Resident Evil Requiem director Kosi Nakanishi admitted that the new instalment is unlikely to surpass Resident Evil 7 in terms of fear factor. The seventh game is still considered the peak of horror in the franchise — no subsequent release has achieved similar intensity, and even Resident Evil Village has noticeably shifted its focus towards action.
After the announcement of Requiem and the screening of segments featuring Grace, where horror once again came to the fore, fans hoped that the game would be able to surpass RE7. However, according to Nakanishi, the deliberately chosen balance of characters will prevent this.
In an interview with PlayStation Blog, he explained that alternating between Leon and Grace sections creates a more even mix of tension and action. Requiem may indeed be scarier than Village, but it won't be as ‘suffocating’ as Resident Evil 7.
The scenes with Leon remain creepy, but they keep you on your toes rather than constantly scaring you. The game will alternate tension with moments of relief, rather than pressuring the player with constant horror.
The term ‘suffocating’ directly refers to RE7 — Nakanishi previously admitted that it was even too scary for some of the audience. That is why the level of horror in Village was deliberately lowered, making the experience more balanced.
The main reason Requiem cannot claim the title of the scariest game in the series, despite the frightening sections of Grace, is Leon's campaign. It's hard to call the whole game scarier than RE7 when half of the gameplay allows you to kick and smash everything that might scare you with an axe.