Resident Evil Requiem will have Leon S. Kennedy as its second protagonist, and he's bringing his sick roundhouse with him

Resident Evil Requiem World Premiere Trailer from The Game Awards 2025 - YouTube Resident Evil Requiem World Premiere Trailer from The Game Awards 2025 - YouTube
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The big Leon S. Kennedy surprise in Resident Evil Requiem was spoiled earlier this week, but now we've got a proper look at the young (well, young-looking, isn't he like 50 now?) lad in action thanks to a new trailer unveiled tonight at The Game Awards.

The big twist, though, is the appearance of Leon as a playable character: Until now, Capcom has insisted that Grace Ashcroft is Requiem's protagonist, but it seems that Leon will be playing a significant role as well. But not the same kind of role as Grace: She will center on Resident Evil: Requiem's survival horror gameplay, while Leon will be all about the "explosive action."

And hoo boy does it look good: The trailer showed a brief snippet of over the shoulder shooting, as well as some of Leon's signature melee combos: That roundhouse kick fired off deeply buried synapses in my brain. In a delightful twist, after getting chased by another big guy with a chainsaw again, Leon flips the script, steals it, and turns it on his enemies—no more Dr. Salvador instakills for him.

Resident Evil: Requiem comes out on February 27 and is up for preorder now on Steam.

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Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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