RE9's DLC Could Solve The Game's Biggest Problem

Resident Evil Requiem has quickly become one of my favorite entries into the series. It combines the tense first-person horror gameplay that I loved about Resident Evil 7 with the best of the series' third-person action, which is on display in games like the Resident Evil 4 Remake. This essentially makes RE9 a one-stop shop for everything I love about Resident Evil.

Another aspect of Resident Evil Requiem that I've been enjoying is the bonus Leon Must Die Forever mode. Not only is it fun to see Capcom including a nod to one of their other hit series — Devil May Cry previously featured a Dante Must Die mode — but it's also a great way to quickly replay some of the best action set pieces from the game without having to go back through the whole story mode. However, this free DLC isn't just a fun new challenge, but it could also address one of the major complaints facing RE9.

While I largely enjoyed Resident Evil Requiem, I did have a few issues with its story. Mainly, I was disappointed by the lack of agency that the game's protagonist, Grace, was allowed to display. Sure, it's always going to be hard for a new character not to get upstaged by a series legend like Leon S. Kennedy, but the game could have done more to help cement Grace as a new hero of the series alongside him. Luckily, Leon Must Die could make an easy change that could help address this.

Leon Must Die Mode Should Add Grace

Although Grace's sections default to being played in first-person mode, it is possible to play in third-person as Grace. This means that a lot of the pieces needed to add Grace as a playable character to Leon Must Die mode are already in place. Yes, this wouldn't do anything about how she was presented in the game's main narrative, but I do think it would go a long way toward making Grace feel like a more powerful character.

A game's narrative is only one of the ways that it can communicate information about a character. Gameplay can do just as much, if not more, to tell players what a character is capable of. Getting to play as Grace and take on more powerful enemies like The Commander or Victor would help make her feel more like a typical Resident Evil protagonist.

Now, not all Resident Evil heroes need to be equally capable. I'd argue Grace didn't do that much less than Ethan Winters did in his first appearance. Still, when putting Grace alongside Leon, it highlights just how far she has to go to live up to other characters in the series.

Grace Fails To Live Up To Previous Resident Evil Heroes

It isn't only Leon who Grace compares unfavorably to when looking at the entirety of the mainline Resident Evil series. Chris, Claire, and Jill all get more chances to display agency and take on some seriously scary villains. Now, Grace stacks up pretty well against Ethan in Resident Evil 7. Both take on a few big bosses, but for the most part have to rely on stealth and have more trouble taking out even typical zombies. The problem is, Ethan then gets a pretty significant power boost in Resident Evil Village.

Now, you could argue Grace has the same opportunity that Ethan had. She could appear in a subsequent game in the series and show that she has become more capable than in her first appearance. The problem is, Ethan didn't have a direct comparison within his first entry that consistently showed him up. Each time I was excited that Grace might get to do something heroic and integral to the plot, Leon ended up stepping in and stealing the spotlight. Grace's final fight against The Girl remains one of the few moments where she gets to shine.

This is a real shame because, in isolation, and with a few tweaks, I think Grace could have been a very compelling protagonist. I don't have as negative an opinion of her as I've seen expressed by some players. It's really the packaging of Resident Evil Requiem's story that hurts Grace more than anything else.

Grace Could Have Been An Interesting Protagonist In A Different Story

In a more grounded horror game, I think Grace would be a perfect protagonist. Having a meek character confront the trauma of their past, overcome difficult obstacles, and become more confident as a result is a perfectly fine story. Grace's arc honestly wouldn't bother me much, if her small and realistic character development wasn't being juxtaposed with Leon riding a motorcycle up the side of a building and blasting giant monsters with machine guns.

Even so, I think a few changes to the story would still have presented Grace more favorably to the player. One easy change would simply be not making her an FBI agent. It's hard to believe the Grace we meet at the beginning of the story made it through basic field training, and it robs her of some agency when she's forced to confront her past by her boss. Having Grace choose to investigate her past on her own would give her more agency, and making her a civilian would explain her initial incompetence in combat.

Alternatively, the story could have stayed relatively the same, but just given a few more of Leon's big moments to Grace. Near the end of the game, when Leon was nearly dying, I kept thinking it would be time for Grace to take on one of the major antagonists in the game. While Grace plays a major role in curing Leon, she is then sidelined during the final boss battle against Victor, which his handled solo by Leon. Allowing Grace to get some shots in, and handle at least one stage of the fight would have done wonders for her character.

Honestly, Grace is the kind of protagonist I prefer in a horror game. A regular person that is terrified of zombies and monsters is much more relatable. I still found the character endearing in many ways, and would like to see her get another chance in the series. However, I'm still disappointed that Resident Evil Requiem didn't give her a chance to shine, or that it felt the need to overshadow her with Leon. I still think letting her blast zombies with Requiem in Leon Must Die could help with that a bit.