Reviewing Resident Evil 7’s DLC: Was It Worth the Price?

Even though it’s now the industry norm (for better or worse), a lot of eyebrows were raised when it was announced that the release of Resident Evil 7 would be accompanied by a Season Pass.

Perhaps it’s because a lot of us remember the blocky terror of running away from undead dogs down a corridor or the series’ long history of gifting the player unlockable content after multiple playthroughs. Previous games have seen whole new modes become available to the most patient of Resident Evil fans, so why lock the same principle behind a paywall?

While Resident Evil 7 does offer bonuses for completionists, the selection is meagre. Couple that with the fact that DLC would be made available just a week after the game’s release, which points to content that could have easily been a part of the base experience, and you might be in the right to be concerned.

With both volumes of Banned Footage now out in the wild, however, do they manage to make the added price worthwhile, or even add much worth caring about?

 

Banned Footage Vol. 1 review

Nightmare DLC

More of a vigorous headbang to Call of Duty’s zombies mode than a nod, Nightmare tasks you with playing as Clancy, the hapless cameraman seen in the game’s now infamous demo. After waking up in the basement seen in the main game, you must survive through waves of Molded and even a couple of appearances from Jack Baker, who’s as big a bastard pain in the arse as always.

How you take on the hordes is down to you thanks to the mode’s scrap system. After turning on generators to create pieces of scrap, these can be used to create new weapons and upgrades. The going is slow as the mode wants you to grind your way through failures until you eventually unlock enough to stand a fighting chance, but it’s hugely satisfying when your tactics eventually click.

Nightmare is a neat little addition to Resident Evil 7 that will please the four people longing for a more action-oriented Resi. It’s great while it lasts, but the forced longevity of making you grind through multiple completions to unlock everything is a deterrent.

Verdict: 6/10

Bedroom DLC

When you have to switch several paintings around, use a bunsen burner to kill spiders, and create a specific shadow with a fork to solve a puzzle, you know that you’re playing a Resident Evil game. While the puzzles found in the main Resident Evil 7 experience struck a sweet spot between difficulty and absurdity, what you will find in Bedroom is classically obtuse and brain-taxing.

Waking up as our boy Clancy again (he sure does love a nap), you’re tasked with escaping the clutches of Marguerite, who is eager to make you eat her rank cuisine. Oh, and she also wants to kill you.

Basically one long puzzle, Bedroom is the best piece of DLC to come with Resident Evil 7, purely because of how much it harkens back to the Resi of old while maintaining the atmosphere of the series’ new direction.

Verdict: 8/10

 

Ethan Must Die

Just in case Madhouse difficulty wasn’t enough of a challenge, how about a separate mode that is so difficult that it’s almost hilarious? Ethan Must Die is the DLC for you.

Featuring limited ammo, an unfairly low amount of health, and enough Molded to make a 28 Days Later tribute video, Ethan Must Die represents the harshest experience that Resident Evil 7 has to offer. And that’s without even mentioning the boss battle with Marguerite, who is so deadly that you will need to play perfectly.

Despite promising an unlockable worth suffering for, it’s actually only an achievement/trophy. Considering that it’s only worthwhile for ultra completionists, the attrition could be too much for such a small reward.

Verdict: 5/10

NEXT: Banned Footage Vol. 2 review