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

Resident Evil 7 Banned footage

Banned Footage Vol. 2 review

21

Clancy’s (probable) final hurrah sees him as the unlucky star in Lucas’ desperate attempt to be Jigsaw. Unlike the Saw villain’s incomprehensibly convoluted ways of killing people, however, the Baker son only wants you to win a few games of Blackjack against another captive.

Even though a game of cards with a Resident Evil flavour may not sound like it’s worth the price of admission, 21 is a fun and gruesome distraction for a couple of hours. Things start off pretty conventionally: win a round or face having your fingers chopped off by one by one. Once Lucas’ machinations really start whirring, though, Clancy is going to have a hard time on his hands making it out alive.

21 changes things up by introducing Trump cards: random chance cards given to the players that can change the way a game plays out. This is where the DLC becomes that much more inviting, especially in its harder stages where strategy is as important as luck. Look past the silly premise and you can easily become absorbed in 21.

Verdict: 7/10

 

Daughters

Easily the biggest disappointment of all of Resident Evil 7’s DLC, Daughters squanders the opportunity to delve deeper into the backstory and ends up being a brief game of cat and mouse between Zoe and her parents.

When Eveline is brought to the house by Jack, the player knows what comes next, though it’s a shame that it comes so quickly. More time should have really been spent on fleshing out the characters, which would make the fate of the Bakers in the main game just a little more affecting. Instead, Daughters takes you back three years to the same location in which Jack first burst through the wall and showed that a new face of terror was here, but without half the impact.

Even though it has two different endings, Daughters can still be completely finished within half an hour and ultimately adds very little to Resident Evil 7 as a whole. A bitter letdown.

Verdict: 3/10

 

Jack’s 55th Birthday

“We want Mercenaries!” cried the fans.

“How about this instead?” Capcom replied.

“…okay.”

Jack’s 55th Birthday feels like the natural successor to Mercenaries, the series’ long-standing bonus mode that helped fans to squeeze out hours upon hours of extra playtime. While this extra content might not tick all of the same boxes, it scratches an itch.

The idea is simple: bring a hungry Jack some food on his birthday while avoiding Molded across multiple stages. Depending on how well the player performs -Capcom’s fabled S rank makes a welcome return- against the clock, they can unlock more items and power-ups to make the job easier for the next time.

A massive tone change is immediately apparent in Jack’s 55th Birthday. Gone is the omnipotent soundtrack and the pervading darkness, replaced by bubbly music and Molded wearing party hats. It’s a light-hearted mode that offers some solid entertainment and plenty of reasons to return thanks to its leaderboards. People are already posting crazy speedruns.

Verdict: 7/10

 

So, is it worth the money?

Resi 7 GIF

It really depends on what you want to get out of more Resident Evil 7.

If you enjoyed the gunplay and crimson of the base game, both Banned Footage volumes will be a perfect match, particularly Nightmare and Jack’s 55th Birthday. Completionists will be in for a treat with Ethan Must Die, too. There’s more than enough hours across all of those to stretch out your trip to hillbilly country.

Personally, as someone who wanted more story, I was sorely disappointed. Capcom created an unforgettable family in the Bakers, which is why it’s such a shame that their past is barely touched. How did Mia become Eveline’s keeper? Why is Lucas how he is? Something that tied 7 with its predecessors would have also been welcomed, but as it is, I feel like I didn’t really get the bang for my buck.

It’s a pricy Season Pass, too, costing half what I paid for the main game, which is made worse with how much of it is padded out. Instead of offering anything really meaningful, most of the content’s longevity is “artificially” beefed up by grinding through the same scenarios until you reach the highest scores.

DLC purchased

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Resident Evil 7 Banned footage
Verdict
Resident Evil 7's DLC is an acquired taste and it certainly isn't the worst Season Pass out there. It does just about enough to mean it's worth the money for certain Resi fans, but for everyone else, it's probably best left until the inevitable complete edition comes out a year down the line.
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