Since Resident Evil 7 fashions itself as a thematic reboot of the franchise, the game tries to downplay action as much as possible. Which isn’t to say that Resident Evil 7 doesn’t have its fair share of combat – it does – but that the game’s focus is intent on capturing what made Resident Evil such a compelling experience to begin with. At the same time, action has become a core part of Resident Evil, which is where Not A Hero comes in.

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Taking place immediately after the events of Resident Evil 7’s main story, Not A Hero switches control over from Ethan to series mainstay Chris Redfield. Not A Hero is considerably more action oriented, featuring countless Molded to fight right out the gate and even starting Chris off with two firearms. Not A Hero still retains Resident Evil 7’s dark atmosphere and creepy tone, but Chris is better built for the challenges ahead of him than Ethan was.

While Not A Hero may be action heavy, it does have its fair share of navigational puzzles. In many respects, Not A Hero is more reminiscent of Metroid Prime than it is Resident Evil 7 – requiring players to find the right equipment to combat the level design accordingly. The search for the Clown Key dominates the first half of Not A Hero, placing Chris Redfield in an all too familiar situation.

Red Door

Not a Hero

Not A Hero may be inherently linear, but it makes use of a central hub that lets players get a sneak peak at just about every major area in the DLC. Initially, however, Chris can only make progress by going through the Red Door. Chris will meet up with a soldier he’s meant to rescue right away and players will encounter a horde of Molded after he takes the elevator down.

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Hunker down and prepare to fight through each and every one. There are more Molded here than any single area in Resident Evil 7, so don’t stop fighting until the battle music stops. Once all the Molded have been cleared out, grab the Crank & Rusty Red Contraption. They can be used together on a Crank Panel to lower the Cell Key.

Once done, grab the Cell Key and immediately run back to the soldier’s cell. A Mama Molded will spawn, but there’s nothing Chris can do to take her down right now. Go back to the soldier’s cell and speak with him to watch him die. Chris will take the High-Grade Filter off their decapitated head, allowing him to explore the Green Door.

Green Door

Green Door Not a Hero

The Green Door is filled with toxic gas that would kill Chris without the High-Grade Filter. Not only that, new Molded called “Fumers” start to appear in here. Like the Mama Molded, Chris can’t fight the Fumers quite yet – requiring RAMROD ammo to damage. While some can be found deeper into the area, this does mean players have to work around Fumers.

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Chris has two choices here: either run right past them or wait for them to despawn by turning back down a hall. The Contaminated Hallways are fairly linear, with the main challenge coming from needing to fight Molded in a tight space. Try to avoid using RAMROD since there will be even more Fumers to fight down the line.

Once Chris has made it deep enough, he’ll find Night Vision Goggles to augment his helmet. Players can now explore the dark corridors behind the Green Door, which will eventually lead them out of the area. To solve the elevator puzzle, flip the switches “Up/Down/Up.” Kill any regular Molded along the way, try to avoid Fumers & Turrets, and be mindful of the many tripwires set about.

Gray Door

Clown Key

Now that Chris has the Night Vision Goggles, he can finally explore the Gray Door and get the Clown Key. Once inside the Grey Door, be very careful not to step on any pressure plates on the ground – once stepped on, they blow up and deal an extreme amount of damage. Duck under any tripwire along the way and enter the next room.

Chris will need to solve a Mine Cart puzzle by pushing carts into makeshift walls – some of which hide Exploding Molded inside. Make sure to shoot & drop them as soon as you see them, so they don’t hurt Chris upon detonation. Keep pushing through the minecarts to break down the wooden walls, killing any Exploded Molded that appear. 

You might need to move some carts around, but you’ll be able to head into the next room where the Clown Key is. Keep in mind that as soon as Chris grabs the Clown Key from the animatronic Clown’s hand, he’ll be swarmed by Molded. Be prepared to fight, kill through all the Molded, and use the Clown Key to explore the rest of Not A Hero.

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