Resident Evil 9 Is Absolutely Explosive! Capcom Kicks Off the Year with Four High-Scoring Hits

The moment the lights go out, the headphones go on, and that familiar sense of pressure from the screen creeps back over me. It’s not the instant a monster lunges at your face, but that hesitation when you know there’s definitely something behind the door, and you still have to reach your hand toward it. Coming back to my senses, I realized this feeling lately doesn’t belong only to Resident Evil anymore—it feels more like Capcom has taken control of the rhythm again.

IGN Japan’s verdict this time was very direct: since 2016’s Resident Evil 7, Capcom has entered a golden period lasting ten years. And in just the first four months of 2026, they delivered four consecutive titles with Metacritic scores above 85. This kind of stability, almost abnormal in how consistent it is, is even more intimidating than a one-off smash hit. It’s like a slow-boil kind of dominance—by the time you notice, it has already taken up a huge chunk of the rankings.

Let’s start with the strongest card in the deck. Released in February, Resident Evil 9: Requiem reached a Metacritic score of 89, landing it directly as the second-highest-rated game of 2026. For someone like me who has been playing all the way from Resident Evil 7, that score means more than just “fun”—it means Capcom still understands what truly effective horror is. Anyone can do cheap jump scares, but being able to tighten the player’s nerves bit by bit—that takes real skill.

What’s even more unsettling is that it didn’t win through a single knockout punch. The Switch 2 version of Resident Evil 7: Gold Edition also scored 87, showing that even on a new platform, the old title still has a solid enough foundation to support its reputation. Then in March, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twin Dragons of Fate pulled in an 86. As a spin-off, it was even praised as being no less entertaining than the mainline series. At that point, it’s no longer a case of “one franchise is doing well”—it’s the whole company entering a sustained output phase.

What surprised me the most, though, was that the brand-new IP Pragmata didn’t drop the ball either. IGN JAPAN gave it an 8, the PS5 version holds an 86 on Metacritic, and the Switch 2 version even climbed to 89. What it has been praised for most is its blend of puzzle-solving and shooting, along with the emotional connection between the protagonist and the robot girl. That point is crucial, because the biggest fear for a new IP is having only a concept and no warmth; and the fact that Pragmata is memorable clearly isn’t just because its sci-fi shell looks flashy.

If you put these four titles side by side, the scariest thing about Capcom right now is actually its genre range. Survival horror, upgraded legacy titles, a Monster Hunter spin-off, and a brand-new sci-fi IP—none of the four lines show any obvious weakness. At present, Capcom holds 4 spots in Metacritic’s top 10 for 2026. That’s no ordinary “strong start to the year”; it’s more like sweeping up players of every taste in one go. To be a little cynical, many companies would be thankful just to get one game through a year without crashing and burning. Capcom releasing four high-scoring report cards in four months really does leave the competition barely any room to breathe.

If you’re still on the fence as a player, my advice is simple. If you like psychological pressure and horror atmosphere, keep your eyes first on Resident Evil 9: Requiem; if you want to revisit a classic, Resident Evil 7: Gold Edition on Switch 2 is still well worth it; if you’re interested in turn-based progression systems and the Monster Hunter universe, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twin Dragons of Fate is clearly not just here to make up the numbers; and if you want to try something fresh, Pragmata deserves a place on your key list for this year. The most valuable thing about Capcom right now is that it’s no longer relying only on nostalgia to scare you—it’s using sheer game quality to send a chill down the spine of the entire market.