Resident Evil has a storied history with mini games, from the Tofu mode of Resident Evil 2 on PS1 right the way through to the fan-favourite Mercenaries add-on that’s shipped with multiple instalments.
Almost every mainline title is treated to its own spin-off from the main game, and now Resident Evil Requiem has one: a free PS5 update adds the flamboyantly named Leon Must Die Forever.
This is a time attack mode where Leon pursues Victor Gideon through a number of locations from the campaign. You begin on the streets of Wrenwood, and then have limited choice over the route you take to the final encounter. Using doors dotted around each area, you can progress to different sections of the Rhodes Hill care centre and Raccoon City, or take on a boss fight. Each place has a recommended level, from level 1 to level 20, so the idea is to gradually power Leon up as you make your way towards Victor Gideon at the end.
The zombies become more dangerous the further in you go, and when you either die or run out of time, the run is over and you’re issued a score and rank. It has a roguelite element to it where you’ll always begin the mode back at the start, but completing challenges rewards you with a currency that unlocks new items and weapons.
Therefore, the more you play it, the better you should get.
Levelling up in Leon Must Die Forever is done through the Blood Collector: you kill enemies and their deaths translate into points. Once you earn 100 points, you can unlock an Enhancer. These abilities apply to your current run, and offer perks like improved damage, health recovery, weapon repair, and more. Some supply considerable bonuses like filling up the Blood Collector 40% faster, but the trade-off is you lose 20% of your attack power.
Getting the balance right and selecting the correct Enhancers to improve your current loadout is pivotal to making good progress. The enemies hit hard in Leon Must Die Forever and their own health bars are no joke — you can very easily be overwhelmed and have your run ended, especially as it begins to throw in multiple Blister Heads at once.
The roguelite nature of the mode only goes so far, however. While you do have to go back from the beginning upon each death, what awaits seems to be the same every time. There’s no randomness to enemy spawns; you come up against the same zombies in the exact same scenarios and situations. Those elements appear to be set in stone, and the only randomness comes from the guns you’ll have at the time.
Further, the portions of the game that Leon Must Die Forever has adapted for the mode aren’t really any different. On the streets of Wrenwood, Leon uses the same dialogue as the campaign. In this example, it actually makes sense because the protagonist is going after Victor Gideon in that scene in the single player.
However, during the sections taken from the Rhodes Hill care centre, Leon keeps muttering about needing to reach the office upstairs. That’s not the objective of the mode, so the dialogue feels out of place. You can unlock more dialogue for Leon by spending the currency earned from Challenges, but even after activating it, we were still treated to the same repeated voicelines from the campaign.
It’s a strange approach that lays bare how the mode is just locations from the main game stitched together. With simple black screens the only things that transition you from one place to the next, Leon Must Die Forever comes across a bit rushed. The only entirely new elements are spiders you can shoot to increase your time limit, and blue and red zombies that need to be either parried or defeated with melee moves.
However, at the end of the day, it’s impossible to ignore the fact this is a free update. If you loved Leon’s action from the base game, then Leon Must Die Forever is a fantastic way to get a quick hit of it. You’re thrown straight into the action and forced to level up your build — or die. It’s truly intense, and the combat of Resident Evil Requiem is provided another platform to shine.
It’s unlikely to hold your attention for very long, there are no new Trophies to earn, and the unlocks don’t carry over to the main game — this is a very self-contained mode, all in all. Leon Must Die Forever is not your Mercenaries replacement, but if you need another way to blast zombies, it’ll serve you nicely. This is still Resident Evil Requiem combat, and that’s still a great thing a few months removed from release.
Leon Must Die Forever went live today as a free PS5 update to Resident Evil Requiem. What do you think of the all-new mode? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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