Of all the DLC planned for Resident Evil 7, there was one extra piece of the Baker family puzzle that interested me the most. Daughters was to fill in some of the gaps of the Baker family before and after Eveline changed their lives forever, including how they became the demented murderers who stalked Ethan throughout the majority of the main game.
After breezing through it multiple times to uncover everything, it’s ultimately a huge missed opportunity.
Opening with a robotic and nervous looking anchorman delivering news on the weather that coincided with Eveline crashing the freighter that was carrying her, you assume control of Zoe, the white sheep of the family. It isn’t long before Jack naively brings Eveline into their home and the horrors soon follow. The horrors also only take about ten minutes to get through.
To say that Daughters is brisk would be almost an understatement. Even after searching every inch of the house for secrets and only finding one, it doesn’t represent great value at all, especially when it wastes the potential to show the Baker family as they used to be. Apart from Marguerite and Jack’s compassion towards Eveline and Mia (who you can find as part of the “good” ending) in the first couple of minutes, Daughters fails to make the turmoil of the Baker family effective or even worth caring about any more than the main story did. Something as simple as a conversation around the table or even Zoe spending more time with either of her parents during their household chores would have worked much better.
Instead, Eveline’s influence corrupts Marguerite in no time with Jack soon to follow. A game of cat and mouse begins as Zoe attempts to flee from her parents, including a heart-stopping confrontation with her father. Completely weaponless, a lot of the control is taken away from the player that the latter stages of the main game doled out – it’s just you and a lighter. Stripping the DLC to its basics means that hiding is key; there’s no chance of fighting your way out of this one.
Again, however, Daughters doesn’t afford itself enough time to provide sustained fear. Just when it feels like it’s taking things to the next level, it’s all over with one of two endings available depending on meeting straightforward criteria. Neither the bad or the “true” ending (which is canonical) do much to set themselves apart from each other – it also takes an equally long amount of time to unlock both.
Despite having some seriously tense moments, Daughters is unfortunately the worst piece of DLC for Resident Evil 7. Thanks to its short length, underwhelming conclusions, and missed opportunity to throw the player deeper into the drama of the Bakers, it should be the last thing you play if you gave the season pass.
Lucas is and always was an asshole, by the way.
Is the rest of the Season Pass worthwhile? Check out our review for all of Resi 7’s DLC.
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