Every Returning Character in Resident Evil Requiem

Resident Evil Requiem is very much a return to form for the series in the sense that it brings back a variety of characters from the franchise’s history. Whereas Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village largely centered around brand-new characters and locations, Requiem adds many familiar faces alongside those that have never been seen before. It leads to the ninth mainline installment feeling like a more integral chapter in the saga, and is far more rewarding for those who have played every game up until this point.

Here’s every character that appears in Resident Evil Requiem who has shown up previously in the series. Spoilers are present below, so read onward at your own discretion.

Leon S. Kennedy

Leon’s inclusion in Resident Evil Requiem is an obvious one. He serves as one of two playable characters alongside newcomer Grace Ashcroft. Despite being older, Leon is still his typical wisecracking, roundhouse-kicking self that has learned to stare down zombies without an ounce of fear. His storyline in Requiem is much more personal than past entries as well, which gives him some excellent character development.

Alyssa Ashcroft

Alyssa Ashcroft is the mother of Grace and first appeared in the spin-off Resident Evil Outbreak. As a journalist, Alyssa was on the ground in Raccoon City when the T-virus outbreak transpired and reported on the event extensively after being one of only a handful of survivors. Unfortunately, Alyssa meets her demise in the events of Resident Evil Requiem, which serves as a catalyst for Grace’s story to unfold.

Sherry Birkin

Sherry first appeared as a child in Resident Evil 2, where she was ultimately saved and escaped Raccoon City alongside Leon and Claire. She would eventually return, now as an adult, in Resident Evil 6, this time as a playable character in Jake Muller’s campaign.

In Requiem, Sherry isn’t playable, and instead serves as a sidekick of sorts for Leon. She works remotely as a hacker and helps provide guidance for Leon as he looks to track down Grace and ultimately cure an infection that has plagued both himself and Sherry.

Oswell E. Spencer

Spencer has been a looming presence in the Resident Evil series from the start. As one of the founders of Umbrella Corporation, Spencer is mentioned constantly across the franchise, but he rarely ever appears in any of the games. Requiem bucks this trend and puts him in a handful of cutscenes that end up being vital to the game’s biggest twist. Even though he’s been dead for 20 years by the time Requiem takes place, he’s still one of the most pivotal figures in the Resident Evil universe.

HUNK (Maybe?)

HUNK, the famed Umbrella military expert, seems to return in Resident Evil Requiem, although the game never makes this truly clear. In one late-game area, Leon comes face-to-face with a foe that looks virtually identical to HUNK. This character says they’ve been dying to take on Leon for themselves, which results in the two squaring off in a melee-oriented fight. Leon ultimately wins and kills HUNK before moving onward.

It’s worth stressing that this encounter never outright states that this is HUNK, although it implies that it very well might be. The character’s model refers to this enemy only as “The Commander” in the bonus section of the menu, which furthers the mystery. I’m of the mind that this absolutely is meant to be HUNK, but Capcom might be playing coy in case it decides to bring the character back in a more definitive manner in the future.

Albert Wesker (Sort of)

Even though he fell into a volcano at the end of Resident Evil 5, Albert Wesker returns in Resident Evil Requiem, albeit in a new capacity. One of the game’s main villains ends up being the power-hungry Zeno. Little is known about Zeno, but he works for the nefarious terrorist group The Connections, which has been behind many bioweapon outbreaks across the globe.

It’s briefly implied that Zeno is a clone of Albert Wesker, and as such, he has all of the same powers and abilities as his predecessor. He also has the same knack for fashion, sporting sunglasses, a white suit, and slicked-back hair.

Mr. X

The beloved stalker Mr. X from Resident Evil 2 makes a brief return in Requiem. Like Zeno, this new version of the character isn’t identical to the original and is instead simply a recreated version of the Tyrant monster. Despite not being the true Mr. X, this returning version in Requiem looks the same and dons a big leather jacket. Sadly, his cool lil’ hat is nowhere to be found.

Various Bosses

There are plenty of bosses scattered throughout Resident Evil Requiem that are meant to call back to previous games, too. The giant spider that Leon fights in Raccoon City, formally dubbed the Titan Spinner, is comparable to the one seen in Resident Evil and Code Veronica. Plant 43 from the remake of Resident Evil 2 is also back and has spread throughout Raccoon City more than ever. Lastly, the game’s true final boss, Victor Gideon, is infected with the Nemesis strain of the T-Virus, which results in his final form being quite similar to that of the titular character from Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.