Ethan Winters isn't a superhero. He’s just a guy with a bad flashlight and an even worse day. When you first step onto the Dulvey plantation in Louisiana, the atmosphere hits you like a wet blanket. It’s oppressive. Most people looking for a resident evil seven walk through are usually stuck in one of three places: the garage fight, the basement morgue, or that frantic final stretch in the salt mines. Honestly, Capcom changed the game here. They shifted from the action-heavy nonsense of the sixth entry to something that feels like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre had a baby with a ghost story. It’s gross. It’s tight. It’s genuinely terrifying if you don’t know where the next herb is hidden.
The game doesn't hold your hand. You’re tossed into the Guest House with nothing but a video tape and a sense of dread. If you've played before, you know the drill, but newcomers always make the same mistake. They burn through ammo. Don't do that.
Getting Through the Guest House and Meeting Daddy
The opening is a scripted nightmare. You find Mia, things go south, and suddenly you’re losing a hand. It’s a lot. When you finally get into the Main House after the "dinner" scene, the real game begins. Jack Baker is a persistent threat. He isn't just a boss; he’s a mechanic. He stalks the hallways with a shovel, and if he sees you, your best bet isn't to fight. It's to break line of sight. Basically, use the kitchen island or the dining table to kite him.
You need the Hatch Key. It’s sitting on the table in the side room near the kitchen. Grab it and run for the crawlspace. Once you’re under the floorboards, you’re safe—for a second.
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The garage fight is the first real "skill check" in any resident evil seven walk through. Jack is fast. There’s a car key on the workbench. Grab it. Get in the car. Start it. Ram him. Do not try to shoot him with the handgun until he’s already been mangled by the car. Even then, he might rip the roof off. It’s a scripted sequence that feels chaotic, but it’s really just a rhythm game.
The Shadow Puzzles and the Main Hall
Once you’re out of the garage, the house opens up. You’ll find the Ox Statuette. This gets you into the Main Hall. This is your hub. It’s got a save point, a box for your junk, and a lot of locked doors. You’re looking for three Dog Heads.
- The White Head is in a clock.
- The Blue Head is in a book in the Rec Room.
- The Red Head is... well, it’s in the Dissection Room.
That Red Head is the problem. To get it, you have to go through the Processing Area. This is where the Molded live. These black, gooey monsters are the primary enemies of the game, and they are bullet sponges if you aim for the chest. Always go for the head. Or, if you’re low on ammo, shoot their legs. A crawling Molded is much easier to run past than a standing one.
Surviving the Dissection Room and Marguerite’s Lantern
The basement is where the game’s difficulty spikes. The "Incinerator Room" puzzle is a classic Resident Evil trope. You need to open the door with the bloody handprint. The clue is on a note: "3 bandages and a name." Open the incinerator with the name "Travis" and the one with the bloody hand. Boom. You get the Dissection Room key.
Jack is waiting for you down there. This fight in the morgue is brutal because of the tight space. Use the hanging body bags to stun him. Kick them into him. When he pulls out that giant chainsaw-scissor hybrid, grab the one sitting right there. It’s a duel. Block. Seriously, blocking is the most underrated mechanic in RE7. It reduces damage by a massive percentage. If you don't block, you die.
After you get the three heads and escape to the yard, you think you’re free. You aren't. You have to deal with Marguerite in the Old House.
The Old House is all about bugs. It’s disgusting. You’ll need the Burner (flamethrower). You find the parts in the Gallery and the Northside path. Marguerite is a different kind of boss. She doesn't just chase; she hides. When you fight her in the Greenhouse later, stay mobile. She climbs on the walls. When her "stomach" glows, that's your target. Use the Burner to clear the swarms and the shotgun for her weak spot.
The Choice: Mia or Zoe?
This is a point of contention in most resident evil seven walk through discussions. Towards the end of the boat section, you have to choose who to save with the serum.
Honestly? Save Mia.
From a story perspective, it’s the "canon" ending and leads into Resident Evil Village. If you save Zoe, the ending is depressing and doesn't really change the gameplay enough to justify the narrative sourness. You still end up on the Wrecked Ship either way.
The Wrecked Ship and the Salt Mines
The Wrecked Ship is a flashback sequence. You play as Mia. You’re stripped of your gear. This part of the resident evil seven walk through is about stealth and scavenging. You need to find Eveline.
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The ship is vertical. You’ll be going up and down elevator shafts. Find the fuse. Find the cable. When you get back to Ethan, you’re in the home stretch. The Salt Mines are basically an action movie. By now, you should have the Grenade Launcher and plenty of enhanced handgun ammo.
The mines lead back to the Guest House where it all started. It’s a full circle. The final "boss" isn't even a fight in the traditional sense; it’s more of an interactive cinematic. Just keep moving forward and use the "Albert-01" when it’s tossed to you.
Managing Your Inventory Like a Pro
If you want to survive Madhouse difficulty or just a standard run, you have to be smart.
- Don't craft everything immediately. Chem Fluid is precious. Do you need more First Aid Meds or more Handgun Ammo? Usually, the answer is ammo. You can't heal if the monster is already dead.
- The Stabilizer is a godsend. Use it. It speeds up your reload time. You find one in the Yard by using an Antique Coin on the bird cages.
- Psychostimulants are not optional. Pop them often. They reveal hidden items like coins and herbs that are tucked behind crates.
- Crank the FOV. If you’re on PC, increase the Field of View. The default setting is very narrow, which adds to the horror but can cause motion sickness and makes it harder to see enemies sneaking up on your sides.
The Baker estate is a maze of triggers and scripted events. Once you realize that Jack only appears in specific hallways at specific times, the fear factor drops, but the tension remains. The game is designed to make you feel trapped.
Critical Insights for Completionists
If you're hunting for the Platinum trophy or all achievements, keep an eye out for the "Mr. Everywhere" bobbleheads. There are 20 of them. Breaking them all gives you the "Walking on Eggshells" trophy and unlocks the Essence of Defense, which makes your blocks even stronger in subsequent playthroughs.
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Also, look for the Antique Coins. On Easy/Normal, there are 18. On Madhouse, there are 33, and their locations are completely different. Madhouse mode is basically a different game. It moves key items around and adds enemies where they shouldn't be. Don't touch Madhouse until you've cleared the game at least once and unlocked the circular saw.
The saw is a reward for beating the game in under four hours. It makes the game trivial. You just hold the trigger and walk into enemies. It's hilarious, honestly, after struggling so much on a first run.
Final Steps for Your Playthrough
To get the most out of your experience, focus on these immediate actions:
- Prioritize the Shotgun: You find the broken one in Grandma's room and swap it for the working one in the Main Hall. Later, use the Repair Kit to fix the broken one—it’s actually more powerful but holds fewer shells.
- Backtrack often: Once you get the Scorpion, Crow, or Snake keys, go back to the early areas. There are powerful items locked behind those doors that you couldn't access before.
- Save your Magnum ammo: You get the 44 Magnum in the Yard. Do not waste these rounds on regular Molded. Save them for the final encounters or the Fat Molded in the mines.
- Watch the Tapes: The VHS tapes aren't just for lore. They actually teach you how to solve puzzles or show you where items are hidden in the "present day" version of the house.
Surviving the Dulvey incident is about patience. Don't rush into rooms. Listen for the sound of squelching footsteps. If you hear heavy boots, Jack is near. If you hear wet slapping, a Molded is around the corner. Turn off the lights in your room, put on some headphones, and try not to scream when Jack busts through a wall. It happens to everyone.