When it comes to DLC, Resident Evil 7 has the rest of the survival horror franchise beat. Between Not A Hero, Banned Footage, and End of Zoe, Resident Evil 7 isn’t hurting for post-game content – offering a host of DLC that greatly fleshes out the main story and gameplay. Where Resident Evil 7 plays up a sense of horror the series lost after the fourth game and Not A Hero plays into the action Capcom was trying to veer away from, End of Zoe is its own beast entirely.
Set after the events of both Resident Evil 7 and Not A Hero, End of Zoe focuses on Joe Baker’s struggle to save his niece and bring his family peace. Gameplay is primarily combat oriented, with Joe punching his way through Molded. Like Resident Evil 7 and Not A Hero before it, End of Joe features a host of unlockables that help increase the replay value of an already great piece of DLC.
M21 Shotgun With Shells
Combat in End of Zoe generally consists of Joe beating the daylights out of every single Molded he comes across. This naturally leads to a very different gameplay loop where players are encouraged to get up close & personal with enemies while also chaining light combos together. While audiences will need to get used to some fisticuffs to get through the DLC, this doesn’t mean gunplay is totally out of the picture.
Players can unlock the M21 Shotgun (the same as the repaired broken Shotgun in Resident Evil 7) by completing End of Zoe on Easy Mode. The M21 Shotgun comes equipped with a total of 7 Shotgun shells (just 2 on Joe Must Die), giving players a few easy kills on any subsequent playthroughs.
AMG-78a
The AMG-78 is a super powerful gauntlet Joe finds closer to End of Zoe’s conclusion. When equipped, the AMG-78 greatly augments Joe’s strength and allows him to kill Molded with considerable ease. Similar to how Ethan can unlock the weaker Albert-01R for new game +, Joe can unlock the AMG-78a by completing the DLC on Normal mode.
The AMG-78a is weaker than the AMG-78 in terms of damage, but the fact it’s available at the start of the game on every new playthrough makes getting through the swamp far easier. The AMG-78a is also fun to use, retaining the same charge attacks as its main counterpart.
Spirit Blade
After beating the game at least once, players will be able to complete Extreme Challenges on replay playthroughs (usually just timed segments of gameplay). Upon clearing every Extreme Challenge in Normal mode, Joe unlocks access to the Spirit Blade: a melee weapon which restores health by damaging enemies.
While the Spirit Blade itself isn’t particularly strong and shouldn’t be used for proper combat (especially since it can’t even stun enemies), being able to quickly slash a Molded to regain Health actually goes a long way in terms of health management. Anyone skilled enough to complete every Extreme Challenge likely doesn’t need the Spirit Blade, but it does come in handy in a pinch.
AMG-Dual
The AMG-Dual is the strongest version of the AMG-78 gauntlets in End of Zoe and can only be unlocked by completing the game on Joe Must Die – the hardest difficulty mode. Unlike the other gauntlets in the game, the AMG-Dual covers both of Joe’s arms, allowing him to make the most out of lethal combos.
Both gauntlets can be charged up for super attacks guaranteed to drop most enemies dead in a single hit, as well. The AMG-Dual makes enemy management a breeze on any difficulty, turning a one man army into an unstoppable force of nature.
50 Cassette Tapes
Just like in Resident Evil 7’s Madhouse mode, End of Zoe’s Joe Must Die forces players to use Cassette Tapes to save. This forces a level of resource management that’s often been missing from later Resident Evil games, pairing well with Joe Must Die’s much higher difficulty curve. Upon completing Joe Must Die, however, players will gain access to 50 Cassette Tapes in their Item Box.
To be completely honest, this is more Cassette Tapes than any one player should need in a single run of Joe Must Die, but that’s likely by design. Once players have shown they can get through End of Zoe with minimal saving, the 50 Cassette Tapes serve as a shortcut that can always be tossed or ignored for some tension.
Infinite Weapons
Beyond his fists, Joe can use Stake Bombs, Throwing Knives, and Throwing Spears to help him get through End of Zoe. By completing every Extreme Challenge+ on Joe Must Die, players can unlock Infinite Weapons. While the item doesn’t affect the gauntlets in any way, Infinite Weapons passively makes it so the Shotgun never runs out of ammo while preventing Joe’s other weapons from depleting. Considering the amount of traps in Joe Must Die, Infinite Weapons arguably ends up more useful than the AMG-Dual.