<P> The player controls Ethan Winters from a first - person perspective as he searches the Baker house for his missing wife . Although Ethan is a civilian with few combat skills, he is able to arm himself with a variety of different weapons including handguns, shotguns, flamethrowers, explosives and chainsaws against the Baker family and a humanoid form of fungus known as the "Molded". He can also block attacks to reduce damage . Various sections of the game are spent being pursued by members of the Baker family, who if engaged in combat, can only be temporarily incapacitated . However, these encounters are avoidable by means of stealth, or running away . </P> <P> Unlike Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, the gameplay emphasizes horror and exploration over action . The inventory uses a grid - based system with an initial capacity of 12 slots, but may be expanded several times over the course of the game . An item can occupy up to two spaces, and four items may be assigned to the D - pad . Item boxes found in save rooms may also be used to manage and store items, and can be retrieved from different item boxes for later use . Items in the inventory can be used, examined, or combined with other items to increase their usefulness . Many of the game's puzzles require that items be examined under certain conditions in order to reveal secrets . Tape recorders can be used to manually save the game's progress, which, depending on the given difficulty level, may require the use of a cassette tape . Videotapes are scattered for Ethan to find, which place the player in the perspective of a different character, often revealing plot information or clues needed to solve a puzzle . The PlayStation 4 version is playable in virtual reality using the PlayStation VR headset . </P> <P> In 2017, Ethan Winters is drawn to a derelict plantation in Dulvey, Louisiana, by a message from his wife, Mia, who has been presumed dead for three years . He finds Mia imprisoned in the basement of a seemingly abandoned house, but she becomes violent and attacks him, forcing him to kill her . After receiving a call from a woman named Zoe offering assistance, Ethan is attacked by a revived Mia, who cuts his hand off . Jack, the patriarch of the Baker family, captures Ethan . After Zoe reattaches his hand, Ethan is held captive by Jack, his wife Marguerite, their son Lucas, and an elderly woman who is using a wheelchair and is in a catatonic state . Ethan escapes but is pursued around the house by Jack, who has powerful regenerative abilities . In the basement, Ethan discovers reanimated monsters known as Molded . Zoe reveals that she is Jack's daughter, and that the family and Mia are infected, but can be cured with a special serum . Ethan makes his way to an old house to retrieve the serum ingredients, kills Marguerite, and has visions of a young girl . Lucas captures Zoe and Mia and forces Ethan to navigate a booby - trapped barn to find them . Ethan chases away Lucas and frees Zoe and Mia . Zoe develops two serum doses, but they are attacked by Jack, now heavily mutated; Ethan kills him using one of the serums . </P> <P> Ethan must choose to cure either Mia or Zoe . Choosing Zoe leaves Mia heartbroken, despite Ethan's promise to send help . As he and Zoe flee on a boat, Zoe reveals that the Bakers were infected after Mia arrived with a young girl named Eveline when the wreck of a tanker ship washed ashore . Eveline stops their escape by psychically killing Zoe, and Ethan is knocked from the boat by a creature . If Ethan chooses Mia, Zoe gives a bitter farewell to him and Mia . As he and Mia flee on a boat, they come across the crashed tanker, where they are attacked by the creature and knocked from the boat . Mia searches the wrecked ship for Ethan while experiencing visions of Eveline, who refers to Mia as her mother . Eventually, Mia's memory is restored, revealing that she was a covert operative for a corporation that developed Eveline as a bioweapon . </P>

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