I’ve been playing the latest Resident Evil game for review and will have some thoughts to share soon, but there’s something I wanted to call out first.

I’m old enough to remember the very first game. That over the shoulder, sometimes isometric view as you move from room to room, scene to scene. You’re exploring every nook and cranny of a vast mansion and never quite sure what will be around the corner.

Of course, this view start to evolve more and more with each generation and new instalment, until eventually we get to the remakes where we get a fully rotational right stick and get a full field of view.

But things changed again when we got to Resident Evil: Village as Capcom not only experimented with VR but put the full game in a first person perspective. It was kinda daring, pretty bold, but worked incredibly well. Well enough that it got a followup in Resident Evil Village, at least.

However, what I love about Requiem is that it doesn’t alienate or try to pick out a particular breed of fan. It celebrates both. And such a seamless, smart way!

You’ll still get the action esque vibes you’d expect from Leon, as you’ve seen in Resident Evil 4 and 6. He’ll still be controlled from a third person perspective as you run down streets and tilt around corners, evading furious chainsaws.

Meanwhile, new series protagonist, Grace, takes things from a first person perspective, paying homage to Capcom’s more modern approach to the series. And so what ends up happening is you get the best of both worlds, feeling like almost two different games, but also giving each character very distinct feelings.

So far, relatively early on in the game, I’m loving it, but this weekend will definitely test my mettle to see how well that holds up over time.

However, I just wanted to come out and commend Capcom for yet again trying something new with the franchise. The first person perspective seems to be leaning more closely to puzzle-solving and stealth – at least, so it seems so far – while I’m right in the midst of chaos as Leon, just as I’ve become used to and expect.

It works a treat visually, as well, because you not only get Leon’s luscious hair physics in full display, you’ll get to look at parts of the environment up close and personal. Should you really want to, of course. I mean, buckets of blood and guts certainly aren’t for everyone.

Will this be the future of the franchise, then? A blending of perspectives? Even if it isn’t, I love Capcom gives an element of choice, so you could flip and have Grace play from a third person perspective instead and Leon go first person. Or both can be third or first. Having that player agency, to me, is so incredibly important for today’s gamer.

More to come from us on Resident Evil: Requiem in the next few days.