Raccoon City’s past and present finally come to a head in Resident Evil Requiem, which finally answers a lot of the burning questions that those trailers have hyped up. More than that, however, is that it shows the potential future of the franchise and even sets up potential DLC (but not the kind you might be expecting). We’ll get to both of those in due time, but first, how does Requiem end? What is Elpis? Why is Grace so important to it? What is the secret of Raccoon City that’s been hidden all this time?
Major spoilers follow for the story and pretty much every big reveal you can think of, so if you haven’t played it, this is your only warning—last chance.
Ready? Let’s start with Elpis, which many – including those in-game – assumed to be another bio-weapon, a virus created by Oswell Spencer that could potentially disrupt the world’s military balance. Victor Gideon and Zeno, sent in by The Connections, are desperately searching for it. However, Elpis is actually an anti-viral – a panacea. It effectively renders all viral-based bio-organic weapons useless – and yes, that includes the T-Virus.
Elpis was indeed created by Spencer, one of the founding fathers of Umbrella Corporation. But why? Well, believe it or not, he actually felt significant remorse for his life’s work and its effects on the world, as revealed to none other than Alyssa Ashcroft in a video interview, which presumably occurred a few years before his death.
So what about Grace? Why is she the key to Elpis? Well, here’s the other kicker – she’s not. She’s just, as Spencer himself said, an ordinary girl (though there’s more to it than that, which we’ll get into eventually). He took her in as a baby to make amends for all the horrible things that he was responsible for. Note that he’s still described as being obsessed with human evolution, but after Alyssa asks if there’s anything else, he reveals that he said his piece and that he can only hope it “serves as a requiem for those who have passed.”
Also, as it turns out, there was another laboratory hidden in Raccoon City, beneath its orphanage (yes, the very same that RPD Chief Brian Irons took Sherry Birkin to). Known as ARK, this is where Spencer researched and created Elpis in absolute secrecy from prying eyes.
Thus, the endings of Resident Evil Requiem boil down to two choices – release Elpis or destroy it. If Grace chooses the former, then Zeno will immediately inject it into himself, believing it grants him more power. It doesn’t, of course, and instead cures discount Zeno of his infection, which is also the main source of his super speed and strength. Gideon, previously believed to have been eliminated by Leon during a high-speed chase through the ruins of Raccoon City, suddenly appears and praises Spencer, noting how something like Elpis would indeed disrupt the world’s military balance by plunging it into anarchy.
Zeno isn’t too happy about this, but he doesn’t get much time to argue as Gideon suddenly decapitates him. While moving to seize Elpis for himself, however, Grace has enough time to inject Leon, thus curing and bringing him back into the fight. He proceeds to battle Gideon, who then morphs into a Nemesis-like B.O.W., but our man doesn’t need a railgun to take him down. After dealing enough damage, a few shots with the Requiem (and a stylish twirl to cap it off) are all that’s needed to defeat Gideon.
Unfortunately, ARK is collapsing all around them. It seems that Leon and Grace are done for, and who should show up but the Hound Wolf Squad? Sans Chris Redfield, of course, but he sends his regards.
Following some time after the incident, where Grace has a pleasant phone call with Leon, we see two mysterious operatives telling someone that they’re close to retrieving the objective before the “Wolves” are sent in and that the BSAA have been taken care of. Who were they? Possibly soldiers for The Connections who knew that the Hound Wolf Squad was coming.
Remember James Marcus, one of the other major founders of Umbrella, who conducted heinous experiments on the children of the Wesker Project? He was effectively working with The Connections in secret, and although Spencer effectively cut him down to size (not to mention having him killed), it was too late; they had effectively infiltrated Umbrella. So yes, those rumors about Brandon Bailey (protégé of Dr. James Marcus) forming the group following Marcus’s death and his own termination from Umbrella were just that – rumors. Instead, he would take over as Marcus’s point of contact and help The Connections.
With even less control over his company than many believed, Spencer spent most of his time in ARK, researching and creating Elpis away from their prying eyes. One thing was for sure, though – they wanted it, and after obtaining access, they would do anything to keep it, including bombing a city. That’s right – already confirmed in later titles to have a strong influence over the US government, The Connections were ultimately the reason why it bombed Raccoon City. Rather than containing the outbreak (as evidenced by the zombies that are still alive), it was meant to effectively hide the secret of Elpis from the rest of the world and disrupt relations between Umbrella and the government.
The rest is history, of course, as Spencer and Umbrella were blamed for the outbreak, and the latter dissolved after declaring bankruptcy. You probably recall that Albert Wesker provided evidence in the trials. This was while he was consorting with TRICELL, who were also tied to The Connections.
With no one left to stop them – and no one paying attention to Raccoon City after it became a no man’s land – The Connections used ARK to distribute bioweapons, with crates for Umbrella, Tricell and the HCF (the special unit for Umbrella’s rival company) spotted throughout. A fair bit of research and production also occurred, which explains all the B.O.W.s still wandering around.
The main goal was Elpis, but there was one problem: It required a password to access. Entering the wrong one would result in it being lost forever. After learning of Grace’s existence, they set about trying to find her, believing there’s something special about her that would lead to unlocking Elpis.
But when they couldn’t, they went with apparently the next best strategy: Creating copies of Grace. Emily, who was discovered at the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center, is one such clone who has lost her eyesight. However, it doesn’t seem like the experiment began like this.
When Spencer still regularly visited the Orphanage, clones injected with the T-Virus were apparently created for Umbrella’s own experimentation. Were they used to create Elpis? We don’t precisely know, but it is revealed that the Series 60 Clones went berserk and started killing the researchers. One of the clones, Chloe, would escape and learn about her true origins, but was knocked out and, having shown signs of infection, was designated to die.
Grace is also a clone, but unlike the others, she wasn’t infected. As Oswell explained to Alyssa, she’s perfectly normal and not one of his subjects – Zeno revealed that she was, in fact, normal. After her disappearance, The Connections continued manufacturing copies to reproduce whatever she had that allowed her to unlock Elpis without knowing the truth (and thus creating, as Zeno described, “so many failures”).
What does Leon have to do with all this? Well, he – and Sherry Birkin – are infected with Raccoon City Syndrome. It’s caused by the T-Virus remaining in the individual’s body for an extended period, thus overcoming their antibodies. After hearing about other survivors from the city who died with the same symptoms, Leon conducts his own investigation, which leads him to Gideon, the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center and ultimately, the ARK. When he rendezvous with Grace in the latter and escapes with her, he reveals that his infection is currently at Stage 3 – terminal, with only an hour or two left to live. Nevertheless, he’s pushing through – both because of survivor’s guilt from what happened 30 years ago and for Sherry’s sake.
Of course, following Gideon’s defeat, he brings a vial of Elpis to Sherry and cures her. But that’s not all. Emily, who mutated from her own infection and had to be taken down by Leon, turned out to be alive (after he thankfully missed hitting any of her vitals). After receiving Elpis, she’s also cured, regaining her eyesight and now living with Grace. Unfortunately, this pretty much confirms that The Girl, the massive stalker that pursues Grace, was also a failed clone, and ultimately, couldn’t be saved.
But what if Grace doesn’t release Elpis and chooses to destroy it? Zeno is angered, and as the ARK starts to collapse, Leon attacks him so that Grace can get away. He helps her up to a platform but stays behind, and fights, if you can call it that, against Zeno, who obliterates and eventually kills Leon, though his own fate is left ambiguous. Grace tearfully escapes, and the smoldering crater of Raccoon City is seen from afar. If it weren’t obvious enough, this is the bad ending and is obviously not canon.
Also, you’re probably wondering at this point – who the heck is Zeno? He’s voiced by Craig Burnatowski, who also played Wesker in RE4 Remake but Gideon calls him an “imitation.” While he may also be a product of Project W, potentially a survivor like Albert and Alex, it’s never explicitly confirmed. All we know is that he holds a fairly high position in The Connections, and that’s it. As for Victor Gideon, he’s precisely who he says he is – a former Umbrella researcher, one obsessed with Spencer’s legacy and on uncovering Elpis. Perhaps the only real surprise is that he wasn’t infected in the same way as everyone else. Since his mutations bear a striking resemblance to the Nemesis from Resident Evil 3 Remake, he could have been carrying an NE-α Type parasite.
So with all that – and it’s certainly a lot – out of the way, where could the story possibly go from here? A particularly interesting conversation between Sherry and Leon reveals that there’s some pressure on the BSAA from the Pentagon and that the North American branch has been “moving independently.” This could be linked to the finale of Village, where Chris and the Hound Wolf Squad, operating independently from the BSAA, discovered that the latter sent in B.O.W.s.
While Chris and his team seemingly ventured to the European HQ to obtain some answers, that was about seven years ago. Perhaps the DLC could go back in time to that point and fill us in on what happened from his perspective. It may go a long way to explaining why the BSAA was in Raccoon City, beyond simply that they were looking for Elpis (before running into Zeno and getting absolutely destroyed).
Another possibility – and this seems out there – is that we could have another side story focusing on HUNK. He appears out of nowhere to fight Leon in ARK and goes blow for blow before eventually being taken down (is he really dead though?). What led to his arrival here? Even if he’s working for The Connections, what’s he been up to since escaping Raccoon City? A DLC that offers a singular scenario, ending in a fight with Leon and maybe presenting an alternative ending if he wins, wouldn’t be the weirdest thing, and given HUNK’s popularity, you would think it’s at least up for consideration.
Beyond that, it’s hard to predict where the story of Resident Evil could go from here. But we already have some strong ideas for the DLC and the sequel. The key is that pair of soldiers right at the end, saying they have eliminated the BSAA troops and now need to retrieve their “objective”.
What is that objective, exactly? It could be remaining Elpis stock, formulation notes, or material from a key body like Zeno’s remains or Victor residue. It could even be something that functions as an anti Elpis. The soldiers also refer to the Wolves unit, which is a direct connection to Chris. That opens the door for a DLC story set in Raccoon City, where Chris and potentially Jill team up again to procure or destroy that so called objective.
After all, ever since Resident Evil 7, Chris and his team have been going after the Connections, and with a clone of Wesker involved in Requiem, a Chris versus Zeno showdown is absolutely something worth covering. It will be a callback to his encounter to his showdown with Wesker from Resident Evil 5. What makes this even more interesting is that we do not actually fight Zeno in the game, so maybe that fight is being held back for DLC. There is also the possibility of exploring other parts of the now destroyed Raccoon City in a DLC, like the Clock Tower. And if Mr. X can come back, why not Nemesis?
A repeat encounter between Nemesis and Jill would be pure fan service and it would make perfect sense in a side story. All in all, Requiem is quite clearly setting up a DLC as a side story for Chris, with Jill as a potential partner, and it is also laying the groundwork for Resident Evil 10 as Chris and Jill returning to take down the Connections once and for all. Maybe their operation in the DLC ends in failure, and the Connections manage to recover whatever everyone was after. That would set up a new threat that carries straight into Resident Evil 10 as the main conflict. And sure, it might be leaning a bit too hard into fan service, but Requiem did exactly that, and it worked brilliantly.
It must be noted that Elpis effectively neutralizing all virus-based weapons feels like the developer is wiping the board clean for some fresh possibilities. Of course, not all B.O.W.s are virus-based. If the endings for RE4 Remake and Separate Ways are canon – which you should assume – then there’s Ada Wong out there, somewhere, with an Amber containing a dominant parasite.
While there’s some disappointment over characters like Claire, Jill, and Rebecca not showing up in the base game, it would make sense if the development team wanted to craft other stories taking place before Requiem – or between other instalments, really. That way, they wouldn’t be in the uncomfortable situation of dealing with conflicting lore.
Their various circumstances could also end up influencing Requiem in some way – and since they don’t appear (like Chris), it wouldn’t end up affecting the canon. That said, there has to be something on Claire and Jill at the very least, if not Ada, especially since they could all potentially have Raccoon City Syndrome.
Of course, some of you may be wondering, “Wait a minute, didn’t Derek C. Simmons suggest Raccoon City’s bombing? And what about the Family?” The answer is: We don’t know. Neither is mentioned throughout Requiem, but it could be because, once again, the developers want to avoid changing the original canon anymore than they already have (especially after the remakes). For all we know, the Family is yet another pawn under The Connections, if not one of their key allies (at least on the surface). There are reports by reputable insiders that the DLC will be focused on Leon alone. However, where exactly this will take place is still unknown.
Leon’s arc is done in Requiem or may be there is some stuff left which will perhaps make his path cross with other characters. Do note that he is married in Requiem but we don’t know with whom. Interestingly, data miners also found assets that indicate Ada and Jill were also in the game at some point but those ideas were scrapped. Anyways, back to the topic at hand
With Resident Evil – Code: Veronica and Resident Evil Zero Remakes allegedly in the works, it wouldn’t be surprising if even more ties to The Connections were laced in. Given that Zero primarily focuses on Marcus – and the Queen Leech impersonating him – it’s certainly possible. However, it’s impossible to tell where the next mainline title could go.
If anything, Grace’s addition to the universe is a master stroke. She could be a protagonist, especially after her experience in Raccoon City, if a more horror-focused Resident Evil is required. And given her analysis abilities and FBI contacts, she’s also equipped to play a support-focused role. Here’s hoping she gets more chances to shine than Sherry did.
For now, we can consider Resident Evil Requiem to have effectively closed the book on Raccoon City. While it’s definitely the start of something new, with the discovery of Elpis doubtless spurring a new global bioweapons race, we got to revisit so many key locations and familiar figures (even if some were trying to kill us).
I could foresee some more stories attached to the current events as story DLCs, but otherwise, it truly is a swansong for Raccoon City. Besides, another revisit to reveal yet another hidden laboratory that we didn’t know about for decades may be overkill at that point.
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