
Leon Kennedy Is Italian American
From Aftermath Hours by Aftermath
February 27, 2026 · 1h 25m · Episode 104
About this episode
The episode discusses the latest Resident Evil game and its thematic implications, featuring insights from media experts.
On this week’s episode, Nathan is joined by two media luminaries, Polygon editor-at-large Giovanni Colantonio and freelancer/Aftermath columnist Joshua Rivera, to discuss all things Resident Evil: where it’s coming from, where it’s going, and of course, the newly released Resident Evil Requiem. The series has spent its past few installments promising a fresh start; does Requiem actually deliver, or is it lured astray by the siren’s call of Leon Kennedy-flavored nostalgia? And during an era that’s decidedly post-zombie, what makes this series, in particular, so enduring? Also, Giovanni’s review of Requiem, which put the game in conversation with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, drew some pretty vocal criticism online. We discuss whether or not the text of the game actually supports that kind of close thematic read. Finally, we come up with some truly diabolical remake ideas for old-school games and conclude that there’s actually no such thing as a long or short game. Who needs to stick around for 100 hours when you can make your own ending whenever you want to? Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, and special guests Joshua Rivera and Giovanni Colantino - Podcast…
People in this episode
Host: Nathan Grayson
Guests: Giovanni Colantonio, Joshua Rivera
Topics covered
- Resident Evil
- video game criticism
- game remakes
- thematic analysis
- nostalgia in gaming
Keywords
- Resident Evil
- Requiem
- video games
- nostalgia
- Hiroshima
- Nagasaki
- game remakes
- thematic analysis
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Polygon
Books & works: Resident Evil Requiem, Resident Evil
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