If you’ve played Resident Evil 4, there’s a chance the sound of a revving chainsaw puts you on high alert. In the 2005 horror game and its 2023 remake, the noise heralds the arrival of Dr. Salvador. Dr. Salvador, who presumably has a PhD in chainsaws, relentlessly comes at you with the portable power saw. There’s nothing you can do except take him down before he makes you a meat sculpture. But, in Resident Evil Requiem, you can finally become the chainsaw. Or at least wield it.
In an interview with the PlayStation Blog, Requiem Director Koshi Nakanishi talked about this series first. He explained that players will encounter a chainsaw-revving doctor immediately once they start Leon’s section. The team wanted to introduce this right away. Why the chainsaw? I’ll let Nakanishi explain in his own words:
Chainsaws are an iconic Resident Evil weapon, and with so many variations across past games, we always challenge ourselves to innovate. This time, we came up with the “chainsaws for everybody” concept, which was a fresh take that unlocked a lot of creative possibilities.
What are these creative possibilities? There’s the big one, which is that you get to pick up a chainsaw as Leon S. Kennedy and swing it around. Having gone hands-on with his section recently, I can confirm that it’s a ton of fun to use. But all good things, including chainsaws, must come to an end. This is to say that at a certain point it runs out of juice. But I imagine there are more chainsaws in store.
To paraphrase Nietzsche, when you rev the chainsaw, the chainsaw revs back at you. This is to say that “chainsaws for everybody” does mean everybody. Any enemy can wield the chainsaw if you don’t pick it up in time—or at least try. “For example, if a weaker nurse zombie swings a chainsaw, it’ll slip from her grip and go flying,” Nakanishi explains. “The team put a lot of care into those kinds of details.”
The sections of Leon S. Kennedy are meant to exhilarating. This is to contrast with the sections of the other Resident Evil Requiem protagonist, Grace Ashcroft. If Leon is swinging around a chainsaw, taking down ghouls left and right, Grace is cowering in the corner with barely a bullet. Her sections are meant to be pure survival horror. So presumably, no chainsaws for Grace.
But we’ll find out soon once the game arrives later this month. Resident Evil Requiem launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 on February 27th, 2026.
Source: PlayStation Blog
