell

Emily and Marie represent the remnants of Umbrella's vile experiments on countless cloned children, all born via scientific gestation with the intent to replicate Grace's likeness (even though it was all in vain due to Grace actually having no powers). When you first find Emily on the main level of the care center, she's the only one left in her cell, while the one next to her is noticeably empty.

It turns out this empty cell belonged to Marie, who was close with Emily, but the truth behind her disappearance remains a mystery until the game encourages you to put the pieces together. Files found in the game revealed that after rounds of brutal experimentation with infected blood from the T-Virus, Marie displayed symptoms of exceptional strength and resilience. However, her mind, which was the whole purpose of the experiment, was effectively lost. This scientific failure landed her back in her cell and set for "termination".

Realizing this, Marie chose to escape by physically digging a hole through the cement wall of her cell that ultimately led to the facility's basement. While down there, her body continues to mutate due to the T-Virus strains, and she tragically ends up as "The Girl" that stalks you throughout the facility and feasts on infected corpses. At one point, she kidnaps Emily and takes her down to her lair in the Basement, but she seems to want to keep her safe in a cell full of dolls. This implies that she still retains her memories with Emily, her one true friend, while living in the hell that Umbrella created around them.

Unfortunately (and obviously), it's not safe for Emily to remain down there, and it's up to you in Grace's shoes to save Emily and help put Marie out of her misery by defeating her in the water treatment plant. It's a tragic and emotional closure to Marie's story, and Emily almost meets the same tragic fate. However, with Grace and Leon's help, she thankfully survives, regains her eyesight thanks to the Elpis antiviral serum, and gets a chance at a normal life with Grace, representing a newfound "hope".

1 Alyssa Ashcroft's Death

A Devastating Prologue

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From the first scene of the game, we knew it was coming, and it still hit like a freight train. All too often, death scenes in video games are brushed off in a matter of moments or not given the gravitas they need to make the desired impact. However, the death of Alyssa in the Wrenwood Hotel was, in my opinion, the most emotionally devastating moment in the entire game. In other words, it was a scene done perfectly.

The prologue puts us with Alyssa and Grace eight years prior in the hotel, where they're staying as part of Alyssa's ongoing freelance work. However, things take a dark turn in every sense as the hotel's power goes out, leaving them vulnerable and Alyssa on alert. She appears to suspect what's happening and immediately tries to evacuate with Grace.

The two of them get cornered in another room by a hooded man who kills the hotel owner and then sets his sights on them. As Grace calls the police, Alyssa turns to her, calls Grace her "hope", and tells her that she loves her, as if she already knows her fate. Just as it seems that they're safe for a moment, Alyssa is then brutally murdered by the hooded man right in front of Grace. His body strangely gives out and starts the fire that sets the hotel ablaze by knocking over a lamp.

The scene is an incredible performance that puts it on par with the franchise as a whole. The voice acting by Angela Sant'Albano as Grace, in particular, is downright visceral and soul-shattering. I'd even argue that calling it performative is a disservice, and many fans have since echoed the possibility of her being a nominee for this role in the next round of Game Awards.