Resident Evil Requiem is an RE4 successor as much as it is a Village sequel

Between Leon Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft, RE Requiem is set to have a compelling balance of both action-focused gameplay and intense survival horror, and the chance to get the best of both worlds is really exciting. With RE7 and Village, the franchise took a sharper turn into survival horror, and as great as those two entries were, Leon's return paves the way for RE Requiem to feel like the series is returning to its roots. RE Requiem serves as a follow-up to Village, but it's also shaping up to be the RE4 successor that I, and many others, have been craving.
Perfectly manicured hair? Check. Cool leather jacket? Check. Tearing up zombies with a chainsaw and roundhouse kicks? Double check. Leon is back, and RE Requiem is embracing the things that made the character so much fun to play in RE4. For the most part, RE7 and Village were quite grounded in their combat, which makes sense for survival horror, but diving back into over-the-top action movie moments with Leon is a welcomed return. Setting wise, RE4 and RE Requiem are clearly incredibly different, but it looks like Leon's gameplay is set to be reminiscent of the beloved entry. The RE4 remake was a big hit for Capcom, so it only makes sense that Leon would return with his epic roundhouse kicking ways.
RE Requiem may not have the village setting of RE4, but the return to Raccoon City is even more exciting, since it takes Leon back to his beginnings. Not counting the RE2 and RE3 remakes, it's been many years since Resident Evil has revisited the town where the outbreak began, and this time around, both Leon and Grace's personal strengths are bound to make for a more varied experience.
When RE Requiem's first trailer and footage was revealed earlier this year, it was clear that the game was once again bringing heart-pounding survival horror encounters to players. Grace Ashcroft works for the FBI, but she's an analyst, not a boots-on-the-ground agent. What she lacks in physical strength she makes up for with great intelligence, and her meek personality makes her perfect for a survival horror protagonist. When it was confirmed that RE7 director Koshi Nakanishi would be returning to direct RE Requiem, many were prepared for more survival horror, but the upcoming entry seems to take it up a notch.
Like RE7, Grace's moments in RE Requiem seem to take place in tight corridors and claustrophobic environments, and these closed-in environments were also part of what made Village so effective, too. Right now, it's unclear just how connected to RE7 and Village RE Requiem is, but with Nakanishi behind the wheel, it's possible that there's at least some branching plot points. The Donna Beneviento house in Village remains one of the most terrifying gaming moments in recent years, and RE Requiem's demo of Grace trying to sneak away from a giant, mutated monster has a similar feel.
Instead of Village's isolated European town, RE Requiem brings the cramped setting into an urban environment. So far, RE Requiem has mostly shown Grace at the mysterious Wrenwood Hotel, and its many hallways and rooms are definitely a callback to Village's house-focused levels, like Beneviento and Lady Dimitrescu.
The Resident Evil games have built one of the most iconic horror franchises in gaming, and with each entry, the series has evolved in some way. The Winters saga with RE7 and Village demonstrated how more intense survival horror can fit incredibly well with the franchise, but RE Requiem is a reminder that the series isn't completely abandoning its winning formula. Of course, classic Resident Evil has always had a hint of survival horror, but not on the level that RE7 and Village has, as the older games tended to intersperse more action throughout. The latter's decision to go first-person was also a bold departure from the franchise's usual methods, but RE Requiem allows players to switch between both, further showcasing how the game is aiming to balance the methods of both eras.
Like Ethan Winters, Grace is taking Resident Evil into the future, while Leon is a symbol of the series' foundation and heart. Resident Evil's legacy has made it a horror icon, and RE Requiem is setting out to showcase how the classic and new can be blended to create something hopefully even more terrifying. Essentially, Leon's action-oriented segments will be a breath of fresh air, as whenever players are handed back control of Grace, they can expect to be terrified. Hopefully, this will result in a healthy balance as opposed to throwing all the action in the final hours of the game, which has caused pacing issues for other Resident Evil titles.