Resident Evil Requiem on Switch 2 Is Horrifyingly Great

Capcom is one of the strongest third-party publishers on Switch 2 so far. It released an excellent port of Street Fighter 6 on the console’s launch day, and it’s keeping the momentum going in 2026 by bringing most of its big games to the platform, including Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata, and Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (with dedicated amiibo figures for all three games!). I went hands-on with Resident Evil and Pragmata on Switch 2 in both handheld and docked mode, and was extremely impressed with how these two slightly scaled down experiences are shaping up.

As you’d reasonably expect, the Switch 2 versions clearly don’t have the same fidelity as their counterparts on PC or the other consoles, but if you only have a Switch 2 or really value bringing your games on the go, the versions I saw were perfectly viable and didn’t make me wish I was playing on one of my beefier machines at home. Plus, I really enjoyed both games separate from my evaluation of their performance, and think they will each make excellent additions to Switch 2’s growing third-party lineup.

Resident Evil Requiem: Switch 2 Impressions

Let’s start with Resident Evil. The demo I tried on Switch 2 was nothing new if you’ve been following the lead-up to Requiem. I controlled newcomer Grace Ashcroft as she woke up on an examination table in a medical bay. This section sees Grace tiptoeing around dark hallways that are occasionally illuminated by flickering lights or blinking red alarms. It builds a lot of tension in these opening moments, like when I turned a corner to see an unidentifiable mass in the distance, only to cautiously approach it and see it’s just a horse statue staring back at me.

I was immediately impressed by Grace’s character model and animations in the demo’s introductory cutscene. It opens with a closeup shot of her eye, and it looked very detailed and pulled me into the world right away. That strong first impression carried through the rest of the demo. Requiem appears to shoot for 60 fps on Switch 2, and I didn’t notice any drops throughout my session. Granted, this is not a very action-heavy portion of the game – Grace is completely unarmed for the entirety of this segment besides glass bottles she can throw as distractions – but it was still great to see the Switch 2 keeping up with Requiem so far.

Eventually, I found a lighter that let me explore a previously pitch black hallway I’d skipped earlier. The lighting effects that the lighter projected onto the wall may not have been as complex as on the other platforms, but it’s certainly not bad, and if I weren’t looking at it with a very critical eye, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. This dark hallway led to the main confrontation of the demo: a game of cat and mouse against a towering, terrifying monster with long, disgusting fingers that chased after Grace for the remainder of my playtime. It was very intense, and the biggest compliment I can give Resident Evil Requiem on Switch 2 is that I was so terrified by being relentlessly stalked by this monster that any concerns I had about the version I was playing instantly melted away. All I could focus on was Grace’s survival.

After wrapping up the demo on the television from Grace’s first-person perspective, I swapped to the slightly less stressful third-person perspective in handheld mode and was similarly enthused with what I saw. Honestly, I think Resident Evil is far more fitting as a big screen experience with the lights turned off, but if you want to play it in handheld, the Switch 2 delivered a solid experience in this demo. There’s a noticeable resolution difference switching from the 4K television to the 1080p Switch 2 screen, but it still looked great and maintained solid performance, too. In third-person, I really like how Grace stumbled and tripped over herself while initially running away from the monster. She’s clearly as terrified and stressed as we are, and that small detail really sold it. I didn’t get to play as Leon Kennedy, but based on Dale Driver’s recent preview, I’m excited to try the more action-heavy portions that will balance out the terror I felt after completing Grace’s demo. Resident Evil Requiem is coming to Switch 2 (and other platforms) on February 27, and on the same day, Capcom is releasing Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village on Switch 2 as well.

Pragmata: Switch 2 Impressions

Requiem is bringing the newest entry in one of Capcom’s most historic franchises to Nintendo players. On the other side of the coin, Pragmata is Capcom’s newest IP that’s also debuting on Switch 2. This sci-fi third-person shooter stars a soldier named Hugh and an android he names Diana as they explore a lunar research facility filled with hostile robots. I played the Sketchbook demo, which is the same slice of the game currently available to try on PC and coming to consoles at a later date. It covers Hugh and Diane’s introduction all the way through the first boss encounter.

Pragmata on Switch 2 was similarly impressive, but I did notice a few more rough edges and fuzzier details compared to Requiem. My theory is that’s because Pragmata takes place in far brighter, bigger areas than Resident Evil’s claustrophobic hallways, exposing some more of its shortcomings. But with that said, it still ran very well and felt great to play, even in its more action-focused combat scenarios.

And I really like the spin Pragmata puts on third-person shooting. Hugh and Diana have to work together to take down enemies, as Diana hacks into the androids to deal damage, slow them down, and expose weak points. Hacking is represented by a grid minigame that appears when you target an enemy, where you press the face buttons to navigate a cursor to the goal as quickly as you can, passing through damage multipliers on your way. It’s snappy and satisfying to pull off, made better by the fact that the action doesn’t stop when you’re hacking as Diana, meaning you still have to aim, shoot, and dodge as Hugh at the same time. It’s immediately fun to split your attention between the two objectives, and I’m excited to see how Pragmata builds upon its unique foundation deeper in the campaign.

Running around the space station and solving light hacking puzzles was fun, too, and the heft of Hugh’s armor was sold by Switch 2’s HD rumble, as I could feel each footstep on the proper side of the controller. Just like Requiem, Pragmata was downgraded in handheld mode but still totally playable. Responsiveness is very important in Pragmata because of all its quick-time events, and the Switch 2 didn’t miss a beat in this demo.

Capcom was the only third-party presence at the Nintendo Switch 2 preview showcase I attended last week, but I also got to go hands-on with a lot of Nintendo’s upcoming first-party releases. For more, check out my previews of Mario Tennis Fever, the ridiculously great Virtual Boy accessory for Switch and Switch 2, and why I’m tired of Nintendo Switch 2 Editions after playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s new content.

Logan Plant is the host of Nintendo Voice Chat and IGN’s Database Manager & Playlist Editor. The Legend of Zelda is his favorite video game franchise of all time, and he is patiently awaiting the day Nintendo announces a brand new F-Zero. You can find new episodes of NVC every Friday on the IGN Games YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.