1. Quick Facts: RE9 vs RE4 Remake
| Category | RE4 Remake (2023) | RE9 — Requiem (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Capcom | Capcom |
| Director | Yasuhiro Ampo & Kazunori Kadoi | Koshi Nakanishi |
| Release Date | March 24, 2023 | February 27, 2026 |
| Platforms | PS4, PS5, Xbox Series, PC | PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PC (no PS4) |
| Protagonist(s) | Leon S. Kennedy (solo) | Grace Ashcroft + Leon S. Kennedy (dual) |
| Genre | Action-adventure with horror elements | Survival horror + action-adventure (dual tone) |
| Metacritic Score | 93 (PS5) | 88–89 (PS5) |
| Game Pass | Yes (available now) | No |
| First-Person Option | No | Yes (toggleable) |
| DLC / Post-Launch | Separate Ways (Ada DLC) | TBC — expected |
| First Week Sales | ~4 million copies | 5 million in 5 days |
2. What Are Both Games? Context Explained
Resident Evil 4 Remake (2023)
Released in March 2023, the RE4 Remake was a ground-up reconstruction of the 2005 original — widely considered one of the most influential action games ever made. The remake expanded the story, overhauled the combat, added the full Separate Ways DLC featuring Ada Wong, and introduced a modern over-the-shoulder control system that felt like a culmination of everything the RE Engine had been building toward. Leon S. Kennedy is the sole protagonist, rescuing the President’s daughter Ashley in a rural European village.
Resident Evil Requiem / RE9 (2026)
Resident Evil Requiem is an entirely new, original story — not a remake of anything. It takes place in October 2026, 28 years after Raccoon City’s destruction. It introduces a new protagonist (Grace Ashcroft), returns the series’ most beloved recurring character (Leon S. Kennedy), and deliberately attempts to blend the survival horror tone of RE7 with the action sophistication of the RE4 Remake. It is built exclusively for ninth-generation hardware with no last-gen version.
3. Who Made Each Game?
Both games were made by Capcom and developed using the RE Engine — but the teams and directors differ. The RE4 Remake was directed by Yasuhiro Ampo and Kazunori Kadoi, while Requiem was directed by Koshi Nakanishi (RE7’s director). This is meaningful: the RE4 Remake team leaned into the original’s action identity and refined it to near-perfection, while Nakanishi’s background is rooted in survival horror — a lineage clearly evident in Grace’s sections of Requiem.
The Resident Evil franchise was created by Shinji Mikami in 1996. While Mikami left Capcom in 2006, his foundational design philosophy — resource scarcity, environmental tension, deliberate pacing — continues to echo through both games, particularly in Requiem’s horror chapters.
4. Story Comparison: Which Has the Better Narrative?
RE4 Remake Story
The RE4 Remake’s story is a refined version of a classic — Leon Kennedy’s solo mission to rescue Ashley Graham from a rural Spanish village controlled by the Las Plagas parasite and the Illuminados cult. The remake expanded Leon and Ashley’s relationship, gave Luis Serra greater depth, and added Ashley’s own perspective in new sequences. The Separate Ways DLC fleshed out Ada Wong’s parallel story comprehensively. The narrative is confident, well-paced, and emotionally satisfying — though it is ultimately a polished retelling rather than new ground.
RE9 Requiem Story
Requiem’s story is entirely new, carrying both the opportunity and the risk that comes with that. Grace’s personal arc — connecting Alyssa Ashcroft, Spencer’s legacy, Elpis, and Emily — is genuinely emotionally resonant and delivers a narrative payoff that rewards both franchise veterans and newcomers. The twist that Grace is not the “key” in any supernatural sense, but simply a normal woman carrying an extraordinary weight of history, is more nuanced than most Resident Evil narratives attempt.
🟠RE4 Remake Story
- Refined classic narrative
- Confident, well-paced Leon arc
- Excellent DLC expands story further
- Ashley and Luis given new depth
- Ada’s parallel story fully realised
- No major pacing issues
🔵 RE9 Requiem Story
- Entirely new, original narrative
- Grace’s personal arc is genuinely moving
- Rich franchise lore callbacks
- Two endings add player agency
- Second half shifts tone toward action
- Emily subplot delivers emotional warmth
Edge: Slight advantage to RE4 Remake for overall pacing consistency. Requiem’s new story and Grace’s arc are excellent, but the shift in the second half toward Leon’s perspective divided critics in a way RE4 Remake’s cohesive Leon-focused narrative did not.
5. Gameplay Comparison: Combat, Horror & Mechanics
Combat
RE4 Remake’s combat is among the most refined third-person action systems ever built. Leon’s parry mechanic, the knife’s central role, the merchant upgrade system, the weapon variety, the Separate Ways Ada combat — all of it operates at a level of tight mechanical design that took decades to perfect. It is the action benchmark for the franchise and arguably for the genre.
Requiem’s Leon sections deliver excellent, satisfying action that clearly draws from RE4 Remake’s DNA. The parry returns. The combat flows well. But the weapon variety is more limited, the upgrade economy is simpler, and there is no equivalent of RE4’s Mercenaries mode or the depth of Separate Ways. Leon’s Requiem sections are great — they simply acknowledge RE4 Remake as a ceiling rather than surpassing it.
Horror
This is where Requiem has a clear and decisive advantage. RE4 Remake is a horror-adjacent action game — there is tension, atmosphere, and the occasional well-timed scare, but it does not genuinely frighten most players in the way that RE7 or the original RE2 did. Requiem’s Grace sections restore the survival horror soul of the franchise. The care centre, The Girl stalker, the resource scarcity, and the environmental uncertainty deliver the kind of tension that makes players reluctant to walk into the next room. For players who primarily value horror, Requiem is the stronger game.
Unique Mechanics
| Mechanic | RE4 Remake | RE9 Requiem |
|---|---|---|
| Knife Parry | Yes — central mechanic | Yes — carried over from RE4R |
| Merchant / Upgrade System | Deep — extensive weapon tree | Simplified — functional but less expansive |
| Stalker Enemy | No persistent stalker | Yes — The Girl hunts Grace |
| Dual Protagonist | No (Leon solo; Ada in DLC) | Yes — Grace and Leon alternate |
| Perspective Toggle | Third-person only | First-person OR third-person (toggleable) |
| Inventory Management | Briefcase grid system | Traditional RE inventory (more restrictive for Grace) |
| Adrenaline System | No | Yes — Grace’s stress-based reload boost |
6. Graphics & Technical Performance
RE4 Remake was a technical showpiece for its era — but it was a cross-generation game, available on PS4 as well as PS5. This imposed technical constraints that Requiem does not carry. Resident Evil Requiem was built exclusively for ninth-generation hardware and features technologies — specifically full path-traced lighting on PC — that RE4 Remake does not offer.
On a like-for-like PS5 comparison, both games look stunning. Requiem has a visual edge in lighting complexity and environmental detail, particularly in the horror sections where darkness and shadow are used as gameplay tools. RE4 Remake’s art direction is extraordinary in its own right — the villages, castle, and island are among the most visually memorable environments in gaming — but in raw technical achievement, Requiem is the more advanced product.
7. Length & Replay Value
| Category | RE4 Remake | RE9 Requiem |
|---|---|---|
| Main Story Length | 15–20 hours (first run) | 18–24 hours (first run) |
| 100% Completion | 30–40 hours | 25–30 hours |
| Post-Game Content | Mercenaries mode + Separate Ways DLC | Insanity difficulty + Bonus Menu (DLC TBC) |
| Replay Incentive | Mercenaries, difficulty runs, S+ rank | Two endings, speed runs, difficulty trophies |
| DLC Quality | Separate Ways — excellent, near-essential | TBC — widely expected |
RE4 Remake has the edge in post-launch content depth thanks to Mercenaries mode and the Separate Ways DLC, both of which significantly extend the game’s lifespan. Requiem is newer and its post-launch roadmap is still being defined. If DLC arrives of comparable quality to Separate Ways, the gap will close considerably.
8. Critic Score & Community Reception
| Metric | RE4 Remake | RE9 Requiem |
|---|---|---|
| Metacritic (Critic) | 93 | 88–89 |
| OpenCritic | 93 | 88 |
| Metacritic User Score | 8.7 | 9.5 (early) |
| Perfect Critic Scores | Multiple on launch | 11+ perfect scores |
| First Week Sales | ~4 million | 5 million in 5 days |
| Best in Series? | Often cited #1 or #2 | Best original RE in 20+ years |
Critics score RE4 Remake higher (93 vs 88–89), but Requiem’s user score of 9.5 actually surpasses RE4 Remake’s 8.7 among the player community. This gap likely reflects that some critics held RE4 Remake’s deeper content (Mercenaries, Separate Ways) against Requiem’s more focused scope — while players who completed Requiem found it exceeded their expectations.
9. Head-to-Head Summary Table
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Combat Depth | 🟠RE4 Remake | More weapons, deeper upgrade system, Mercenaries mode |
| Survival Horror | 🔵 RE9 Requiem | Grace’s sections deliver genuine fear; resource scarcity restored |
| Story Pacing | 🟠RE4 Remake | Single protagonist = more consistent narrative momentum |
| New Characters | 🔵 RE9 Requiem | Grace Ashcroft is one of the series’ best new protagonists |
| Technical Graphics | 🔵 RE9 Requiem | Ninth-gen exclusive; full path tracing on PC |
| Replay / Post-Game | 🟠RE4 Remake | Separate Ways + Mercenaries add substantial hours |
| Franchise Lore Depth | 🔵 RE9 Requiem | 30 years of history woven into every environment |
| Accessibility (New Players) | 🔵 RE9 Requiem | Grace is a fresh entry point; Leon adds veteran depth |
| Critic Score | 🟠RE4 Remake | 93 vs 88–89 |
| Player / User Score | 🔵 RE9 Requiem | 9.5 vs 8.7 on Metacritic user reviews |
| Value for Money | 🟠RE4 Remake | Available on Game Pass; Separate Ways DLC included |
10. Final Verdict: Which Should You Play First?
🟠Play RE4 Remake First If You…
- Primarily love action games and want the deepest combat experience
- Want the highest-rated entry in the modern Resident Evil lineup
- Are on a budget and want Game Pass value (RE4R is available on Game Pass)
- Want the most complete post-launch content package available right now
🔵 Play RE9 Requiem First If You…
- Want the most current, up-to-date Resident Evil experience
- Love survival horror and want the fear that the RE4 era moved away from
- Are playing on PC and want the most technically advanced visual experience in the series
- Want a story that is entirely new rather than a refined classic
- Are new to the franchise — Grace is an ideal entry point
The Honest Answer
RE4 Remake is the more technically perfect video game by critical consensus. Resident Evil Requiem is the more complete Resident Evil game — the one that balances horror and action, carries 30 years of franchise DNA, and delivers something the remakes by definition cannot: a fully original story with a new character worth caring about. Both belong in your collection. If you must choose one first, your preference for action or horror is the only tiebreaker that matters.
FAQs — RE9 vs RE4 Remake
Q: Is RE9 Requiem better than RE4 Remake?
Critics score RE4 Remake higher (93 vs 88–89). However, Requiem’s user score of 9.5 surpasses RE4 Remake’s 8.7. Both are exceptional games. RE4 Remake wins on combat depth and content volume; Requiem wins on horror, originality, and technical achievement.
Q: Should I play RE4 Remake before RE9?
It is not required. RE9 Requiem is designed to be playable without prior knowledge of RE4. However, players who have completed RE4 Remake will find Leon’s presence in Requiem significantly more meaningful, and the contrast in his gameplay between the two games is itself rewarding.
Q: Is Resident Evil Requiem more scary than RE4 Remake?
Yes, considerably. RE4 Remake is primarily an action game with horror aesthetics. Requiem’s Grace chapters deliver genuine survival horror tension — limited weapons, a persistent stalker enemy, and an atmosphere of genuine powerlessness that RE4 Remake rarely achieves.
Q: Is RE4 Remake on Game Pass?
Yes. As of 2026, Resident Evil 4 Remake is available on Xbox Game Pass. Resident Evil Requiem is not on Game Pass and requires a standard purchase.
Q: What does RE4 Remake have that RE9 Requiem does not?
RE4 Remake has Mercenaries mode (a beloved arcade-style challenge mode), the Separate Ways DLC featuring Ada Wong as a playable character, a deeper weapon upgrade system via the merchant, and a higher critic score. It is also available on older hardware (PS4) and on Game Pass.
Q: What does RE9 Requiem have that RE4 Remake does not?
Requiem has a first-person/third-person toggle available at any time, a dual-protagonist structure with genuinely different gameplay styles, a brand new original story, an entirely new main character (Grace Ashcroft), full path-traced lighting on PC, and the franchise’s deepest lore callbacks in a single title. It is also built exclusively for current-generation hardware.
