It's been nine years since the arrival of Resident Evil 7, its "Reach for the Moon" engine the foundational work for almost all of Capcom's following releases, succeeding the venerable MT Framework. Resident Evil Requiem sees the engine approaching something close to full maturity with the series enjoying a generational leap in technological prowess - especially pronounced on PS5 Pro.

Perhaps owing to a current-gen only focus, Resident Evil Requiem delivers what I think are some of the most impressive visuals seen in this generation, defined by atmospheric environments, hyper-detailed characters, superb animation and accomplished effects work. And Capcom's ambition is on clear display in the first moments of the game - the rain-soaked city streets delivering a masterclass in detail, effects, lighting and RT features. It sets the stage for a game that's a stunning showcase for the RE Engine.

And we need to give the PS5 Pro version the credit it deserves. While the vision for the hardware was to deliver 30fps quality modes at 60fps performance levels, Requiem arguably goes one step further. The RT mode mostly achieves a locked 60fps with only small exceptions, but piles of the features.

That starts with image quality. Although native resolution is similar to the base PS5 version, the temporal upscaling solution is remarkable in delivering what looks close to native 4K resolution even though the pixel counts come in at just over 1080p. Ray tracing is added to the mix, with transformative reflections and global illumination.

While some low-resolution reflection noise and denoising artifacts are occasionally visible, the enhancement is clear. The 120Hz mode doesn't just disable RT, it disables the upscaler too, leaving you with a far less impressive spatial scaler, which looks a lot like the PC version running with FSR1. Performance on the 120Hz mode isn't perfect, but it's consistently high, with the game supporting proper VRR - so it basically always looks smooth if you have the appropriate display.

I'd say that the character models are some of the best I've seen in a video game. While recognisably Capcom, the realism is brilliant: the quality of materials, cloth rendering, skin shading and eye refraction impressing me greatly. The strand-based hair system first seen in the remade Resident Evil 4 returns, but this time it doesn't seem to excessively drain performance, the hair is lit correctly and integrates into every scene effectively.

Cross-platform comparisons? PS5 Pro is clearly in a class of its own here. It's one of the most convincing upgrades we've seen for the system. As mentioned, the Pro's 120Hz mode is effectively the same as the standard model's 60fps presentation, meaning that RT reflections and GI are gone. You do get the hair strand system at least!

Xbox Series X is effectively a carbon copy of PS5 with the same "slightly higher than native 1080p with spatial upscaling" set-up, but Series S is intriguing. Again, there's FSR1-like scaling, this time from what looks like a base 720p. Image quality is not great, but it runs smoothly. The key cutback is the hair strand system, which is completely gone. There are interesting comparisons to Switch 2 we'll discuss later.

I've loved my time with Resident Evil Requiem and beyond its technical excellence, I'd rate it as one of the best titles in the series. And beyond those visuals, the game has excellent black levels - sorting out an issue from prior series entries - along with superb 3D audio design, effectively conveying enemy positions while building a convincing, creepy atmosphere. While the RE Engine scales gracefully between the consoles, PS5 Pro is easily the definitive way to play on consoles. It's the premium experience that fully delivers on the promise of the hardware.