Capcom recently invited me (Tim Turi) to go hands-on for a few hours with Resident Evil Requiem. The new sections are set in Rhodes Hill hospital and feature series icon Leon S. Kennedy, playable for the first time since being confirmed last December. My mission going in was to examine what's new with Leon's combat options and compare to his past blood-drenched outings like Resident Evil 2 (2019) and Resident Evil 4 (2023).

Grace Ashcroft vs. Leon S. Kennedy: To understand Leon's place in Requiem, we must understand his counterpart, Grace Ashcroft. Capcom is very up front that the two playable protagonists offer very different experiences. Grace's sections focus heavily on evasion, puzzles, and resource management. She can aptly fight back with crude melee implements and firearms, but she's still new to the whole "battling bio-engineered monsters" thing. By contrast, Leon's sections focus heavily on the intense combat and improvised crowd management fans loved from RE4. The result feels like a balance between the horror of RE2 and the white-knuckle action of RE4."The team gave (Leon aging) a lot of thought. He's been fighting biohazards since RE2 where he got his sudden start there. Now it's been close to 30 years of Leon's life that he's been doing that. He's seen a lot of sacrifice, a lot of tragedy. He couldn't save everyone in RE2 or RE4. He's seen a lot. He's been through a lot. So that's a weight that weighs down on him. So you'll see that Leon that that weight is something that the development team wanted to express with Leon's appearance and personality in Requiem. So you'll notice he does carry that weight, and he's maybe a little bit more pessimistic."

• Kōshi Nakanishi, Director

Leon's signature sass: The Leon S. Kennedy we meet in Requiem is a little older with some extra gravel in his voice, but he's got his trademark charm. When confronted with an infected, chainsaw-wielding doctor he calmly mutters "I want to get a second opinion."Weapons to fight evil: Leon's playable sections feature several guns, including his trusty Alligator Snapper pistol and MSBG 500 pump-action shotgun. I discovered a pistol attachment that permanently mitigated muzzle climb, making aiming easier. He also appears to have exclusive access to hand grenades - clutch for clearing out groups.

Weapon stats: Similar to RE4, weapons feature familiar stats to assess their combat potential. The stats include Power, Stability, Precision, Rate of Fire, Reload Speed, and Ammo Capacity. Capcom says the process of upgrading Leon's arsenal will be functionally similar to the RE4 remake, but weren't ready to share more just yet.Requiem revolver: A standout from the game's arsenal is the new "Requiem" revolver, which offers high-powered hand cannon-like piercing capabilities at the expense of smaller ammo capacity. The beefy ballistics helped me one-shot a hulking infected cook with a well-placed headshot. The weapon comes standard issue from his new employer…

"(The title "Requiem") references a remembrance of not only the (Raccoon City outbreak) incident itself, but all the effects and the people who were affected by it…so the Requiem gun also, in a way, lays the enemies to peace. In a way, it's also a requiem for them as well."

• Kōshi Nakanishi, Director

Inventory management: The differences in these characters' playstyles extend to inventory management. In the section I played, Leon's storage boasts a 7×10 grid case similar to the inventive Resident Evil 4 attaché case. Players can organize, rotate, or auto-sort their weapons and gear as they see fit. By comparison, Grace begins with a classic eight-slot inventory (similar to RE2), requiring multiple trips to item storage boxes and seeking special packs to expand capacity.Hatchet melee weapon: Leon has upgraded from a combat knife to a combat hatchet. Tapping R1 pulls up Leon's new melee weapon, which can be used similarly to his knife in RE4 remake for solid melee damage and well-timed parries (L1). I noticed the damage and staggering impact of the handheld weapon seemed significantly stronger than his old knife. The hatchet sports a sharpness meter which fortunately doesn't break when depleted. Bad news: Leon can't parry with a blunt hatchet. Good news: Leon can sharpen the hatchet with L1 + Square button.

Leon can start swinging with a press of R2, or perform a more powerful hatchet attack by holding L1 then pressing R2. This attack requires an extra second of windup before unleashes a strong spin attack to stagger a foe. Outside of combat, Leon can use the handheld axe to pry open sealed cabinets and doors that are inaccessible when exploring as Grace.

"(Leon's hatchet) is another way that the team wanted to show that Leon now has a lot more experience (fighting bio-weapons) than he did in previous games…so that was why they ended up changing the knife to a hatchet."

• Kōshi Nakanishi, Director

Stealth takedowns: Leon's hatchet is great for brutal finishes during combat. The weaponized wedge can also be used to perform stealth takedowns (press R3 to crouch), similar to his covert tactics in the RE4 remake.

Item crafting: Whereas Grace has a new crafting mechanic that requires collecting blood from enemies and the environment, Leon's seems more traditional. He can collect scrap, gun powder, and other materials to create new items and ammo as in RE2 and RE4 remakes. The craftable Stacked Hand Grenade especially tickled me, which is essentially two grenades taped together for a bigger boom.Chainsaws aplenty: Power tools have haunted Leon since Resident Evil 4's masked Dr. Salvador, and Requiem continues the tradition of chainsaw-wielding docs. Early in the demo Leon is rushed by a doctor revving a chainsaw. A well-timed press of L1 allows Leon to parry the shredding teeth of the chainsaw, and defeating the enemy lets him pick it up. Playing as Leon and finally being able to saw through infected with broad swipes and lethal thrusts is cathartic. But be wary when dropped chainsaws are spinning on the floor—they may nip your heels.Show of strength: One example of Leon's raw power came when I encountered enemies that Grace had struggled against during an earlier section. A corpse mutated into the fast and deadly Blister Head enemy, which killed Grace even after emptying several magazines into it. As Leon, all it took was a few shotgun blasts to its disgusting dome then a hatchet finisher.

I also squared off with Chunk, a massive and grotesque monster armored by layers of flesh. Grace's best option was to run, but as Leon I stunned it with repeated shotgun blasts and followed up with powerful prompted hatchet blows. The flow of blasting enemies, quick-turning to flee, then following up with strong and flashy melee attacks reminds of my favorite battles from RE4.

• Tim Turi (he/him)—Content Communications Manager, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Are you ready to step back into the boots of Leon when Resident Evil Requiem launches on February 27? Coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Steam, and the Epic Games Store. Pre-orders available now!