Image credit: Capcom
The internet rejoiced when Leon Kennedy was revealed as one of the two main playable characters of Resident Evil Requiem. Leon is a fan favorite, and many Resident Evil fans have fond memories of the series tied to him, so the excitement was warranted and understandable.
While most fans were excited to see how Leon fit in and interact with series newcomer Grace Ashcroft, a vocal minority treated Leon’s reveal as a sign that Grace was being replaced or even removed from the game completely. This wasn’t just unrealistic, it was downright bizarre.
“We just want Leon”
Leon’s inclusion in Requiem was heavily rumored even before the reveal, and like it does every time a new game has a female protagonist these days, a campaign of hate against Grace began to circulate online. And this is before anyone had even had the chance to play as her.
If you asked one of the haters what their issue was, they’d spew something about “wokeness”, as if female characters haven’t always been in video games, or that they’d just prefer to play as Leon. However, a quick look over the X feeds of these individuals often told you all you needed to know about their views towards women.
Grace’s crime wasn’t not being Leon; her crime was being a woman. So, in the boiled brain of an incel or some other right-leaning corner of the manosphere (some of them bristle at the term incel but fail to see that they all sound identical to them), Grace represented the enemy.
Would this mentality apply to a game featuring Claire Redfield or Jill Valentine if they were introduced in 2026? We suspect it would. However, these types were called out by the wider gaming and Resident Evil fanbase and sent crying back to their Andrew Tate or Jordan Peterson forums.
But that didn’t stop some of them from editing Grace out of official artwork and exclaiming, “fixed it”, or others hoping to see Grace removed from the game entirely. This was reality denial at its most severe. Not only did these oddballs think Capcom had caved to their misogynistic demands, but they thought the entire narrative structure of the game could be rewritten just a few weeks ahead of release.
Grace proved her haters wrong
The Grace haters were proved wrong in almost every way. The character wasn’t removed from the game at all, and despite their furious refusal to accept this basic fact, it was clear that Capcom planned Requiem to be about BOTH Grace and Leon from day one. The devs wanted to marry survival horror with action in a way that worked, and dual protagonists were the way.
Not only was Grace a compelling protagonist, with lots of delicious lore that linked her to the wider Resident Evil universe, but her sections are also arguably the best in the game. From a survival horror point of view, Grace’s Rhodes Hill Care Centre sections were a seven-foot-tall undead chef’s kiss. Leon’s sections were awesome too, but Grace’s were the most memorable.
While it was obvious to most from the start that the Grace haters were just misogynists doing what misogynists do, post-release, the haters have an awful lot of egg on their faces. Resident Evil Requiem had a female protagonist, and the sky didn’t fall. The world kept spinning on its axis, and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse failed to materialize – but more importantly, the game was great, and so was Grace.
The Grace haters looked silly before Resident Evil Requiem came out; they look completely ridiculous now. Since release, they’ve mostly been drowned out by the hype or slunk away to complain about something else.
Of course, because Grace was still included, some boycotted the game in protest, and others even made mods to remove her. But looking at the game’s sales numbers and critical success, we’d say these guys won’t be missed, and that they lost every inch of this argument.
FAQs
Yes. It sold five million copies in its first weekend and has continued to sell well, receiving positive reviews from critics.
Yes. Someone even made a mod that excludes her from the game, making it a much less interesting and disjointed experience.
Leon was the protagonist one of the protagonists in Resident Evil 2, 4, and 6, meaning he’s a series regular and has become beloved over the years. However, the character is a seasoned veteran, so it’s hard to make Resident Evil scary when playing as him.
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