This article was originally published in Italian on GeekGamer.it in 2018.
Beyond being one of my favorite titles of the now-concluded year and one of the best experiences you can have wearing PlayStation’s futuristic virtual reality headset, Resident Evil 7 Gold Edition is also an excellent opportunity to return and visit the group of misfits made famous by the now-indelible line included in the playable demo: “Welcome to the Family, son.” Of course, as this is a re-release that includes all the DLC published later, I can only refer you to the analysis published about a year ago, since the time that has passed has in no way negatively affected the work’s quality, but has instead allowed Capcom and associates to work not only on the aforementioned paid additional content, but also on two completely free bonus scenarios that completely wrap up the plot featuring Ethan, the faceless protagonist of this seventh chapter in the made-in-Japan survival horror saga.
To put it simply, the additional content in this Gold Edition amounts to a package equivalent to buying vanilla Resident Evil 7 and its Season Pass. We once again find a series of additional scenarios starring various victims of the Baker family or the protagonists themselves that owners of the “season pass” have already had a chance to sample in past months. In this sense, there’s a little something for all tastes: on one hand we have a horde mode complete with an arcade score where you must survive waves of enemies while trying to survive with the few means available; on the other hand, we see actual scenes that fit into the game’s narrative and present moments focused on the characters Marguerite and Lucas. In both cases, beyond skill with the controller in hand, you need to be cunning and rack your brains to get to the end of these veritable minigames, which are furthermore replayable at higher difficulties to provide good longevity made of unlockable trophies and in-game extras.
Far more interesting, however, are the game modes “Jack’s 55th Birthday” and “Ethan Must Die,” which are in all respects revisitations of the classic “Mercenaries” mode, requiring players to navigate rules of play with a distinct arcade aftertaste and challenge series of monstrous creatures while at a clear disadvantage. Specifically, “Ethan Must Die” reaches rather high peaks of “cruelty,” considering the player must face scenarios from the single-player campaign while being able to rely only on random equipment and—above all—the constant presence of explosive item crates: fortunately, returning to the point where you died in the previous run will allow you to reclaim at least one of the items collected previously. Better than nothing, true, but it remains an offer dedicated only to the most hardcore players willing to do anything to see the dedicated trophy appear in their achievements list.
Finally, it’s right to talk about the three scenarios that complete the title’s narrative: Daughters, End of Zoe, and Not a Hero.
“Daughters” is one of the DLCs published for payment in the past and contains within its duration the backstory that explains the “transformation” of the Baker family into the group of psychopaths we got to know during the game in Ethan’s shoes. In this sense, the game transforms into a veritable hide-and-seek simulator, and it will obviously be up to the player and their skill in moving through previously known environments to reach the credits, discovering all the backstories that, in the main game, were only sketched out. End of Zoe and Not a Hero, on the other hand, are two additional, free scenarios distributed gratis in conjunction with the publication of Resident Evil 7 Gold Edition and offer diametrically opposed experiences that definitively conclude the narrative arc begun by the single-player campaign: on one side we have the appearance of Joe Baker, brother of Jack and uncle of Zoe, engaged in the rescue of his young (and unfortunate) niece to the tune of (not very believable) fistfights against the backdrop of a swampy setting; on the other, the return of the franchise’s historical hero, Chris Redfield. Agent Redfield finds himself called upon to capture Lucas Baker, the only member of the Baker family to survive the events told in the game, and an individual interested in exploiting the Eveline virus for unclear purposes. If the first scenario offers brand-new gameplay, made up of hand-to-hand combat with monstrous creatures that can’t help but remind veterans of the combat system of the indie title Zeno Clash, the second scenario is a conclusion of the narrative thread “in pure Resident Evil style,” complete with races against the clock signaled by an on-screen timer, rivers of bullets fired at monstrous creatures, and explorations of underground caves among makeshift laboratories. In short, a veritable homage to the imagery to which the Resident Evil saga had accustomed us in the past. Only one thing unites these extra scenarios that have the tough task of answering all the questions left hanging: a laughable script and an overly superficial resolution.
I prefer not to go into detail so as not to spoil the joy of discovery for the curious, but the wall of questions and theories that had built up on the few elements we were given during the single-player campaign (and the playable demo) literally crumbles to pieces in the face of “simplistic” narrative choices far too busy “paying homage” to the series or a certain strand of horror cinema. These are, in any case, completely free extras, developed to thank the fans for the support shown for this seventh and—in fact—most original chapter of the saga, but in some cases it’s really true that sometimes a quick read of fan theories and fan fiction on the internet would do the writers of such stuff some real good.
Resident Evil 7 Gold Edition is the definitive edition of Resident Evil 7: biohazard. In a single package, you get the complete game, the excellent virtual reality mode, and a well-made mix of arcade game modes: challenge lovers can while away hours on scenarios that feature a higher difficulty level, while the curious will find answers to all their past questions. Beware, however, that you might be disappointed by some of them.
