Besides finally confirming Leon in Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom’s latest trailer for the upcoming survival horror has made the rounds for various other reasons. For example, our main man finally gets to use a chainsaw, something which tormented him consistently in Resident Evil 4 (and the remake).
Whether he has “other” unique actions is unknown, but Automaton Japan did learn more about the respective playstyles for Grace and Leon. Director Akifumi Nakanishi described the former’s gameplay as “based on Resident Evil 2,” and to no one’s surprise, “Leon’s gameplay includes martial arts and melee moves, based on Resident Evil 4.”
He also noted that this is Leon’s first title as a protagonist after Resident Evil 6. With age comes wisdom, and that formed a major theme for the development team. “‘What would Leon be like in 2026?’ Even though he keeps fighting to save people, bioterror never goes away, so what state of mind has he reached now? What can he do with his seasoned combat skills? With those concepts in mind, we added new elements on top of a Resident Evil 4-style foundation.”
Some of those elements seemingly include a tomahawk, which Leon can reuse after disposing of enemies. However, there’s also his car – a custom Cayenne Turbo GT, which Capcom collaborated with Porsche on. When told that vehicles typically don’t make it out in one piece throughout the series, producer Masato Kumazawa responded, laughing, “It’s usually the helicopters that get blown up.”
Nakanishi added, also laughing, “Please look forward to seeing what happens this time.”
Subtle foreshadowing or perhaps trying to hide how significant the vehicle will be for traversal, especially with rumors about Leon’s levels being bigger and more open than Grace’s? Time will tell, and we may not have to wait long since a deeper dive is planned for early next year.
Resident Evil Requiem launches on February 27th, 2026, for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. Capcom isn’t planning a demo and is instead focusing on finishing the game. However, that could change, especially if feedback from the same helps in optimization (see Pragmata).
