A newly released technical trailer has offered the clearest indication yet that Resident Evil Requiem will include a playable segment set in a functioning city, complete with moving traffic and pedestrians. The footage, published through a collaboration with Nvidia, has triggered an uneven response from long-time followers of the series, many of whom associate Resident Evil with confined spaces, limited visibility, and environments stripped of everyday normalcy.
The trailer shows protagonist Grace Ashcroft walking down a city street that appears intact and populated, a visual departure from the franchise’s usual reliance on abandoned buildings or devastated urban ruins. While Capcom has previously placed players in city settings, most notably in Raccoon City, those locations were defined by collapse and isolation rather than routine civilian activity. Seeing an environment that resembles a living metropolis has led some viewers to question how this fits within the series’ established survival horror framework.
Reaction online has ranged from cautious interest to open concern. Some fans have expressed skepticism about how a more open layout might interact with the RE Engine’s strengths, arguing that tension in Resident Evil is often built through restriction rather than scale. Others have taken a more measured view, suggesting the sequence may be tightly controlled or brief, possibly serving as a narrative transition rather than a core gameplay area. The presence of both daytime and nighttime shots has fueled speculation about scope, though the dual lighting may simply exist to demonstrate rendering features rather than indicate dynamic time cycles.
Comparisons have inevitably surfaced, with some viewers likening the setting to franchises such as Watch Dogs or Grand Theft Auto. However, there is little evidence so far that Resident Evil Requiem is moving toward an open-world structure. Capcom’s recent entries have favored deliberate pacing and segmented environments, even when experimenting with scale in games like Resident Evil Village.
The trailer also reinforces how much of Requiem remains undisclosed. Marketing to date has focused on more familiar territory, including a shadowy hotel and a large mansion that aligns closely with the series’ traditional design language. The recent confirmation that Leon S. Kennedy will share the spotlight has only intensified scrutiny, particularly as fans dissect visual details such as an unexplained mark on his neck.
For now, the city footage functions less as a promise of structural change and more as a signal that Capcom may be testing tonal boundaries without abandoning the franchise’s core identity. Whether this urban setting becomes a meaningful evolution or a controlled narrative experiment will likely determine how receptive audiences are when Resident Evil Requiem arrives.
