Resident Evil: Requiem (RE9) and Resident Evil 2 Remake (RE2R) both star Leon S. Kennedy, both run on Capcom's RE Engine, and both rank among the best survival horror games ever made. So which should you actually play first? This is the comparison you need before spending money.
Before diving deep, the high-level comparison:
| Metric | Resident Evil: Requiem (RE9) | Resident Evil 2 Remake |
|---|---|---|
| Release year | February 27, 2026 | January 25, 2019 |
| Metacritic score | 88 (116 critic reviews) | 93 (best-rated game of 2019) |
| IGN review | 9 / 10 | 9 / 10 |
| Sales (lifetime) | Just released — strong launch | 15.8 million copies (by Aug 2025) |
| Engine | RE Engine (latest revision) | RE Engine (debut for RE2R) |
| Protagonists | Leon S. Kennedy & Grace Ashcroft | Leon S. Kennedy & Claire Redfield |
| Camera | Toggleable 1st-person ↔ 3rd-person | 3rd-person only |
| Setting | Rhodes Hill Care Center → Raccoon City → ARK | Raccoon City Police Department |
| Approx. length | 20-25 hours (single playthrough) | 8-12 hours (per scenario) |
Despite sharing a developer, an engine, and even a returning protagonist, RE9 and RE2 Remake play meaningfully differently. Per GamingBolt's direct comparison:
Resident Evil: Requiem leans into a bifurcated design. Grace Ashcroft's chapters skew toward the horror end — vulnerable, stealthy, light-puzzle-heavy gameplay similar to RE7 or Village. Leon's chapters skew toward action — he's been an active DSO agent for years and is a deadlier combatant by default, with closer feel to RE5-era Leon.
The toggleable camera reinforces this split: third-person creates a suffocating, claustrophobic feel in tight Care Center corridors, while first-person makes Grace's hospital horror genuinely scary. You can switch any time from the pause menu.
Resident Evil 2 Remake is famously the gold standard of mainline RE balance. Leon and Claire face essentially equivalent challenges with equivalent toolkits, in the same map structure. The Raccoon City Police Department is a single, dense, perfectly-paced location — every corridor is designed for tension, every item has a place, every zombie matters.
If RE9's bifurcation is its greatest novelty, RE2 Remake's unified focus is its greatest strength. The RPD is widely regarded as the best level design in survival horror.
These games are not direct sequels, but they are emotionally connected.
RE2 Remake establishes Leon Kennedy's origin story — a rookie cop on his first day, thrust into the Raccoon City outbreak. The game introduces (or re-introduces) Ada Wong, Sherry Birkin, Marvin Branagh, and the William Birkin / G-virus storyline.
RE9: Requiem brings Leon back to Raccoon City decades later, alongside FBI agent Grace Ashcroft. The narrative references the events of RE2 (Leon's first night), the Raccoon City crater (the city was destroyed at the end of RE3), and Capcom's broader timeline. Many emotional beats hit substantially harder if you've played RE2 Remake first. The first time Leon stands again in the ruins of the RPD, the impact depends entirely on whether you remember the first time.
RE2 Remake is the more accessible horror experience for newcomers. Its scares are environmental and pacing-driven — long stretches of tension punctuated by deliberate jump scares from licker placement and Mr. X chase music. There is gore, but most of it is contextual.
RE9: Requiem is more aggressive horror. The Care Center has body-horror imagery that surpasses anything in RE2 Remake. Per GameSpot's review, Capcom dialed in the horror-action combination more sharply here, but at the cost of some pacing — sections with Grace are intentionally slow and tense, which not every action-game player enjoys.
If you're new to survival horror, RE2 Remake is the easier on-ramp. If you've cleared RE7 / Village and want something heavier, RE9 delivers.
RE2 Remake structures its content around two scenarios per character — Leon A, Claire A, Leon B, Claire B. Each scenario is 8-12 hours. A full A→B run is 16-24 hours for the full story, with Hunk and Tofu unlockable side modes adding another 1-2 hours each.
RE9: Requiem's main campaign is a single 20-25 hour experience covering both Leon and Grace's perspectives, with chapter-switching mechanics letting you alternate between them. New Game Plus shaves time to 10-12 hours, and Insanity difficulty (unlocked after first clear) adds significant replay challenge.
For pure content volume, RE2 Remake's A/B structure offers slightly more replay variety. For a single satisfying first playthrough, RE9 is longer and more narratively complete.
RE2 Remake is now seven years old and frequently discounted to $15-20 during Steam/PSN sales. It is on PS4, PS5 (backward compatibility), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and is verified Steam Deck Playable.
RE9: Requiem is brand new at launch pricing — $60-70 depending on region and edition. Available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam & Epic), and Nintendo Switch 2.
Play RE2 Remake first if: you've never played a Resident Evil game, want maximum bang-for-buck, prefer tight focused design, or want full context for Leon's story arc before seeing him in RE9.
Play RE9: Requiem first if: you have already played RE7 or RE Village and want something new to play right now, you're more interested in horror tone than mechanics-tight design, or you specifically want Capcom's latest take on the franchise.
Ideal sequence: RE2 Remake → RE9 (so the Leon scenes in RE9 land properly). Optional middle step: RE3 Remake or RE4 Remake if you want more Capcom RE Engine experience.
For RE series newcomers: RE2 Remake. Lower price, gentler horror, the canonical introduction to Leon Kennedy. Save RE9 for later.
For RE7 / Village fans: RE9 first. The horror-leaning tone in Grace's chapters will feel familiar and the story is genuinely fresh.
For action-focused players: Either works, but RE9's Leon chapters explicitly tune toward action-shooter combat. RE2 Remake's pacing is intentionally tense.
For Resident Evil completionists: Play in release order across the entire timeline. The series has 17+ entries with achievements, and RE9 references many of them.
Disagree with this take? Tell me why — I update articles based on community feedback.
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