Fan discovers alternative Resident Evil Requiem final boss and it’s a massive improvement

If you were surprised and disappointed by the end of Resident Evil Requiem, prepare to be infuriated that it could’ve all been so much better.

Resident Evil Requiem is one of the best games of the year but like most things it’s not perfect and, like most Resident Evil games, most of the problems are concentrated around the latter half of the game.

In particular, the last hour or so seems very rushed and with plot points that many fans (including us) suspect were changed at the last minute, culminating in a very unimpressive boss fight.

With that in mind, a fan has datamined the game’s files and found 3D models for an alternative version of the game’s main villain, which offers a glimpse at a considerably more interesting final encounter.

Although be careful before you read any further, as we’re about to get into some heavy spoilers if you haven’t already beaten the game…
The main villain of Requiem is Victor Gideon, an enjoyably hammy bad guy who is portrayed wearing a snakeskin coat and has something going on with his jaw, which perhaps hints at some snakes’ ability to unhinge their jaw to swallow large prey.

Also, he’s always shown wearing a special helmet, presumably because, like the ordinary zombies in the game, he’s sensitive to light.

It all seems a great set-up for a final boss encounter, except none of this comes up in the game and in the end he’s revealed to be a Nemesis and just turns into what look like an amorphous lump of poo.

Expert, exclusive gaming analysis

Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more.

Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, he’s very easy to defeat, since his body is covered in flashing pustules that are his weak points, and he can’t really move.

It’s all very lame, especially as he doesn’t really say or do anything of interest at the end.

However, a Japanese fan has found an untextured 3D model within the game’s files, that seems to be a final form that actually makes use of the snake motif that the earlier part of the game built up – to the point where it’s reminiscent of the caduceus symbol used by many healthcare organisations.

It’s just a 3D model, so there’s no indication of what, if anything, this would’ve meant for the story, but many suspect that the plot was radically reworked at relatively short notice.

That’s something that is also theorised to have happened with Resident Evil Village, when that was originally intended to be the middle part of a trilogy featuring the character Ethan Winters.

A lot of the set-up at the beginning of Requiem, particularly in terms of the importance of Grace and her blood, doesn’t seem to jibe with the latter half of the game, while the character of Zeno goes completely unexplained.

Zeno looks exactly like a younger version of original bad guy Albert Wesker and even has the same voice actor in the West.

However, his origins are never explained and he’s unceremoniously killed off in a cut scene, with no explanation of who or what he was.

Capcom has time to make all that up in the next game, if they choose, but everything at the moment smacks of a rushed ending and last minute rewrite.

Why Capcom were in such a hurry is uncertain but while the threat of GTA 6 releasing in May never materialised (but would’ve been present during development) they were no doubt aiming for the franchise’s 30th anniversary in March.

The storytelling isn’t necessarily the most important part of Resident Evil but since it has had a 30 year, unbroken narrative, with no reboots, it is a shame it’s all become a bit of mess in recent years.

What’s an even bigger shame is that the series continues to suffer from a weak final act and, with only a few exceptions, unremarkable boss battles.

Hopefully that’s something Capcom can build on in the future, although the next few releases are all expected to be remakes.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.