Capcom has explained the reason for Leon S. Kennedy not being the main protagonist inResident Evil Requiem, pointing to his past experiences and overall character. Though many have voiced a desire to see Leon return as a playable character once again inResident Evil Requiem, its initial trailer focused on a different person entirely.
Resident Evil Requiemwill be the next major release for the franchise, with the franchisereturning to Raccoon Cityfor the first time since the events that kicked off the series. This time, players will take the role of Grace Ashcroft, the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft, one of the playable characters inResident Evil Outbreak.
During theResident Evil RequiemCapcom spotlight broadcast, the creators of the game talked a bit about the title, including the surprise decision to choose Grace Ashcroft as the protagonist. Game director Koshi Nakanishi explained that the team had always thought about makingLeon the main character inResident Evil Requiem, but that building a horror game around him is difficult precisely due to his prior experience across the series. As Nakanishi put it, players wouldn’t want to see Leon jumping at every little thing, like a random object falling, making him a “bad match for horror.”
Why Grace Ashcroft Was Chosen for Resident Evil Requiem
Particularly in comparison to Leon,Grace Ashcroftis an introverted character that’s scared easily, and has to face her fears in the game. She’s not without skills, as she’s a talented FBI analyst with firearms training. However, she’s also relatively inexperienced at going hands-on in incidents like those of theResident Evilfranchise. The team thought that choosing a protagonist that would experience horror from the same perspective as the person playing as her would be ideal for the game.
Though Leon fans are understandably disappointed that he won’t be the focus of the upcoming title, the logic of the development team is reasonable. Leon has now been the playable character in numerous separate stories across the franchise, as well as appearing in animated works and game spin-offs. His rookie status inResident Evil 2put him in a similar role as Grace, dealing with untold horrors that were frightening, but still holding onto his training and capabilities to get through it all. These days, though, Leon has seen and experienced so much that the game would play very differently with theResident Evilveteranat the helm. This same line of reasoning may have also played a role in games likeResident Evil 5and6, where playable character veterans like Chris and Leon were paired with younger, less-experienced partners.
