Resident Evil 9 Has First-Person and Third-Person, but There’s Only One Clear Winner

Capcom’s Resident Evil 9 – also known as Resident Evil Requiem – will finally put an end to the squabbling about player perspective by giving people the option to choose between a first-person or third-person perspective. It’s a first-of-its-kind option for the Resident Evil games which historically had clunky tank controls, then moved to an over-the-shoulder third-person perspective, and only recently adopted a first-person view for Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 8. But after seeing gameplay from Resident Evil 9, there’s really only one perspective that makes sense for this kind of game.

A significant focus of Resident Evil 9 is the horror aspect of the series as opposed to mowing down zombies with SMGs and drop-kicking them. Capcom itself said during a hands-off presentation of the Resident Evil game that “addicting fear” is the mantra here, a phrase meant to embody the compulsion to check another room or corner through gritted teeth as unknowns bump around you.

With that guiding theme in mind, it’s pretty clear from what’s been shown that first-person is the way to go in Resident Evil 9. Yes, this is ultimately a question of player choice, and yes, Resident Evil players will probably have a fantastic time playing Requiem in third-person, but everything about the experience seems to be built around first-person.

That experience starts with our new protagonist Grace Ashcroft, an FBI agent sent to investigate yet another site of Resident Evil horrors. While proficient in firearms and working under pressure, Grace is meant to be more timid and fearful compared to the Leon Kennedy and Jill Valentine superstars we’re used to. That discrepancy comes through loud in clear through her voice and expressions alone which sound completely different from anything I’ve heard in a Resident Evil game before.

The Resident Evil 9 gameplay consisted of the moments after Grace is strapped to a stretcher that we saw in the debut trailer. When freed, she traverses through a building that alternates between pitch-black and ominously red hallways. In typical Resident Evil fashion, there’s a dramatic buildup before death and monsters descend on you, but you’re never left with a moment of peace thanks to Grace. She’s constantly letting out shaky, uneven breaths and almost whimper-like noises that make her sound like she’s about to come undone at every corner. While these segments were only shown in first-person, I have a hard time imagining the stress of these constant noises translating as well to an out-of-body third-person experience.

Speaking again of corners which are plentiful in the claustrophobic demo shown, there was of course a chase sequence like most Resident Evil games have. The creature shown was some unholy cross between Marguerite Baker from Resident Evil Biohazard and the baby monster from Resident Evil Village, and the pressure during the chases was palpable when there’s no time to look over your shoulder and judge the distance between you two. Some grab animations when you actually do take damage from the creature were shown in third-person automatically where Grace is picked up and bit. By comparison, those felt far more immersion-breaking compared to being whacked in first-person and moving forward.

If we can meta-game here for a bit, too, it’s worth pointing out again that the entire Resident Evil 9 demo save for the end was shown in first-person. If Capcom is trying to put its best foot forward and show the game as it’s meant to be experienced, it’s again hard to believe that the first-person presentation was coincidental.

While all we’ve seen in terms of Resident Evil 9 protagonists is Grace, there are rumors that Leon S. Kennedy will play a part in this story as well. If that’s true, perhaps his portions of the Resident Evil game will lend themselves more to an over-the-shoulder view, but for Grace, first-person is the obvious choice.