Resident Evil Requiem: completing the run in under 4 hours and combining three challenges in a single playthrough

Nearly six months after its release, three challenges in Resident Evil Requiem are still being avoided by the majority of players. As of August 6, 2026, only 19.0% of Steam players have completed Straight Line (finish the story in under 4 hours), 20.4% have earned Minimalist (never use the blood extractor) and 21.7% have earned I Won't Touch That (no herbs, no injectable remedies during the entire playthrough). The good news: these three conditions are perfectly compatible with each other. A single well-prepared playthrough on Easy difficulty is enough to unlock them all at once.

The stakes go beyond the trophy list. Together, these three challenges award 90,000 CP — 20,000 for Straight Line, 35,000 for Minimalist and 35,000 for I Won't Touch That — which is more than enough to fund the big purchases in the Special Content menu before tackling Insane mode. A three-to-four-hour playthrough that pays for the rest of the post-game: it's hard to find better returns anywhere else in Capcom's game.

Here are the exact rules for each challenge, along with their little-known tolerances, the essential preparation, a commented route, and the settings that actually save you minutes.

Three challenges, one playthrough: doing the math

Contrary to what many players assume, none of these three challenges require a minimum difficulty: Easy mode is allowed, and it's actually the best option. Another decisive point, confirmed by reference guides: items unlocked in the Special Content menu do not invalidate any challenge. Infinite ammo, the unbreakable Kotetsu knife, the RPG-7: all of it remains usable during a speedrun attempt or a no-healing playthrough.

The three constraints reinforce one another: a fast playthrough encounters fewer enemies, therefore takes less damage, and therefore more easily does without healing items and the blood extractor. Conversely, attempting them separately would multiply playthroughs for nothing — the game offers neither chapter select nor a classic New Game+, so each attempt starts from scratch.

The exact rules, challenge by challenge

Straight Line: the timer is more generous than it looks

This challenge requires completing the main story in under 4 hours, choosing to free Elpis at the final choice — the other ending does not count toward the challenge. The elapsed time can be checked at any moment in the challenges menu, and more importantly, the timer pauses when the game is paused. In practice, any hesitation over a puzzle or a fork in the path can be sorted out with the menu open, without losing a single second. Optimized routes come in under 3 hours: the 4-hour limit leaves a comfortable margin, even when playing cautiously.

I Won't Touch That: only the counter counts

The name sounds scary, but the actual rule is more flexible than it appears: it's forbidden to consume herbs or injectable remedies, nothing more. You can pick them up, store them in the item box, sell them, or use them in crafting without invalidating the challenge. The only reliable reference is the dedicated counter in the challenges menu: as long as it shows zero, you're in the clear. Two valuable allowances noted by PowerPyx: steroids, which increase max health, don't count as healing, and automatic health recoveries during certain scripted Leon sequences aren't a problem either.

Minimalist: simply don't pick up the item

Grace must never use the blood extractor for the entire playthrough. The safest method is radical: don't pick up the item at all when it appears at the lab. It's impossible to accidentally use a tool you don't own. You obviously give up micro-sample gathering and the associated upgrades, but on Easy and over a short playthrough, their absence is never really felt.

Before starting the run: the prep that changes everything

This combined run is designed as a second playthrough. The first one, played at your own pace, is meant for everything else: discovering the story, memorizing the puzzles, collecting documents and Mr. Raccoon collectibles — which carry over from one playthrough to the next — and building up an initial stock of CP. There's no point collecting anything optional during the timed attempt: it would just be wasted time.

• Know the puzzles by heart. This is the number one time-saver: a puzzle solved from memory in ten seconds versus several minutes of trial and error. Our complete puzzle solutions are there to review before starting the clock.
• Invest your CP in Special Content. The unbreakable Kotetsu knife costs only 5,000 CP and removes all melee durability management; the RPG-7 (15,000 CP) shortens forced confrontations. If your first playthrough left you with 50,000 CP, infinite ammo turns the attempt into a formality.
• Create a manual save at the start of each major area. Without chapter select, this is your only safety net: an injectable remedy consumed out of reflex, and only reloading can fix the mistake. Check the challenge counter after every scare.

The route and split times

The route follows the main storyline with no detours: the outbreak at Wrenwood, then the Rhodes Hill care center — basement, courtyard, then escape —, the police station and its confrontation against the Tyrant S, and finally the ARK down to its lower levels and Elpis's release. For reference, PowerPyx's benchmark route reaches the care center's attic around the 45-minute mark and completes the ARK at 2:27: if your split times stay in that range, your final margin exceeds an hour.

The guiding principle: flee everything that can be fled. On Easy, nearly all ordinary enemies can be run past, and every avoided fight saves ammo, damage, and seconds. Only search rooms that are on your path, only pick up ammo for weapons you actually use, and ignore optional rooms — safes and containers can wait for another playthrough, their contents don't justify the detour.

The settings and reflexes that save real minutes

Choosing Easy mode isn't just about ease — it's the cornerstone of a no-healing run. On this difficulty, health regenerates automatically up to the yellow gauge without using a single item. Taking a hit while crossing a room never forces you to stop: just keep running while the gauge refills, which makes banning herbs and injectable remedies almost painless.

Next, get in the habit of using the pause menu as a tool: with the clock frozen, you can check the area's mental map, review your challenge counter, or catch your breath after a tense section. Likewise, skip every cutscene you've already seen from your first playthrough. Finally, save your shots for mandatory fights only — the S Tyrant chief among them — and let the Kotetsu handle isolated enemies blocking a corridor.

What comes next: turning 90,000 PC into an easy Insane run

Once the three challenges are cleared, your PC counter jumps by 90,000 points, on top of whatever the playthrough itself earns. That's exactly the springboard needed for the rest of the journey: the infinite ammo from the Special Content (50,000 PC) makes Insane difficulty — and its 40,000 PC Legendary Agent challenge — noticeably more manageable, as detailed in our post-game guide. In short, this under-4-hour run isn't just a pride-driven challenge: it's the most cost-effective step in the entire path to 100%, and the shortest one. Start the clock.