{"id":32920,"date":"2026-03-02T17:17:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T09:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=32920"},"modified":"2026-03-02T17:17:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T09:17:35","slug":"resident-evil-requiems-rhodes-hill-is-the-ultimate-rpd-remake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=32920","title":{"rendered":"Resident Evil Requiem\u2019s Rhodes Hill Is the Ultimate RPD Remake"},"content":{"rendered":"


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This article includes mild <\/em>spoilers <\/strong><\/em>for the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center section of Resident Evil Requiem. <\/em><\/p>\n

With Resident Evil turning 30 this year, it\u2019s no surprise that Requiem leans into nostalgia. Leon S. Kennedy is back in a starring role, and the game\u2019s trailers feature ominous shots of a crumbling Raccoon City police station \u2013 the labyrinthine haunted house that our floppy-haired hero had to fight through back in 1998. But while this latest edition of Resident Evil features its fair share of direct nods to the past, it\u2019s Requiem\u2019s new ideas that actually feel the most nostalgic. <\/p>\n

The story\u2019s early sections, in which you play fresh-faced protagonist Grace Ashcroft, are where Requiem most successfully evokes the earliest days of Resident Evil. Despite using the series\u2019 modern first-person perspective by default, it\u2019s classic \u201890s survival horror in the truest sense, right down to the ink ribbons, should you wish. The building that Grace explores, the brand new Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center, is a next-generation echo of Resident Evil 2\u2019s Raccoon City Police Department, complete with a puzzle-locked exit and deadly stalker prowling the halls. As much as it relies on the triumphs of the past, though, this RPD tribute demonstrates the timeless qualities of Resident Evil, and how the old hits can be made to feel like modern breakthroughs. <\/p>\n

Within just a few steps, it\u2019s clear that Rhodes Hill takes all of its foundational cues from the RPD. The first locked door you encounter yields only to an ornate key. Around the corner, a metal shutter prevents access to the wider facility, the nearby empty fusebox signalling that you\u2019ll need to find a replacement component to progress. Beyond awaits a reception desk flanked by sweeping stairs, the very model of Raccoon City\u2019s extravagant main precinct. And, like Resident Evil 2\u2019s classic location, Rhodes Hill is split into two halves, the west and east wings, through which you need to scour eerie chambers \u2013 many of which must first be unlocked using a steadily mounting collection of keycards \u2013 in search of a means of escape. <\/p>\n

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The enterance hall of the Rhodes Hill Center echoes the design of the RPD. | Image credit: Capcom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Requiem, if it\u2019s not clear by now, is less reverential to Resident Evil 2, more indebted to it. That\u2019s thankfully not too much of a problem when developer Capcom owns the original bank of ideas, but it does walk the knife-edge between remake and reimagining just a little too dangerously at times. For instance, the center\u2019s final exit is unlocked using a trio of quartz cubes, each dispensed by ornate machines upon solving a three-symbol puzzle. Yes, it\u2019s the RPD medallion puzzle in an ill-fitting mask.<\/p>\n

And yet this approach never feels like creative bankruptcy, nor does it feel like cynical nostalgia. That\u2019s partly due to Capcom\u2019s original survival horror formula having endured the test of time \u2013 Resident Evil 2\u2019s fundamentals felt as fresh in the 2019 remake as they did two decades prior \u2013 but mostly because Rhodes Hill is arguably the strongest version of this environment format that the series has offered up since we visited the RPD. More expansive than both the Baker Estate and Castle Dimitrescu, and possessing a myriad of interesting loop routes and shortcuts, navigating its corridors is a fully engaging experience, regardless of whether you recognise the rough outline of Raccoon City\u2019s police station or not.<\/p>\n

The facility\u2019s layout and the way you engage with it are undoubtedly classic Resident Evil, but Capcom isn\u2019t afraid to bring some subtle modernity to the proceedings. Requiem pulls a trick I\u2019ve never seen in a Resident Evil before: many of the center\u2019s zombies are genuine characters, rather than generic enemy fodder. There\u2019s the broad, burly chef whose methodical chores have you second-guessing your route through the kitchen. Out in the adjoining corridor, there\u2019s the man I know as \u201cFlick\u201d, who obsessively turns the lights on and off. Elsewhere, a rotting maid continues to scrub the floors, moving from room to room to clean up all the blood I\u2019ve spilt. And above the dining room, a would-be opera star warbles from the balcony \u2013 a shrill sound that sends one of the centre\u2019s noise-sensitive patients into a murderous frenzy. <\/p>\n

This is classic Resident Evil at its most nostalgic, but rendered with the full knowledge that the past isn\u2019t quite enough to create actual magic.\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Such distinct personalities are made possible thanks to Requiem\u2019s emphasis on old-school survival horror. Despite the Resident Evil 2 homages, playing as Grace feels more akin to exploring the Spencer Mansion in Capcom\u2019s bold 1996 original. This is a brutal environment where avoiding confrontation is the much smarter play (especially since, in a nod to the 2002 remake, defeated zombies can return to life as much more aggressive \u201cBlister Heads\u201d). But where the comparatively simple original Resident Evil often saw you fleeing threats and running past zombies, the more advanced enemy AI systems of today mean Requiem adopts a more stealthy approach, encouraging you to cautiously tiptoe around foes \u2013 something horror games in general have adopted over the past decade or so. <\/p>\n

By shifting the engagement style away from careful shooting gallery to tense stealth, the environment requires far fewer enemies, thus allowing the development team the time and resources to make each zombie feel unique. And, since your tasks have you looping and backtracking through the building, you repeatedly sneak by the same zombies, contributing to the sense that you share the space with very real (albeit also very dead) people, rather than a bus load of replicated video game assets. <\/p>\n

This approach lends Rhodes Hill a very different atmosphere from any other Resident Evil location, including those that await in the second half of Requiem. While there is admittedly a comedic element to these creatures retaining elements of their living personalities, it\u2019s also unnerving, and the idea of contending with a person<\/em> rather than a faceless enemy is inherently more frightening \u2013 that\u2019s part of what makes the series\u2019 stalker characters, like Jack Baker and Mr. X, so scary. He may wear that funny little hat, but you\u2019d never dare to stop and laugh at it. Requiem\u2019s retooling of the atmosphere here is proof that honing that iconic survival gameplay is as much in the immaterial as it is in the physical things you do. <\/p>\n

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Rhodes Hill’s cleaner is just one of several eerie characters you’ll encounter. | Image credit: Capcom <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Of course, Capcom knows that characterful enemies are no replacement for terrifying stalkers, and so Rhodes Hill has a couple of its own. First up is \u201cThe Girl\u201d, a towering, gangly, bug-eyed hag that ensures your first impression of the Chronic Care Center is suitably horrifying. Later, you\u2019ll have to contend with the east wing\u2019s guardian, \u201cChunk\u201d \u2013 a colossal, baby-faced, hallway-filling mound of flesh that moves faster than his weight should logically allow. Both operate in the classic stalker fashion of prowling the corridors and dynamically impeding your progress. There are interesting alterations to the formula, with The Girl using Alien: Isolation-style hidden pathways to take you by surprise in a manner Mr. X could only dream of, but these enemies are undeniably adhering to the horror playbook originally written for 1999\u2019s Resident Evil 3 and its relentless Nemesis. <\/p>\n

Unlike Nemesis and his more modern relatives, though, one of Requiem\u2019s stalkers isn\u2019t an invincible obstacle. Against all odds, the gargantuan Chunk can be killed, removing this terrifying chess piece from the board. Such a feat is a tall challenge\u2026 well, for Grace at least. Leon is much better equipped to take down not just Chunk, but all of Rhodes Hill\u2019s zombies, and his arrival on the scene following Grace\u2019s lengthy expedition makes for a fascinating spin on one of Resident Evil\u2019s most beloved classic features: the dual playthrough. <\/p>\n

The series\u2019 early games put a lot of emphasis on playing through the story twice, seeing the same environment from two different perspectives. Exploring the first game\u2019s Spencer Mansion is a notably different experience depending on whether you play as Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield. Capcom would remix this approach for Resident Evil 2, using the \u201cA\/B\u201d playthrough system to ensure Leon and Claire\u2019s runs through the RPD had interesting differences. While Requiem doesn\u2019t adopt this idea wholesale, you can see the shape of it when Leon arrives on the scene. After tiptoeing around Rhodes Hill as Grace, carefully picking your battles and conserving ammunition, you get to explore the area again as the practically superheroic Leon. With a new move set seemingly modelled after John Wick, Agent Kennedy can blast, kick, and hack his way through all the zombies that previously saw you fleeing for the safety of the well-lit safe room. <\/p>\n

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This switch is undeniably cathartic. Because the location remains in situ, all the problems you encountered as Grace can now be tackled head-on by Leon. Those Blister Heads that were clogging up the lounge and forcing you to take the long route? A shotgun blast to the lumpy face will make you feel better about all the trouble they caused you. Leon\u2019s deadly arsenal can make short work of that burly chef, turn Chunk into a puddle of mush, and break open locked cupboards that were inaccessible to Grace. In short, Requiem is able to use the same location to offer a completely different, complementary experience by shifting the perspective and toolset. <\/p>\n

If it weren\u2019t for the fact that Leon\u2019s time at Rhodes Hill was so brief, I\u2019d say this was the ultimate version of Resident Evil\u2019s dual playthrough idea. As it stands, it\u2019s simply the best idea of it \u2013 which still means his swift, bloody crusade through what minutes earlier felt like the most frightening place on Earth is one of Requiem\u2019s high points. A peak rooted in a classic idea, but elevated by a modern twist. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s that philosophy that makes the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center work so well: this is classic Resident Evil at its most nostalgic, but rendered with the full knowledge that the past isn\u2019t quite enough to create actual magic. The injection of subtle modern ideas, from Leon\u2019s action-fuelled retread of the halls to the characterful zombies and increased emphasis on stealth, elevates the series\u2019 greatest hits, making it feel like experiencing them for the first time all over again. Rhodes Hill may deliberately evoke your cherished memories of the RPD, but by galvanizing the old with the modern, Capcom has made the ultimate tribute to the past: something new. <\/p>\n

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