Resident Evil Requiem players have spent the weekend trying to solve the game's cryptic Final Puzzle, and now a Pokémon fan has provided video evidence they have completed the challenge — despite being uncertain exactly how they did so.
Pokémon trading card fan Gengar Collects has posted numerous screenshots and video evidence on YouTube suggesting he has indeed finished The Final Puzzle, a labyrinthine quest that thousands of players have been trying to collectively solve since before Requiem officially launched last week.
The only problem? Even with this evidence, which really does suggest Gengar Collects has completed the challenge, fans still aren't sure exactly how to do it for themselves, as it requires the holding of an item that normally can't be found.
"I don't even know if it was how it was supposed to be done," Gengar Collects says in a video that attempts to walk fans through his solution. Essentially, it boils down to him holding an item, Marie's Doll, and then inputting the puzzle's now-infamous code sequence. Doing so then granted him the challenge completion — something he also provided screenshots of.
But how to get Marie's doll? The past few hours have seen a frantic back and forth between Gengar Collects and other fans via YouTube comments, and to be fair, it looks like he's trying his best to help. A series of screenshots show the location he claims he found Marie's Doll in (which is different to the doll you find in the cell). Further screenshots show he is playing on Xbox Series X/S, which limits the suggestion he has somehow used a cheat or hack to get the doll item to spawn, where for others it can't be found.
Yet more screenshots, requested by other players, show a close-up examination of the doll in his inventory. There are no other clues on the item itself — "no name in ink on the bottom of the shoe," Gengar Collects says, as the doll in the cell has — only more evidence that he is being honest with his claim.
So, what's going on? Why can no one else find the doll and complete the puzzle? The best working theory at the moment is that Gengar Collects legitimately completed the Final Puzzle, but only after unconsciously doing something during his playthrough that spawned the doll. And it's this step, now, that fans are rushing to reproduce. (Alternatively, it's possible the doll spawned due to some kind of bug or random glitch.)
On the upside, fans say they now know the challenge's ending — and as soon as the doll is obtained, the puzzle can finally be completed. On the downside, Gengar Collects seems equally stumped on what he did in order to be able to pick the doll up in the first place.
Back over on reddit, the work continues. "Inputting the code is the last step, but you need Marie's doll," one fan summed up. "That's the step we need to focus [on]."
"This is just a guess, but could the doll spawning be tied to how often we spoke to Emily?" questioned one fan. "Has anyone tried flushing the toilets using the numbers 204," suggested another. "This is the room number that Grace and her mom stayed in the hotel." For more detailed pointers, be sure to check out IGN's Resident Evil Requiem Final Puzzle challenge guide — maybe you can help solve it?
IGN's Resident Evil: Requiem guide will help you every step of the way through RE9. Take note of these key tips and tricks before you get started, and focus on finding these important items early. Plus, our comprehensive walkthrough will make sure you don't miss a single Bobblehead or file as you try to survive from the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center all the way to Raccoon City.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
