Resident Evil Requiem: puzzle and riddle guide — complete solutions from the prologue to the end (2026)

Since the Resident Evil remake (2002) and the 2019 RE2 Remake, the series has reinstated the mansion puzzle as the house's signature. Resident Evil Requiem, released in early 2026 and internally numbered 9 at Capcom, is no exception to the rule: symbol boxes, combination chests, tiered key cards, paintings to recombine, blood analyzer, item rearrangement in the inventory — the whole classic arsenal is there, but elevated by the narrative structure of the Rhodes Hill Care Center, a medical center converted into a circular trap in the style of RE1.

This guide compiles all the solutions verified after patch 1.3.1, based on English-language walkthroughs (PowerPyx, Game8, GamesRadar) cross-checked with French guides from Millenium, Julsa, ActuGaming and Breakflip. Major spoilers: the "Endgame" section and especially "The Final Puzzle" reveal late-game plot elements — skip them if you're in the middle of your first playthrough.

Practical note: several dial chests generate a different combination depending on difficulty (Standard vs Insanity). We provide both values. However, the Moon/Sun/Star symbols are fixed from one playthrough to another, contrary to pre-launch rumors.

Prologue and first chapter: the introductory puzzles

Grace Ashcroft, an FBI agent investigating her mother's murder, arrives at the Rhodes Hill Care Center — the former Umbrella medical facility converted into a hospital. The first three hours alternate cautious exploration and short puzzles designed to establish the game's visual vocabulary: the three Quartz (Moon, Sun, Star) that must be gathered to open the main door.

The Moon Puzzle Box — President's Office (west wing, 2nd floor)

Description: a small wooden box with four notches for celestial symbols. No direct clue: the puzzle is craft in the room.

Solution: in the president's office, a journal rests on the dresser with a torn-out page. Cross the hallway to the small office in the back — kill the zombie lurking there — and pick up the pencil lying on the desk pad. Return to the journal, examine the next page and use the pencil from the inventory to shade the page (carbon rubbing pattern). The sequence appears: Moon — Sun — Star — Moon.

Reward: Moon Quartz, one of the three quartz required to progress.

The Sun Puzzle Box — Chief Researcher's Office (east wing, 2nd floor)

Description: the box is secured with a physical padlock that cannot be broken with a knife — even the RIP knife breaks against it.

Solution: go down to the Administration Room to retrieve the bottle of Corrosive hidden in the back closet. Apply it to the padlock from the inventory (only one dose: don't waste it on another padlock). The clues for the sequence are in the team photos pinned to the wall — the order of the members corresponds to the symbols inscribed on the backs of the frames. The combination: Star — Sun — Moon — Sun.

Reward: Sun Quartz + the Leather Notebook, which unlocks a bonus file in the collection menu.

The Star Puzzle Box — Isolation Ward (east wing)

Description: the game's first "scripted" puzzle — the solution is manual, and it goes through a companion.

Solution: go back for Emily (the little girl hidden since the prologue) and carry her to the ward's office. You can't shoot while carrying her, so clear the corridor before picking her up. Once in the office, set Emily down in front of the console: she solves the box in 40 real-time seconds during which you must defend her — two crawling zombies come in through the ventilation.

Reward: Star Quartz — the last piece needed to leave the center and move on to the urban area.

Mid-game: the central puzzles

Once the resident card is obtained, Requiem opens up several areas at once (examination room, garage, blood lab) and offers up its most "RE-signature" puzzles.

Organ Transport Box — Garage (west wing, 1st floor)

Description: a locked metal trunk with five toggle switches, a "HAND / AUTO" dial, and two numbered push buttons. Handled from the inventory (mouse wheel or right stick to rotate it in 3D).

Solution: flip down switches 2 and 5 only, set the right dial to HAND, press button 5 then 2, then switch the dial to AUTO. The box opens to reveal Artificial Lungs.

The corpse missing its organs — Examination Room

On the main autopsy table, an open body is waiting for two organs: the Artificial Lungs (Organ Transport Box) and the Artificial Heart (retrieved in the Blood Lab after analyzing Sample 3B). Insert both from the inventory — be careful, the installation triggers a cutscene and an attack: reload your shotgun and keep a green herb ready. The basement key is extracted from the body once the zombie is put down.

Blood Specimen Analyzer

Description: a 3x3 grid mini-game where you click squares to recreate a DNA pattern. Each sample has a name (Denatured, Converged, Reversible, Polymerized) displayed on screen.

Standard solutions:

• Denatured — Main Blood Lab: click the middle-left square.
• Converged — Ward Office closet: click top-middle, then 2nd square from the bottom.
• Reversible — Annex Blood Lab: click bottom-left, then center, then top-right.

Insanity only — Polymerized: click middle-left, middle-right, then bottom-middle.

Reward: each analysis unlocks an R&D file and opens a nearby drawer (herbs, 9mm ammo, or knife spare parts).

VIP Suite — DNA Helix on the lectern

Description: a lectern in the VIP Suite requires a double-helix-shaped piece. Next to it, a sealed bottle of wine.

Solution: examine the bottle from the inventory, open it (corkscrew icon at the bottom right) and retrieve the Propeller. Place it on the lectern — a secret drawer slides open and releases the key that grants access to the basement.

The Hourglass in the VIP Suite

Description: a "soft" puzzle that doesn't block progression but provides a key hint for the Final Puzzle.

Solution: pick up the hourglass sitting on the dresser, examine it, flip it over (180° rotation) then unscrew the 4 screws that appear at the base — you'll discover the inscription "U = 380,000 km". Note: this is the Earth-Moon distance. Remember this number for the end.

Endgame: the advanced puzzles

Major SPOILERS from here on — Requiem shifts to Raccoon City and the return to the R.P.D. in its third act.

R.P.D. — Briefcase in the S.T.A.R.S. office (2nd floor)

Description: a leather briefcase sitting on Chris Redfield's desk with a three-letter alphabetical lock.

Code: R — R — R (as in Ravens, Rifle, Rocketeer — Chris's three codenames displayed on the nearby mission board).

Reward: Power Shades Charm, a charm to equip on the keychain that boosts ammo drops.

Barry's treasure hunt — Operations Room

Retrieve Jojo's Locker Key by climbing the wooden pallets behind the TV (contextual interaction) then climb onto the cabinet. Return to the West Office to open locker no. 38: inside, the S.T.A.R.S. Emblem, a charm that reduces herb-mixing time.

Severed Hand + Laser Microscope

After the basement elevator sequence, pick up the Severed Hand near the body next to the door. Run it through the laser microscope in the Blood Lab: the RNA sequence displayed is GGC-AAG-AUA-ACG-UGU-CAU, accompanied by the message "Play with me". Note the sequence — it will be essential for the Final Puzzle.

Optional puzzles and bonus chests

Requiem hides five dial-lock chests with different combinations depending on the difficulty. None are mandatory, but the rewards range from extended magazines to the compensated barrel module, along with rare charms.

Worth noting: these dial locks are deterministic — no random generation per save, unlike the Insanity chest in RE2 Remake. The first number indicates the direction (L = left, R = right) and the position.

The Final Puzzle — New Game+ only

The big hidden reward: 20,000 CP (completion points, the bonus menu currency that unlocks infinite ammo, skins, and arcade mode). The puzzle is called "Letting the Adorable Duo Hear the Voice".

Phase 1 Prerequisites (1st playthrough):

1. In the Processing Room, let the grinder kill the zombies: do not take down any of them yourself. Wait 15 real-time minutes until the message "A tremendous amount of blood has been spilled" appears.
2. In the west wing restroom, flush the toilet exactly 8 times.
3. Retrieve Marie's Doll at the foot of the first staircase during the VIP Suite escape.
4. Store the doll in Grace's chest before finishing the playthrough.

Phase 2 (NG+): the RNA sequence GGC-AAG-AUA-ACG-UGU-CAU is decoded using four clues scattered throughout the game:

• Laser microscope: "G = 150,000,000 km" = Earth-Sun distance -> G = Sun
• VIP hourglass: "U = 380,000 km" = Earth-Moon distance -> U = Moon
• Secret lab document: "C = 4.2 ly" (Proxima Centauri) -> C = Star
• Kendo puppet: "Ignore the A" -> A = enter nothing

The sequence with the A's purged becomes GGC-GUC-GUG-UCU, that is: Sun-Sun-Star / Sun-Moon-Star / Sun-Moon-Sun / Moon-Star-Moon. Enter it into the box in the Chief Researcher's Office, with the Doll and Emily in your inventory. A child's laugh confirms success and the awarding of the 20,000 CP.

General tips for the RE 2026 puzzles

• Always search documents and examine them by rotating in 3D: half of the clues (including every code in the Final Puzzle) are hidden on the back, under a screw, or inside the binding.
• Take a screenshot or a phone photo before leaving a clue room: the map is cyclical, and you'll waste time coming back.
• Save before defense puzzles (Emily, the organless corpse) — death occurs if you fail the timed sequence.
• The drawers and storage units adjacent to mini-games only open after they're solved: never leave right away.
• Casual mode displays golden highlights on interactive objects. In Standard and Insanity, that display is removed: be systematic when searching desk pads, drawers, and furniture legs.
• Corrosive is limited: save it for the Sun padlock and the Sterilization Chamber lock on Insanity. All other standard locks can be broken with a knife.

Conclusion

Resident Evil Requiem confirms Capcom's definitive return to the puzzle grammar it inherited from 1996-2019, with a few welcome updates: grid analyzers, the cross-playthrough Final Puzzle, and the use of living companions (Emily, later Barry) as solving "interfaces". It all remains very readable as long as you take notes on your clues — the mark of a good RE.

Once you've mastered the puzzles, you can move on to our other Requiem guides: the "Leon Must Die Forever" mode after the 1.3.1 rebalancing, the complete bestiary, the RIP knife, and the infected blood mechanic.