Resident Evil Requiem Endings Guide: Release Or Destroy Elpis?
You drag your tired, ammo-starved body through a bio-organic meat grinder only to face a terminal prompt that decides the fate of the entire franchise.
By the time you reach the deepest levels of the ARK laboratory, the tension is suffocating. Leon S. Kennedy is collapsing from the accelerated effects of Raccoon City Syndrome, leaving him effectively useless. Grace Ashcroft is standing in front of a terminal, forced to answer Oswell Spencer's final question. You have two options staring back at you. You can either type in "HOPE" to release Elpis, or you can choose to destroy it.
Before I go any further, consider this your massive spoiler warning. I am going to detail exactly what happens in the final moments of the game. If you stumbled in here by mistake and just want to know how to survive your first few hours in Rhodes Hill, click away and read my Resident Evil Requiem beginners guide instead.
If you are ready for the truth about Spencer's final project, keep reading.
The Illusion Of Choice
Modern gaming loves branching narratives, but Capcom is not playing that game here. There is a remarkably clear canon answer and a spectacularly depressing wrong one.
You do not need to stress about your previous actions. Whether you read every hidden document or skipped half the optional rooms does not matter. The ending is dictated entirely by this single prompt. The good news is that the game creates an autosave right before this room. You can pick one option, watch the chaos unfold, and immediately reload your save to see the other path.
I strongly recommend doing exactly that, because seeing the bad ending puts the true finale into perspective.
The Bad Ending: Destroy Elpis
If you decide to play the cynic and destroy Umbrella's final secret, the game punishes you immediately.
Grace punches the command to destroy Elpis into the terminal, triggering the ARK facility's self-destruct sequence. The room begins to violently collapse. Leon tries to help Grace escape, but his Raccoon City Syndrome has progressed too far. He tells her to go on without him, promising he will follow. He is lying, and you both know it.
Things get significantly worse. Zeno, the terrifying Wesker imitation who has been hunting you, is absolutely enraged that you ruined his chance at godhood. As the platform crumbles, Zeno pulls out a massive long-barrel revolver. While Grace watches helplessly from safety, Zeno blows Leon's goddamn head off.
Grace escapes the facility in a helicopter as the ARK is obliterated. The screen cuts to black, and the credits roll. There is no final boss fight. There is no post-credits scene. Capcom essentially gives you a button that says "skip the finale and murder a franchise icon." It is a shockingly bleak outcome, and it is entirely non-canon.
The True Canon Ending: Release Elpis
If you paid attention to Alyssa Ashcroft's interview tapes earlier in the game, you know Spencer expressed genuine regret for his actions. He called his daughter, Grace, his "hope." Typing "HOPE" into the terminal releases Elpis, revealing the greatest twist of the entire game.
Elpis is not a bioweapon. It is a miracle anti-viral agent.
Zeno immediately grabs a vial and injects himself, fully expecting to mutate into an unstoppable tyrant. Instead, the serum strips away his powers. It cures his Raccoon City Syndrome and renders him completely human. His confusion lasts for about five seconds before Dr. Victor Gideon drops into the room, sprouts a massive tentacle, and cleanly decapitates him.
Seeing the cure in action, Grace injects Leon with the remaining Elpis. The serum works instantly, purging the sickness that has been killing him all game. Leon gets his second wind, and the real finale begins.
The Final Boss Fight
With Leon fully restored, you finally get to put Gideon in the ground.
Gideon mutates into a massive, hulking bioweapon that Leon quickly recognizes as a variant of the Nemesis parasite. This is the true final boss of Resident Evil Requiem, and he is relentlessly aggressive. If you have been hoarding your heavy ordnance, this is exactly where you use it. You need to keep your distance and bait out his sweeping tentacle strikes before punishing him. If you are struggling to read his attack patterns, my Resident Evil Requiem combat guide breaks down the mechanics of parrying and dodging these larger threats.
You will burn through a massive amount of healing items and ammunition during this two-phase fight. If you hit a wall and find your inventory empty, you might need to reload a slightly older save and consult my Resident Evil Requiem crafting guide to optimize your gunpowder and chemical fluid combinations.
Eventually, Leon disarms Gideon, steals his own rocket launcher, and blasts the mutated researcher into a fine mist.
The Aftermath And The Future
With Gideon dead and the ARK facility collapsing, Leon and Grace accept their fate in the rubble. Just as the ceiling gives way, sunlight pours in. A rescue team led by Chris Redfield pulls them from the wreckage.
The game treats you to a news report confirming the discovery of the illegal lab and stating that Emily, the infected child Grace was trying to save, was recovered alive.
Do not skip the credits. A mid-credits scene shows Grace back in the civilian world taking a phone call from Leon. They confirm that Emily was fully cured using Elpis, and Grace has officially adopted her. Leon lives to fight another day, the T-Virus finally has a legitimate cure, and the Resident Evil universe is fundamentally changed forever.
Choosing this path also unlocks the "Hope and Requiem" narrative achievement. If you are hunting for 100% completion, this is the only way to finish your run. I mapped out the rest of that brutal grind in my Resident Evil Requiem trophy achievement guide.
Release Elpis. Save Leon. Shoot the monster with a rocket launcher. That is how a Resident Evil game is supposed to end.
