Banned Footage Vol. 1 is the first DLC provided by Capcom for Resident Evil 7. This additional paid content was released on January 31, 2017, a mere week after the launch of the base game, at least for PlayStation 4 owners; PC gamers and Xbox One owners were forced to wait until February 20. For extra content to be released so early for a title, you are bound to know that the developer already had the material ready and waiting for consumers, which isn't unheard of for greedy Capcom.
Banned Footage Vol. 1 consists of two new scenarios, "Nightmare" and "Bedroom". The former is a novelty wave-survival mode where you must last through waves of monsters until 5:00 AM by gathering crafting resources and setting traps; it takes place in the basement of the Baker house to boot, so there's no new or interchangeable locations. There are unlockables, and higher difficulties to play on, so think of Nightmare as Resident Evil 7's Mercenaries mode... just not as good, or in-depth.
The latter is a puzzle game, wherein you must escape a room that Marguerite keeps you confined in. If you make any loud noises (and you will) she will storm back into the room anywhere between 30-60 seconds, during which time you must put everything back as it was or she will know that you escaped from your bed. This scenario is more unique and a little more fun than Nightmare, although it only takes roughly 20 minutes to complete.
There's also a new gameplay mode titled "Ethan Must Die", which is nothing more than a brutal rouge-like slaughterfest. In most cases, you will die in one hit; from traps, from enemies, from pretty much everything. In this mode, items that you will find are randomized, so if you don't find a weapon right off the bat you're pretty well screwed. It's not just a tough-as-nails mode, but it also borderlines on unfair play, and it can become exasperating quickly, especially if you die multiple times to an item box trap.
Ultimately, deciding if this content is worth your money depends on what you're looking for. If you like replaying the same area over and over again while unlocking things such as extra guns and infinite ammo, then you might really enjoy Nightmare. If you like puzzles with a semi-strategical twist to them, then you'll dig Bedroom. If you love being frustrated beyond belief, then Ethan Must Die is for you. Personally, I found Nightmare incredibly boring, I thought that Bedroom was way too short, and Ethan Must Die is little more than a luck based time sink. For a price of $13.99 CAD, and knowing that Capcom had this at the ready by the time Resident Evil 7 launched, Banned Footage Vol. 1 is an overpriced, near-day one DLC money grab.
Rating: 3.0/5.0 - Average, can take it or leave it.Enjoyed this review? Join my Steam Group!http://steamcommunity.com/groups/bhhreviews