Since the release of Resident Evil 7 in 2017, a recurring element in Capcom’s horror series has been the presence of an enemy that follows you. Jack Baker emerged from a wall and captured our hearts, the world fell for Mr. X, and Lady Dimitrescu received *cough* a unique form of online admiration. Resident Evil Requiem seems to be continuing this trend with its own version of a massive, unyielding pursuer. So far, based on my brief 20-minute demo at gamescom 2025, it appears that Capcom has developed a new, slow-moving antagonist that fully lives up to the title of a Resident Evil stalker.
The brief demo occurs at the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center and features our newest main character, Grace Ashcroft, as she moves through the dimly lit and appropriately eerie environment, equipped only with a lighter and glass bottles. Although I anticipate combat will be part of the full game, there are no guns visible in this demo, which naturally places a strong focus on careful movement as she navigates through the clinic’s few rooms and a single extended hallway. If you think that sounds like an extremely limited area to explore, then you’re correct. My preview of Requiem had virtually no real exploration and was mostly about collecting item A to unlock item B, which then allows you to obtain item C, and so on. All seems straightforward, right? Well, in the style of classic survival horror, your growing confidence is swiftly shattered by the sudden appearance of the unnamed stalker enemy.
After Grace finds a lifeless zombie (or “infected,” as she calls it), a massive claw suddenly appears in the scene to grab the corpse. The camera rises just as the creature bites into the zombie’s head, showing its enormous size and how it doesn’t care about the series’ usual expendable characters. This new pursuer is tall like Lady D, has the body of Resident Evil’s Lisa Trevor, and the strong jaws of a Wendigo. She has large eyes, hands shaped like claws, and walks with a bent posture. Once released, this stalker—like its recent predecessors—is determined, reacting quickly to the sounds, sights, and smells of Grace. And similar to her Xenomorph cousin from Alien: Isolation, this monster can and will move above you through the ceiling, dropping down as fast as it can climb up. In short, she’s unyielding and can easily outsmart you.
Luckily, Grace has several tools in her collection that can assist you in staying alive, starting with the glass bottle mentioned earlier. As you might guess, these are mainly utilized as a diversion, focusing the stalker’s attention on the opposite end of the corridor and giving you a chance to move past unnoticed. It could, in theory, also serve as a weapon, though I wouldn’t necessarily advise it – similar to most pursuers in a stalking scenario, you can’t harm or eliminate Grace’s follower.
Go ahead and sneak around as much as you want, but your chaser is always right behind you, regardless of how cautiously you move.
Perhaps Grace’s most powerful tool, as you may have realized by now, is stealth. When you are in a crouched position, you gain brief respite, using any tiny spaces you can find, such as beneath tables or around corners. This ability proves helpful, especially in the Nurse’s Station room where attracting the creature’s attention is unavoidable because of a pre-set event. Still, it only gives you a short window to pass through, and even when you reach a safer area, flipping open your lighter to light up the darkness will bring the stalker’s focus back to you. Move as quietly as possible, but your pursuer is always close behind, regardless of how carefully you move.
Interestingly, this new enemy type does have a weakness, however: light. More specifically, the bright white light from a room’s ceiling lamp (the lighter’s small flame seemed to have no effect). When pursuing Grace into a brightly lit room, the monster’s skin visibly burns, causing her to scream and pull back. This not only restores some control to you but also offers a clever take on Resident Evil’s safe room concept. If you’ve ever witnessed Mr. X’s strange backward movement when facing a safe room, you’ll appreciate this change, which adds much-needed logic to the classic gameplay element that mysteriously prevents the stalker from entering your secure area.
Although there wasn’t much room or chance for exploration due to the confined setting and the ever-present menacing stalker, the limited exploring I did feel – perhaps unsurprisingly – quite familiar. Similar to Resident Evil 7, Village, and the series as a whole, you’re handling inventory slots, inspecting objects, discovering odd keys to open mysterious doors, and inserting fuses into circuit breakers. It’s all very classic, and fans of the franchise will feel right at home. The first-person viewpoint from the latest main series games is still present, and both the developers and I suggest it’s the best way to experience a horror scenario like this. However, in line with the improvements Capcom introduced in Resident Evil Village, you canalsoPlay Resident Evil Requiem using the classic third-person viewpoint. You can adjust the camera settings at any time through the menu, enabling you to switch perspectives and alter the overall mood. This is a unique decision for a non-remake Resident Evil title, and it doesn’t seem like an afterthought, even if it might initially appear that way. In a manner that only a high-budget game can achieve, both viewpoints are exceptionally well-crafted, with specific moments designed for each perspective to enhance the player’s sense of fear.
From a first-person perspective, the stalker appears more dominant and intimidating, with the limited field of vision making scripted jump scares more effective. In the demo, you are required to make noise by moving a cart across the room to create a step to access your next important item. With the more concentrated first-person view, during action, you are shown a massive, claw-like symbol indicating the creature’s imminent approach scraping past the window. It’s a nerve-wracking moment, and one that loses its effectiveness when your highly specific viewpoint is expanded by a wide, third-person camera.
It’s evident that Capcom recognizes this issue, and they’ve made a conscious effort to keep the scares alive regardless of your preferences. In this brief gameplay clip, that approach was clearly shown. From a first-person perspective, right after the stalker is introduced, you simply turn around and sprint down the hallway as quickly as possible, leaving the stalker behind — it’s only the sounds of her slow movement that remind you of the danger. In third-person, though, specific perspective animations cause Grace to trip and fall, increasing the tension to compensate for the lower threat level caused by the broader, more revealing viewpoint.
It’s a nice detail, and one I hope to see much more of in the final game – hopefully offering plenty of horror regardless of your preferred viewpoint. My brief time with Resident Evil Requiem was such a small glimpse that it’s difficult at this early stage to determine where the ninth mainline entry will stand compared to its predecessors. And that’s assuming the scenario in this demo will even be part of the full game – there’s a chance this could be a custom demo, something Capcom has done before with the “Beginning Hour” demo for Resident Evil 7. But even if it’s just a taste of the atmosphere, it’s hard not to get excited about the horrors that Resident Evil Requiem has waiting for us when this unstoppable force arrives early next year.
Dale Driver holds the position of Associate Director for Video Programming at Muara Digital Team. Experience significant boredom by following him on Bluesky at@daledriver.bsky.social
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