10 Resident Evil Requiem Story Details That Show the Series Is Finally Betting Bigger in Story

Resident Evil has moved well beyond its corny B-movie origins, and by Resident Evil Requiem, the lore runs deep, and this is a story that shows no signs of wrapping up anytime soon. Resident Evil Requiem went out of its way to weave many different narrative strands into one continuous story, and it worked.

Below, we’ll examine some of the riskier plot points the game took, and why things are only going to get more complex and wild from this point on in the terrifying Resident Evil universe.

As this is a list highlighting some of the important narrative notes from Resident Evil Requiem, naturally, spoilers do lurk below.

10 Zeno

The Wesker Children

While many people seem to think Zeno was a clone and “pale imitation” of Albert Wesker, he implies he was around for the destruction of Raccoon City, which makes this improbable. He’s much more likely to be a member of Project W and one of the “Wesker Children,” just like Albert and Alex Wesker were. These were superhuman bioweapons that Oswell Spencer wanted to transfer his consciousness into, but when that failed, he raised them as his lieutenants.

This was a plot point that was introduced in Resident Evil 5, and expanded on in Resident Evil Revelations 2, but fell by the wayside after this. In bringing back this intriguing part of the lore in Resident Evil Requiem by revealing Zeno, the franchise has opened the floodgates for lots of new Wesker villains in future entries. Just how many more Wesker Children are there?

9 Spencer’s Redemption

The Man Who Would Be God

Oswell Spencer, the founder of Umbella, may have been a megalomaniacal monster whose experiments with bioweapons led to the death of thousands, but he tried to be better in the end. Spencer likely knew that true redemption was unobtainable for a villain such as him, but at least he made an effort to do the right thing.

Spencer also likely knew his death was coming at the hands of Albert Wesker, so he sent Grace, his adoptive daughter, to go and live with Alyssa to keep her safe. As Grace represented his hope for himself and humanity, he created Elpis, a cure for the T-Virus, as a way to fix his mistakes in a shocking plot twist. But we wonder what other surprises did Spencer leave buried?

8 Alyssa’s Expanded Role

More Than Just Grace’s Mother

In Resident Evil Outbreak, Alyssa Ashcroft was just another survivor of Raccoon City, a savvy investigative reporter, but otherwise completely unremarkable and wholly forgettable. Many fans even doubted the canonicity of the Outbreak games until Resident Evil Requiem made Alyssa a key character and gave her a role in the story that changed everything we knew.

It turns out, Alyssa was knee-deep in a conspiracy that went beyond Raccoon City and Umbrella and put her at odds with the shadowy Connections crime syndicate. An article found in the Baker House in Resident Evil 7 was written by Alyssa, who was investigating the murders related to the mold (and likely the Connections who weaponized it), something that makes so much more sense after Requiem, which tied it all together.

7 Mother Miranda’s Influence

The Ominous Painting

Towards the end of Resident Evil Village, we learned that Mother Miranda, the game’s villain, had taught Oswell Spencer about the mold and bioweapons. He was looking for the mold to use in his experiments to become a god, and got far more than he bargained for, using his time with Miranda to hone his craft before he went and founded Umbrella as a cover for his nefarious research.

In Resident Evil Requiem, Miranda’s painting is still hanging in Spencer’s office, and in another study, he has some of Lady Dimitrescu’s wine. This sinister bottle suggests that Spencer and Miranda stayed in touch, and both were aware of the horrible things the other was doing before their respective deaths. This was some top-tier world-building, and we can’t wait to see how Resident Evil expands on it.

6 The Tragedy of Meryl Branagh

Marvin Had a Daughter

Marvin Branagh was the heroic cop who helped Leon when the rookie first arrived in Raccoon City before succumbing to the T-Virus and needing to be euthanized as a zombie. When Leon returns to the Raccoon City Police Department ruins in Resident Evil Requiem, he affectionately pays tribute to Marvin, but he later finds something that makes the officer’s fate even more tragic.

Throughout Leon’s journey through the city, he finds messages written by a young girl called Meryl who’s trying to get to the station to be with her dad, who she knows is hurt. In a series of notes, Meryl describes being rescued by a neighbor who later sacrifices himself to save her. The trail runs cold at the Kendo Gun Shop, where Leon finds Meryl’s shoes. He realizes that the young girl never made it to her father, who, he’s sad to learn, was Marvin.

This is a rough realization for Leon, as well as the player, especially if you’re a fan of Resident Evil 2. This emotive storytelling elevates Resident Evil and shows that the series is at its best when it tells personal tales like this, learning how the threat of bioterror has touched the lives of decent, regular folk.

5 Body Swapping and Mind Transfer

Revelations and Requiem

Mind swapping and the concept of transferring a consciousness from one being to another were first introduced in Resident Evil 5 when Spencer revealed he had planned to live forever through his bioweapons. In Resident Evil Revelations 2, Alex Wesker tried transferring her mind into a young girl called Natalya – and that game’s ending suggests she may have partly succeeded when Natalya starts quoting the work of Kafka.

In Resident Evil Requiem, we see a flashback scene to Umbrella’s experiments with human cloning set sometime after Project W, which created the Wesker Children. These experiments go horribly wrong, and the children go berserk and start killing employees with their enhanced strength and rapid healing abilities. We also know that the Megamycete from Resident Evil Village can store human consciousnesses, like Miranda’s daughter and Ethan Winters.

It feels like Resident Evil may be gearing up for something big with this, as these concepts keep coming back, with Requiem putting them front and center. It means any character could technically come back from the dead in a new body, which opens up some tantalizing narrative possibilities for the future.

4 BSAA Civil War

Blue Umbrella and Hound Wolf Squad

Resident Evil Village showed Chris Redfield being estranged from the BSAA, an organization he helped found to fight Umbrella and bioterror. The BSAA deployed their own bioweapons against Mother Miranda, and this enraged Chris, who demanded they travel to Europe to have it out with his former employers. And before this, in Resident Evil 7, the BSAA started working with the now reformed Blue Umbrella, also something Chris didn’t like.

Leon comments on this schism to Sherry Birkin in Resident Evil Requiem, and the pair wonder where Chris is after his Hound Wolf Squad team rescues Leon, Grace, and Emily. The “Wolves” are Chris Redfield’s personal unit, and they seem to be playing nice with the BSAA once again. However, the BSAA is attacked by the Connections shortly after, who escape with some unknown prize before the Hound Wolf Squad arrives. Whatever is going on here looks like it will be part of Resident Evil 10, but it's a narrative that’s been building for years and really needs to pay off in a future game.

3 Tall Oaks

The Other Lost City

Resident Evil Requiem took us back to Raccoon City nearly thirty years after a bomb wiped the location out, killing (most) of the zombies and monsters there. However, it wasn’t the only US city to be wiped off the map after a bioterror outbreak; Tall Oaks also suffered this fate in Resident Evil 6. But as this game wasn’t as popular as Resident Evil 2 and 3, it hasn’t been mentioned since.

In my view, this is a wasted opportunity, and the series really needs to acknowledge that Raccoon City isn’t the only place where zombies appeared. Tall Oaks was full of lore and sinister secrets, some related to Umbrella, but others related to the Connections and the mysterious Family. It’s time that Resident Evil brought plot elements like this back into the wider narrative.

2 Dead Presidents

The Connections Conspiracy

We first started hearing about the Connections in Resident Evil 7. They were a shadowy organization that created Eveline (the game’s villain) out of the mold and were working with Mother Miranda and Lucas Baker. We found out much more about them in Resident Evil Requiem, learning that they had been profiting from Umbrella’s work for years and had been at war with Spencer.

Zeno, as a high-ranking member of the Connections, revealed they had a President of the United States killed when he threatened to expose them, which relates to the death of President Benford in Resident Evil 6. However, we were told that the equally nefarious “Family” had Benford killed to protect US interests. This likely isn’t a retcon; it means the Connections and the Family are, well, connected, and that Capcom isn’t done with this sprawling conspiracy.

1 Leon’s Wedding Ring

Sorry, Internet, He’s Taken

​​​​​​​ This is perhaps the biggest narrative risk of them all. Leon Kennedy is no longer a single man, and that’s already set some fans up in arms. The question is, who is Leon married to? Is it Ada Wong? Is it someone else? Did he marry for love, or for some wider and unknown reason? The DLC for Resident Evil Requiem will likely shed some light on this mystery, but it’s set the internet into a speculation frenzy.

This is a bold step by Capcom as it moves the narrative forward in a new and unforeseen way. Leon has had a “will they, won’t they” romance with Ada Wong since Resident Evil 2, and this could finally be the thing fans have been waiting to see. Or it may not be and could lead to something utterly devastating instead – especially if Ada’s mysterious employers have been the Connections all along.