Resident Evil Requiem Breaks Metacritic Record With Highest Score

The 2026 Game of the Year race has officially begun, and Capcom has come out swinging. Just days after its February 27 launch, Resident Evil Requiem has achieved a monumental milestone, rocketing to the very top of Metacritic’s all-time video game user rankings. With universal praise from everyday players, the highly anticipated ninth mainline entry has quickly cemented its place as the most beloved and commercially explosive title in the survival horror franchise's history. The newly released installment currently boasts a staggering 9.5 out of 10 user score on Metacritic. 

While it technically shares this massive 9.5 rating with last year's breakout hit, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Metacritic's unrounded backend calculations place Resident Evil Requiem fractionally ahead to claim the absolute number one spot. An overwhelming 95% of these user ratings are purely positive, as per Metacritic.  On the professional side, the game earned a highly respectable Metascore of 88 out of 100 based on 116 reviews. 

This perfectly matches the 88 Metascore of Mewgenics, which came out of the blocks firing earlier this year, setting the stage for a fiercely competitive award season. Within the Resident Evil family, Requiem has completely redefined fan expectations, becoming the best-reviewed original game in the series in over 20 years. Its 9.5 user score easily eclipses the previous franchise benchmark of 9.1, which was set by the original 2005 release of Resident Evil 4. 

Shattering Steam Concurrent Player Records

The massive leap in community approval puts the game comfortably ahead of the critically acclaimed Resident Evil 4 remake and the 2002 Resident Evil Remake, which both sit at 8.9. Both of these titles, along with the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remake and the original 1998 Resident Evil at 8.8, have now been surpassed by this record-breaking entry. It also towers over recent series staples like Resident Evil Village with an 8.4 score and Resident Evil 7, which bagged an 8.2, as per the Gamer. 

Industry observers note just how far Capcom has come in rebuilding fan trust, considering past entries like the Resident Evil 3 remake sat at a 6.7, and Resident Evil 6 languished at a 5.4. The game's overwhelming popularity isn't limited to Metacritic's aggregation boards. Over its debut weekend, Resident Evil Requiem completely shattered the franchise's concurrent player record on Steam, peaking at an incredible 344,214 simultaneous players. 

This figure makes it one of the most-played single-player games ever on the platform, more than doubling the previous record held by the Resident Evil 4 remake, tripling the numbers for Resident Evil Village, and rivaling the peaks of massive multiplayer giants like Elden Ring. Unsurprisingly, the game also boasts an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating on Steam, drawing from nearly 18,000 user reviews in just a few days.

Playable across the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and the Nintendo Switch 2, the title is drawing massive praise for perfectly balancing the franchise's tense roots with modern thrills. The campaign brilliantly alternates between two distinct styles. 

Half the game focuses on FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft, brought to life by actress Angela Sant'Albano, in tense, resource-scarce horror segments. The other half hands the reins to returning fan-favorite Leon S. Kennedy, voiced once again by Nick Apostolides, for high-octane action sequences. Critics and fans are firmly aligned on the dual-narrative success.