Resident Evil 7’s Banned Footage Vol. 1 Is Well Worth A Watch

Well, that was quick. Just a week after the game’s worldwide release, Capcom is already serving up a few extra morsels of Resident Evil 7 in the form of downloadable content. This cleverly labelled “Banned Footage” adds experimental game modes alongside self-contained sequences, similar to the videotapes found strewn throughout the Baker mansion.

Volume one can be split into three distinctive parts, each with their own separate download. These include “Nightmare”, “Bedroom”, and “Ethan Must Die”, all of which are accessible via the extras option in the main menu.

Ethan Must Die is easily the toughest, most ambiguous of the three. You’ll find yourself locked out of the greenhouse area of the Baker complex, the sky painted an ominous red. Your objective is to find a way inside and defeat Marguerite, but there’s a twist: you only have one life. On top of that, enemies appear much tougher than in the regular game and items are randomly scattered throughout the plantation. Being able to visit your point of death and recover previous gear and valuables gives it a rogue-like vibe, though it won’t be for everyone.

Nightmare is a little more straightforward, putting your combat skills to the test. Trapped in the basement, you’ll need to survive wave after wave of enemies while scavenging scrap and crafting new gear. From the word go, players can tailor the loadout and perks to suit a particular style. Being able to spend scrap on booby traps, turrets, and unlocking new areas reminded me of Call of Duty’s popular Zombies mode. The longer you survive, the better rewards you’ll unlock at the end of your run, carrying over into subsequent playthroughs.

Finally, we have Bedroom. Where the other two parts of Vol.1 are mainly action-focused, this sequence serves up Resident Evil 7’s most challenging puzzle to date. Played through the eyes of Clancy, the unfortunate cameraman, you find yourself cuffed to a tatty bed, Marguerite looming over you with a tray in-hand. Unwilling to take part in the Baker’s grizzly initiation, players must help Clancy find a way out of the room using whatever they can find.

It’s an intriguing puzzle and one that has several layers. On one hand, you’ll want to explore and interact with every object while also keeping an ear out for Marguerite as she patrols the house. If she catches you out of bed or notices something out of place, you’re really in for it!

Capcom’s first stab at supporting Resi 7 post-launch is surprisingly diverse and easily worth the price of entry for anyone that enjoyed the core game. It’s clear that a lot of thought and consideration went into each individual part, instead of Capcom simply reworking Resident Evil 7 just enough to make its DLC feel fresh. With more banned footage in the pipeline for the middle of February, it will be interesting to see what new ideas they come up with in the next volume.

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Senior Editor bursting with lukewarm takes and useless gaming trivia. May as well surgically attach my DualSense at this point.