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Just finished the DLC.
Impressions and overview:
Spoiler:
It's very, very short and took me 1hr 20 on my first blind run. It is extremely linear with little to no exploration and no branching/optional paths. There are also no guns in the game and Jack uses his fists to punch Molded to death. He can also use scrap and tree branches to fashion spears and remote bombs. The only other enemies are infected crocodiles. The environments are just all marshlands with woodland areas and dilapidated buildings built over swamps. At the end of the DLC you end up back at the Baker estate and pass through a portion of the old house, the garden and finally the main hall of the mansion where the final boss is.
I think given the wait and what we had been promised with 3-4 hours length, the direction being the lead designer from P.T. and this being an early consideration for RE8, people are going to be massively disappointed. I honestly think speed-runners could do this in about 25 minutes.
Story spoilers:
Spoiler:
Impressions and overview:
Spoiler:
It's very, very short and took me 1hr 20 on my first blind run. It is extremely linear with little to no exploration and no branching/optional paths. There are also no guns in the game and Jack uses his fists to punch Molded to death. He can also use scrap and tree branches to fashion spears and remote bombs. The only other enemies are infected crocodiles. The environments are just all marshlands with woodland areas and dilapidated buildings built over swamps. At the end of the DLC you end up back at the Baker estate and pass through a portion of the old house, the garden and finally the main hall of the mansion where the final boss is.
I think given the wait and what we had been promised with 3-4 hours length, the direction being the lead designer from P.T. and this being an early consideration for RE8, people are going to be massively disappointed. I honestly think speed-runners could do this in about 25 minutes.
Story spoilers:
Spoiler:
There is no time stamp for this DLC and without playing Not A Hero I'm not sure when exactly this DLC takes place. As RE7 finished on the morning, and NAH begins straight afterwards, it seems a good bet at this stage that EOZ begins that evening. But given that Umbrella have erected some massive walls to seal off the area it could very well be several days after the end of 7.
Choosing Mia is the canonical path and it seems Zoe tries to leave her home by wandering off into the mashes. Eveline soon realises she is trying to leave and causes her to mutate as we see in the trailer with white-growths all over her body. The DLC begins properly with Joe stumbling across two Umbrella soldiers who are tending to Zoe who is unconscious but alive. Joe doesn't trust Umbrella and despite them protesting their innocence, he punches them both unconscious, dragging Zoe and one of them back to his shack as a hostage.
Joe is Jack's brother and is very protective of Zoe. He demands the Umbrella operative help her and he says they were trying to until Joe came along and jumped them. He directs Joe to a nearby hut along a woodland path where the serum is. Joe goes along this linear track and there are a few Molded to take out. You have no weapons and can only punch them. (This is very lame in my opinion and takes away pretty much all of their threat. It also gets annoying very, very quickly.) Joe eventually reaches the hut and finds another dead soldier with the serum. He takes it and returns to Zoe, only to find his home partially on fire. He administers the serum to Zoe but it has no effect. The solider explains the dosage is not high enough and that his original plan was to take Zoe back to their base to get cured. He asks Joe to untie him and he will take them there, but suddenly, the solider is eaten by a swamp monster and Joe takes Zoe and escapes via a boat.
They traverse the marshes and come across a huge wall constructed to seal off a portion of the marshlands. The bacterium (going my mutamycete here) has contaminated the surrounding forest and infected local flora and fauna. Umbrella have remained behind to contain it and prevent it from spreading any further. They soon reach Umbrella's makeshift base (not really much - think the Tricell tents in the marshes in RE5) and Joe leaves Zoe behind in one of the huts. The base is full of Molded who can be stealth-killed using R2 like in Revelations 2. You also face off against the swamp monster again. For some reason Umbrella have a vaccine synthesis machine on the remains of an old boat.
To reach it, Joe has to wade through a crocodile-infested swamp. The crocs are infected and very aggressive. You can craft spears from tree branches and junk to take care of them. Reaching the boat you make the serum and have a sub-boss fight against the swamp monster, incapacitating him once again. Joe then returns to Zoe with the serum but she is abducted by the swamp monster. Joe follows and has to traverse another crocodile-infested marsh with dilapidated buildings on stilts and wooden walkways above. Eventually you end up at the remnants of an old church. Zoe is here, but before Joe can reach her the swamp monster attacks and it is here the monster is revealed to be Jack Baker who is still alive. A small fight occurs and after a cutscene Joe finds himself back out in the marshes alone.
He soon finds some Umbrella boats and a radio mayday call with soldiers under attack. A helicopter flies past overhead and Joe follows it. He finds an attache case with an Umbrella 'power-glove' (I shit you not.) I forget it's official name but it is essentially a metallic gauntlet designed for the wearer to carry heavy loads. For Joe it is simply an aid to the punching mechanic and can be charged up to deliver a more powerful blow.
Soon you end up back on the Baker estate and can traverse through portions of the old house before arriving back at the Garden. Umbrella have the whole estate under quarantine and tents are set up everywhere and other areas fenced off completely. There are dead soldiers everywhere and one file explains Jack's tissue samples reveal he has enhanced regenerative qualities compared to the other Baker family members. Joe then heads through a tent and into the main hall of the Baker house. Here you have a final battle with Jack and kill him for good. Joe then administers the serum to Zoe just as Chris and his team turn up. Chris explains they have been looking for Zoe and receives a call from Ethan who is worried about her. Zoe cannot believe Ethan actually did send help and Ethan says he always keeps his promises. The End.
*No mention of The Connections.
*No indication of Umbrella having sinister intentions. Even their operatives protest their innocence.
*No new enemies or Molded variants in this other than the infected crocs. Even 'swamp-monster' Jack just looks like a Molded crossed with the Space Jockey from Alien.
*No new characters other than a few nameless Umbrella soldiers.
It's painfully obvious this DLC was never part of the original plan. Joe was clearly just shoe-horned in with no explanation of why he lives in the swamps and not with the rest of his family. Also no explanation why Zoe had a different reaction to the Molded.
I've only played it once so I've inevitably missed a few small details, but given how short and linear the scenario is, whatever I missed won't have been much. I will also say that EOZ is designed to be played post Not A Hero, so without playing that first and digesting the new story may explain why EOZ feels so empty. It may be a better experience if NAH is played and completed first and answers that are missing here may already have been given.
Choosing Mia is the canonical path and it seems Zoe tries to leave her home by wandering off into the mashes. Eveline soon realises she is trying to leave and causes her to mutate as we see in the trailer with white-growths all over her body. The DLC begins properly with Joe stumbling across two Umbrella soldiers who are tending to Zoe who is unconscious but alive. Joe doesn't trust Umbrella and despite them protesting their innocence, he punches them both unconscious, dragging Zoe and one of them back to his shack as a hostage.
Joe is Jack's brother and is very protective of Zoe. He demands the Umbrella operative help her and he says they were trying to until Joe came along and jumped them. He directs Joe to a nearby hut along a woodland path where the serum is. Joe goes along this linear track and there are a few Molded to take out. You have no weapons and can only punch them. (This is very lame in my opinion and takes away pretty much all of their threat. It also gets annoying very, very quickly.) Joe eventually reaches the hut and finds another dead soldier with the serum. He takes it and returns to Zoe, only to find his home partially on fire. He administers the serum to Zoe but it has no effect. The solider explains the dosage is not high enough and that his original plan was to take Zoe back to their base to get cured. He asks Joe to untie him and he will take them there, but suddenly, the solider is eaten by a swamp monster and Joe takes Zoe and escapes via a boat.
They traverse the marshes and come across a huge wall constructed to seal off a portion of the marshlands. The bacterium (going my mutamycete here) has contaminated the surrounding forest and infected local flora and fauna. Umbrella have remained behind to contain it and prevent it from spreading any further. They soon reach Umbrella's makeshift base (not really much - think the Tricell tents in the marshes in RE5) and Joe leaves Zoe behind in one of the huts. The base is full of Molded who can be stealth-killed using R2 like in Revelations 2. You also face off against the swamp monster again. For some reason Umbrella have a vaccine synthesis machine on the remains of an old boat.
To reach it, Joe has to wade through a crocodile-infested swamp. The crocs are infected and very aggressive. You can craft spears from tree branches and junk to take care of them. Reaching the boat you make the serum and have a sub-boss fight against the swamp monster, incapacitating him once again. Joe then returns to Zoe with the serum but she is abducted by the swamp monster. Joe follows and has to traverse another crocodile-infested marsh with dilapidated buildings on stilts and wooden walkways above. Eventually you end up at the remnants of an old church. Zoe is here, but before Joe can reach her the swamp monster attacks and it is here the monster is revealed to be Jack Baker who is still alive. A small fight occurs and after a cutscene Joe finds himself back out in the marshes alone.
He soon finds some Umbrella boats and a radio mayday call with soldiers under attack. A helicopter flies past overhead and Joe follows it. He finds an attache case with an Umbrella 'power-glove' (I shit you not.) I forget it's official name but it is essentially a metallic gauntlet designed for the wearer to carry heavy loads. For Joe it is simply an aid to the punching mechanic and can be charged up to deliver a more powerful blow.
Soon you end up back on the Baker estate and can traverse through portions of the old house before arriving back at the Garden. Umbrella have the whole estate under quarantine and tents are set up everywhere and other areas fenced off completely. There are dead soldiers everywhere and one file explains Jack's tissue samples reveal he has enhanced regenerative qualities compared to the other Baker family members. Joe then heads through a tent and into the main hall of the Baker house. Here you have a final battle with Jack and kill him for good. Joe then administers the serum to Zoe just as Chris and his team turn up. Chris explains they have been looking for Zoe and receives a call from Ethan who is worried about her. Zoe cannot believe Ethan actually did send help and Ethan says he always keeps his promises. The End.
*No mention of The Connections.
*No indication of Umbrella having sinister intentions. Even their operatives protest their innocence.
*No new enemies or Molded variants in this other than the infected crocs. Even 'swamp-monster' Jack just looks like a Molded crossed with the Space Jockey from Alien.
*No new characters other than a few nameless Umbrella soldiers.
It's painfully obvious this DLC was never part of the original plan. Joe was clearly just shoe-horned in with no explanation of why he lives in the swamps and not with the rest of his family. Also no explanation why Zoe had a different reaction to the Molded.
I've only played it once so I've inevitably missed a few small details, but given how short and linear the scenario is, whatever I missed won't have been much. I will also say that EOZ is designed to be played post Not A Hero, so without playing that first and digesting the new story may explain why EOZ feels so empty. It may be a better experience if NAH is played and completed first and answers that are missing here may already have been given.
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