Technologies

Playing Leon in Resident Evil Requiem Is a Kickass Catharsis

Grace’s gameplay is enjoyably terrifying, but I loved cutting loose with RE’s still-quippy pretty boy.

Last year, I played through the Resident Evil Requiem demo, controlling the terrified Grace Ashford, weaponless and worried that this entry in the horror franchise would prioritize powerless fear over a zombie-killing power fantasy. But recently, I sat down to play the latest preview of the game, finally controlling the series’ beloved pretty boy Leon, and within minutes, I was cutting apart zombies with a chainsaw.

“We are so back, baby,” I want to say, though there’s way too much of the game still to be seen. Yet my short time with Leon (less than an hour of gameplay) left me pumped for his return, including everything that made his Resident Evil 4 appearance so iconic, from the action hero antics to the sassy quips to the humble grid-based item box.

In this preview, the two segments I played with Leon were sandwiched around an extended playthrough with Grace, which suggested how the game will flow, alternating between the two as distinct flavors of gameplay.

2 approaches, both satisfying

Let me put a popular fear to rest: Grace’s sections don’t resemble infamous segments from Resident Evil games past, where players must control helpless side characters who can only sneak around threats (like the maligned Ashley chapters from Resident Evil 4).

Instead, Resident Evil Requiem seems to be showcasing two iconic gameplay styles of the franchise around each character: Grace’s sections resemble the spooky puzzle-laden atmosphere of the original Resident Evil, while Leon’s embody the horror action of Resident Evil 4.

Requiem tailors each character’s experience to each gameplay style. Grace starts with a limited number of inventory slots requiring players to juggle items, and she has limited ammunition — sneaking past enemies is a harrowing necessity. She slowly creeps around, solving baroque puzzles and making the most out of a new crafting system that uses zombie blood (yuck) to make ammo and defensive weapons.

After Grace’s tense and moody exploration segments, Leon’s sections are a cathartic release, letting players cut loose with a lot of ammo and intense enemies, as well as some satisfying executions with Leon’s new best friend — a carbon fiber hand ax.

This split is exemplified by a new feature in Requiem: the ability to switch between first- and third-person cameras on the fly. Capcom employees running my preview suggested I play through Grace’s sections in the former to ratchet up the tension, then switch to the latter for Leon’s action-oriented sections.

3 hours with Resident Evil Requiem

At Summer Game Fest 2025, CNET’s Sean Booker got to play the first snippet of Requiem gameplay that Capcom unleashed, in which Grace awoke from her abduction and snuck around a derelict hospital, evading a grotesque matronly mutant chasing her through an abandoned ward. This latest preview starts just after that moment, in which Leon arrives at the hospital to find zombie doctors and orderlies — easily dispatched by his gunplay and combat kicks.

When a zombie came crashing in with a chainsaw, I shot him down, picked up the tool, carved open other zombies and cut through a barred door. That’s when Leon ran into Grace, quite literally picking up right where my earlier preview ended. With a powerful revolver — named, I kid you not, Requiem — I gunned down the matronly mutant. Before our heroic duo could properly team up, a gate slammed down between them. The hospital’s tall, pale overseer Dr. Gideon, operating the building from a distant control room, has other plans for them.

That’s where control shifted to Grace for a 2-hour gameplay segment, placing the wayward FBI agent in a setting familiar to Resident Evil veterans: a foyer between two staircases, with a door that can only be unlocked with three crystal gems. Echoes of the Spencer Mansion from the first Resident Evil manifested in arcane puzzles and ornate wooden furnishings, as well as evading zombies rather than shooting them to preserve scarce ammo.

It’s a vibe of dangerous exploration, made manageable by another twist: for whatever reason (presumably explained in the full game), these particular undead retain their memories and wander around the set paths they patrolled in life. By sneaking around and not making noise, I was (mostly) fine.

But as with the original Resident Evil that Grace’s sections evoke, I ended up having to run back and forth, retrieving key items from save rooms to solve puzzles across the map. The traversal became so tedious that I switched to the third-person over-the-shoulder camera to make it easier to weave around the undead.

Then the game sprung another surprise. Back from the 2002 Resident Evil 1 Remake are zombies that come back to un-life, crazier and deadlier. I whipped out the powerful Requiem revolver (which Leon had handed over to Grace through the gate separating them) and fired the single bullet I had to kill it — a precious resource, like a one-hit-kill safety blanket, that now put me more at the mercy of the hospital’s horrors.

It’s clear that Capcom wants players to feel vulnerable while controlling Grace, but not hopeless. During the preview, Capcom employees impressed on me that the FBI agent will grow in capability throughout the game. Mechanically, this was represented by her somewhat shaky aim, which took a second or two of focus to calm her enough for accurate shooting (i.e., the crosshairs shrinking after readying her gun) — which can be improved by finding or crafting injectable reflex boosters. Despite collecting resources and tools, including an offensive lab-made drug I could jab into zombies to make them literally explode, the shambling dead are still dangerous in the face of Grace’s unsure gunplay, and there are worse things haunting the halls.

One of these was a horrifyingly large mutant baby (distinct from the horrifyingly large mutant baby in Resident Evil 8), which chased Grace around one of the hospital wards. I switched to Leon, who escaped from the clutches of Dr. Gideon only to have to take on the grotesque infant the only way he knows how: lots of guns and chops from his ax.

After dispatching the horror-child, Leon runs around some of the same hospital areas I’d snuck around as Grace — but this time guns a-blazing. Even an ambush of several reanimated, deadlier zombies was a thrilling piece of cake for our hero and his trusty shotgun.

If the preview is representative of the game’s overall flow, players will survive through Grace’s vulnerable, tense gameplay stretches, while following chapters with Leon will act as release valves of action and gory gunplay. That’s a fun combination…when done right. Resident Evil Requiem seems like an attempt by Capcom to cram two flavors of its franchise into the same game. Independently, either is a joy to play, but how they’ll feel together will prove whether the game can sink or swim.

And yet, what little I saw (including a handful of things I was asked not to reveal) showcased a game that felt like an intriguing combination of familiar and new. After the saga of Ethan Winters in Resident Evil 7 and 8, it’s a relief to return to fan-favorite Leon and discover Grace’s story.

Running around a strange hospital ward overrun by its undead residents, locked in the purgatory of their old routines, is delightfully bizarre. So is peering into a microscope to research a way to craft bullets out of scrap metal and blood. Resident Evil’s blend of surreal horror has always been better when it’s trying out new elements to add to its beloved melody — and this duet of novice and veteran, survival and action, feels like we might just be back, (non-mutant) baby.

Technologies

Passengers and crew foil co-pilot’s apparent attempt to crash FlyDubai flight to Israel

One of the pilots on a FlyDubai flight headed for Israel stabbed the second pilot, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On-duty flight crew and passengers managed to foil a pilot’s apparent attempt to crash a FlyDubai flight, after reports emerged of a fight in the cockpit.

The incident on flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv happened when a co-pilot stabbed a pilot, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who praised the victim’s quick thinking.

“Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster. He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals,” Netanyahu wrote in a post on X.

FZ1073 was diverted to the Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia, the airline said, after being successfully secured and diverted by flight crew.

FlyDubai in a statement said that an “altercation” occurred on the flight deck of the plane, but did not mention a stabbing.

However, the airline added that the underlying reasons and motives for the clash is currently unknown, urging all parties to refrain from speculation.

The injured pilot was identified by Netanyahu as Indian national Smit Machchhar. No details have been released on the identity of the attacker, except that he was being interrogated by Saudi authorities.

The Indian embassy in Riyadh said on X that Machchhar is in a hospital in Tabuk, and is reported to be in stable condition.

The Israeli Prime Minister also identified the passenger who broke into the cockpit as Yaniv Hayun, calling him a “hero” and adding he deserved “a global medal of honor.”

Flight data from tracking site FlightRadar24 showed that the plane had experienced extreme altitude fluctuations before broadcasting a “general emergency” squawk code.

FZ1073 had dropped from over 14,000 feet in just 29 seconds, and FlightRadar24 also added that vertical speeds ranging from approximately -30,000 to +10,000 feet per minute were observed from the transponder data.

For context, vertical speeds during normal operations rarely exceed plus or minus 4,000 feet per minute, it added.

Technologies

South Korean President Lee Reins In Alaska LNG Project Participation Following Trump’s Endorsement

South Korea’s proposed $200 billion U.S. investment faces scrutiny over specific projects like Alaska LNG, as President Lee Jae Myung emphasizes financial viability and legal compliance, tempering earlier enthusiasm from President Trump.

South Korea’s proposed $200 billion investment in the U.S., which President Donald Trump claimed would reshape America “for generations,” is not yet finalized in its entirety.

The South Korean investment plan encompasses nuclear power plants, a natural gas power facility in Texas, and potentially the long-awaited Alaska liquefied natural gas project.

Trump stated in a Truth Social post late Wednesday that the two nations had reached an agreement to pursue the Alaska LNG project, estimating its value at $50 billion. In response, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung cautioned on Thursday that involvement in certain projects still hinges on commercial considerations.

Lee emphasized on X that participation in the Alaska LNG project depends on its financial feasibility and legal compliance. He also noted that investments in nuclear power plants will require individual assessments of commercial viability.

The U.S.-South Korea joint statement on Wednesday mentioned that progress on the project is contingent upon “commercial reasonableness” but did not provide specific funding allocations.

The Alaska LNG project aims to transport natural gas approximately 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from fields on Alaska’s North Slope to the state’s southern region for liquefaction and export to markets such as Asia, according to Yonhap. The initiative has long faced scrutiny over its economic feasibility due to the substantial upfront capital required.

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan labeled the project “high-risk” last year, stating that involvement would be challenging without ensuring adequate cash flow.

Overall, the investment package includes $22.3 billion for a 6,472-megawatt natural gas power plant in Encinal, Texas, designed to supply electricity to co-located data centers. The project will be spearheaded by developer Related Cos. and U.S. energy company NextEra Energy.

Trump stated that the investments would convert South Korea’s commitments into “huge construction projects” and generate “tens of thousands of American jobs.”

“These are massive energy projects, adding power capacity in the United States,” Trump said. “This is new construction, new manufacturing, and great jobs for American workers.”

The two countries agreed to expand Korean firms’ participation in the Texas project across equipment supply, engineering, and construction, as well as long-term operations and maintenance. The U.S. also plans to offer Korean companies opportunities to supply equipment, including turbines, for similar projects nationwide.

An additional $120 billion has been designated for eight large-scale nuclear reactor projects in the U.S. Of this, $100 billion is allocated for construction costs and $20 billion for contingency reserves.

The nuclear agreement was signed by both governments along with Westinghouse Electric, Korea Electric Power Corp., and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. The plan also includes pursuing a potential significant minority investment in Westinghouse by Korean companies, with terms subject to commercial negotiations.

Technologies

SEC Advances Crypto Custody Rules as Major Legislation Languishes in Congress

The SEC has proposed new crypto custody rules for investment advisers and funds while comprehensive legislation remains stalled in Congress, creating a regulatory pathway for digital asset holdings.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled proposed regulations designed to simplify the process for investment advisers and regulated funds to maintain cryptocurrency holdings for clients, as American regulators move forward with crafting digital asset rules following the stalling of comprehensive legislation on Capitol Hill.

The proposal, revealed Thursday, would create a specialized framework governing how registered investment advisers, investment companies, and business development companies maintain custody of crypto assets.

The modifications aim to update decades-old custody requirements and eliminate regulatory obstacles that the SEC says have restricted advisers’ capacity to provide crypto-related investment options.

Under the proposed regulations, crypto assets could be held in self-custody under “certain circumstances,” while state trust companies could also function as custodians for crypto assets belonging to clients and regulated funds.

The changes could also grant regulated funds expanded authority to offer investors crypto-related investment strategies, according to the SEC.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that existing regulations had not kept pace with the rapid growth of digital assets, which have evolved into a multi-trillion-dollar market.

“Today’s proposal would provide a clear regulatory framework for the custody of crypto assets, giving investment advisers and funds a compliant pathway where none existed before,” Atkins said.

The proposal arrives as U.S. regulators advance the construction of a crypto rulebook under their existing authority after the Clarity Act, a comprehensive crypto market structure bill, stalled in the Senate in September.

This represents another step in the SEC’s broader initiative to reshape the U.S. regulatory framework for digital assets under Atkins, and will be open for public comment for 60 days following its publication in the Federal Register.

With broader crypto legislation stalling in Congress, regulators are exercising their existing powers to address individual segments of the market, said Jeff Ko, chief analyst at blockchain infrastructure service provider ViaBTC.

“What we’re increasingly seeing is the SEC using the authority it already has to solve individual bottlenecks one by one, issuance, tokenization, trading exemptions and now custody,” he told Verum via email.

The changes could also intensify competition among crypto custodians, potentially reducing the cost and complexity of investing in digital assets, he said, adding that institutional custody has historically been concentrated among a relatively small number of providers.

The regulatory push also coincides with crypto markets showing signs of renewed momentum following a volatile start to the year. Bitcoin has rebounded over 40% from its July low, as improving risk appetite has helped revive demand for digital assets.

The recovery follows a prolonged downturn from late 2025 into the first half of 2026.