Resident Evil Requiem devs unsure if upcoming horror game is truly frightening

Resident Evil Requiem devs admit they cannot tell if the new horror entry is scary until players experience it

The developers of Resident Evil Requiem have admitted they are unsure if the upcoming entry in Capcom’s long-running horror series is genuinely frightening.

The game, directed by Resident Evil 7 lead Koshi Nakanishi, returns to a first-person perspective and aims to combine psychological tension with expanded survival elements.

Requiem is designed to merge the claustrophobic atmosphere of Resident Evil 7 with the broader scale of Village, offering players larger environments and new challenges.

However, according to Nakanishi, years spent working within the genre has left the development team uncertain about whether their work still has the intended effect. “We’ve made so many of these that we can’t tell anymore until someone else plays it,” he told IGN.

He added that prior to the game’s showcase at Summer Game Fest and Gamescom, the team questioned: “Was this actually scary? Because we don’t even know anymore. This is our bread and butter, what we make every day.”

That uncertainty also affects the creative process. Nakanishi explained that while brainstorming potential set pieces, the team often debates whether scenarios are too extreme or insufficiently unsettling.

He described one discussion where they considered depicting the character Grace sustaining serious injuries, but ultimately scaled the idea back.

Hands-on previews from Gamescom have already noted the game’s oppressive atmosphere and its blend of confined spaces with expansive, hostile areas.

Still, whether Requiem delivers the kind of fear long associated with Resident Evil will only become clear when it is released in 2025.

For now, even its developers are waiting to see if their latest project strikes the balance of survival gameplay and horror that the series is known for.