This year’s Summer Game Fest live show was a bit of a mixed bag. Though the annual show often has a few mobile game ads sprinkled throughout its runtime, it felt like they were doubled this year, and there was a good portion of the showcase where these ads were being shown back-to-back for what felt like an eternity. And though there were definitely some exciting games shown during SGF, but the lack of big announcements from major publishers did leave the show feeling a tad underwhelming. That said, SGF did finally give fans the long-awaitedResident Evil 9reveal, which is now officially titledResident Evil Requiem.
Following some truly unnecessary teases littered throughout the show,Resident Evil Requiem’s debut trailer quickly became many fans' highlight of the evening. What began as an unassuming look at an unknown FBI-related game quickly turned into an intense trailer filled with both subtle and overt references to the widerResident Evilfranchise. One of those references even ties the upcoming mainline entry to an oft-overlooked pair ofResident Evilspin-offs, which have now become must-plays in the lead up toResident Evil Requiem’s release.
Resident Evil Fans Will Want to Play RE Outbreak Before Requiem’s Launch
An Introduction to Resident Evil Outbreak 1 and 2
Released in March 2004 in the US,Resident Evil Outbreakis aPlayStation 2-exclusivethat takes place around the same time asResident Evil 2and3. InRE Outbreak, players control one of eight playable characters during the fall of Raccoon City. Gameplay-wise,Resident Evil Outbreakplays pretty similarly to the 2002 remake of the firstResident Evil, with players controlling their character from a third-person, fixed camera perspective.
What separatedResident Evil Outbreakfrom the spin-offs that came before it was its focus on online co-op, which was only available for the Japan and North American versions of the game.RE Outbreakwould receive a sequel just a year later in the form ofResident Evil Outbreak: File #2, which gave fans another five scenarios to play through involving the same eight characters. Both spin-offs received a mixed reception at launch from critics, but many fans now view them as ahead of their time given their focus on multiplayer action, something that modern-day Capcom still can’t quite nail.
How Resident Evil Requiem Connects to RE Outbreak
One ofResident Evil Outbreak’s eight playable charactersis Alyssa Ashcroft, an investigative journalist who witnessed some of Umbrella’s dirty work in the Arklay Mountains and was forced by Umbrella scientist Dr. Greg Mueller to undergo surgery to suppress her memories. Ashcroft is one of the few known survivors of Raccoon City, having escaped by some unconfirmed means minutes before the bombs decimated the area.
InResident Evil Requiem’s reveal trailer, players are introduced to Grace Ashcroft, Alyssa’s daughter. Working at the FBI, Grace is tasked with investigating Wrenwood Hotel, the site of her mother’s mysterious death eight years prior. Fans see a few glimpses of Alyssa duringRE9’s trailer, where she’s been given the full RE Engine makeover. Though nothing’s been confirmed yet, it seems likely that players will see Alyssa’s death duringResident Evil Requiem, possibly in some kind of playable flashback.
Alyssa Ashcroft was also referenced inResident Evil 7via an in-game newspaper article that reports on the uptick in missing persons in South Louisiana over the last two years.
How to Play Resident Evil Outbreak 1 and 2
Currently, the only way to playResident Evil OutbreakandOutbreak: File #2is to purchase theoriginal versions for PlayStation 2. These games can sell second-hand for anywhere between $15 and $60, and their connection toResident Evil Requiemmight inflate that price in the coming days. It should also be noted that the official online servers for all versions ofResident Evil Outbreakand its sequel have been shutdown, though there are some tutorials out there that might be able to provide an unofficial workaround.
