Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - Banned Footage Vol. 1

Sadly it's all too brief and only stands up to one playthrough, realistically. I'd definitely be up for a dedicated bundle of a half dozen vignettes like this, though. It utilises and clearly understands exactly what it has in Resi 7's best element – the twisted Baker family – and keeps its hands clean of the excess that characterises Resi 7's final act.

All-in-all, Banned Footage Volume 1 is an interesting little package. You get a tense puzzle-focused escape room, a fun-as-heck action mode that I'm sure I'll be playing in the coming months, and a bastard-hard masochist-a-thon for those who want that. While I'm not a huge fan of Ethan Must Die, there'll be people out there who dig it, and those two tapes continue aspects of Resident Evil 7 that I'm hungry for. I hope Volume 2 has a similar value, and that the upcoming free DLC Not a Hero answers some burning questions I have from the game's ending.

Like matriarch Marguerite's dishes, bonus mode Ethan Must Die will prove an acquired taste, but the two other VHS tapes included with Banned Footage Vol. 1 are a delight. Nightmare serves up some surprisingly smart arcade action that fans missing Mercenaries will surely enjoy, while Bedroom is brilliant puzzle sequence that subverts the rules of the main game in order to create a real sense of tension without requiring any enemies at all. There's no question that had this content been incorporated into the main campaign it would have been an even stronger package overall, but as a standalone it's still easy to recommend.

Overall and it’s fair to criticise Capcom for not including the extra content into the main game, especially with it being available just a few days later, but the content on offer is certainly enough to have me feeling happy with my Season Pass.

If you expect interesting storyline from Banned Footage Vol. 1, you should simply skip it. However, if you're after a few hours of arcade entertainment, you'll be satisfied.

By individually ramping up areas where Resident Evil 7's gameplay could’ve done more, Banned Footage Vol. 1 serves a light yet savory plate of pickings, which pile up the puzzles on one side and bring the heat with testing trials on the other.

Resident Evil 7's first DLC, Banned Footage Vol. 1, lies somewhere between must-have and… meh. Everyone will find something to like here, it's just that it would be nice if this something was a bit longer than two to three hours long.

I do appreciate the effort that Capcom did in providing us with this DLC but I was hoping for some single player story mode that would fill up the other parts of the main game or even a coop mode for some multiplayer fun. Instead, we got a DLC that could end up in the forgettable bin.

Banned Footage Vol.1 is a good DLC, with three different modes: a great puzzle (Bedroom), a survival mode with a very interesting way to obtain items (Nightmare) and the very challenging Ethan Must Die with roguelike elements. The problem is the replay of this modes: Bedroom is short and does not provide entertainment after you know the puzzle, Nightmare is repetitive and Ethan Must Die is a random only with its items, and because of that it is not a true roguelike game.

A great return to the Baker Manor. Bedroom is the best section of this DLC by far, presenting an amazing puzzle with tense situations. Nightmare and Ethan Must Die are modes with more action that makes them a little more generic. If you enjoyed Resident Evil 7's main game, you should check this expansion.