What the heck was with that choice at the end of REVII? *spoilers*

[Drathnoxis]

[HEADING=1]Resident Evil VII spoilers[/HEADING]​

You know that one near the end where you choose between "curing" Mia or Zoe.

There are just so many things wrong with it, I can't understand why it's even in the game.

First, why is this even a choice? Ethan came, who on Earth knows, how many miles into the middle of nowhere looking for his wife Mia. Granted he does axe murder her pretty quick after he finds her, but he still does fight through a house full of boogermen trying to find her again. Why would he ever choose to save some girl he's had like 4 ambiguous phone conversations with, over her?

Second, why is Zoe even in the game? She doesn't add anything and doesn't even make any sense. Why isn't she crazy and under control of the fungus magic? She doesn't serve any purpose to the plot other than to give Ethan vague instructions on what to do. It would make sense for her to be a member of Umbrella or something since she knows how to make serum, but she... isn't. She doesn't even seem to be in contact with them, since Lucas is their spy. She isn't interesting or well characterized either.

Third, choosing Zoe makes Ethan look like the biggest inconsistent jerk ever! Like look!


Listen to how he says "don't be ridiculous." It sounds just like:


Why the heck did he even come looking for her if he cared so little? He didn't even bother to say goodbye! You can just imagine him shrugging his shoulders like it doesn't matter at all before he starts up the boat motor.

Fourth, it doesn't even matter at all! Zoe instantly dies, despite supposedly being "cured" (Mia still see hallucinations too, so she obviously wasn't cured either), and the game continues on with Mia exactly as if you had saved her. The choice is neutered of any consequence whatsoever. Mia doesn't even seem to hold it against Ethan, neither of them seem to care all that much. Okay, you do get a slightly altered ending where, for some bizarre reason, someone has put Mia's phone onto a stretcher and had set it to play her last video. But Ethan doesn't seem all that bothered by it and just casually tosses it away.

There just isn't any reason for this choice to be in the game. It actively harms the narrative and adds nothing in return. It would have been so easy for them to have just railroaded you into picking Mia, even late in development, it makes no sense why they didn't do this.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Personally I would have picked Zoe to cure over Mia. Pretty much all of the events of the game are Mia's fault, it's also her fault that Ethan ends up going to Louisiana, and she CUTS OFF HIS HAND (even if that part isn't really her fault I still hold a grudge).

Zoe on the other hand helps you out, and has that lovely southern twang in her voice.

But yeah, it's a pretty shit choice, totally pointless and definitely a low point for the game.

 

[InsanityRequiem]

It?s very much a ?player vs character? choice the devs put in. You interact with Zoe a bunch, get to learn about her somewhat, while Mia?s avoiding your questions and can?t remember shit. You, the player, who has a better rapport with Zoe, compared to Ethan, the character, who is doing all this for Mia. Ethan has no reason to believe Zoe whatsoever, since she?s been with the family her whole life and been with Evelyn for the three years. Compared to what you see of Mia, who doesn?t remember anything and more often than not tries to murder you.

You picking Zoe is you, the player, choosing due to your player interaction with her. You picking Mia is you, the player, choosing due Ethan?s motivation to find Mia.

 

[Saelune]

There is a reason picking Mia is clearly the canonical choice.

 

[loa]

Seems like "we had interesting stuff planned here but it was cut and we'll leave a stump".

 

[Chaosian]

Yet another wonderful moral choice with an objectively correct answer, thanks game.

Truth be told, I probably would have picked Zoe as well, if for no other reason then because without Zoe there wouldn't be a "cure" in the first place, and one of the conditions for her helping you, was that she got cured. Throughout the entire game Mia literally does fuck-all, and even less to help - in fact, she is an active hindrance and cause to the problems.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

This reminds me of the movie Frantic. It's Harrison Ford, looking for his missing wife, helped by a younger woman he meets along the way. Younger woman is super useful and generally more likable than the missus, so much so that by the end you kinda want her to stay with Harry.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

While it doesn't really serve a narrative purpose, and only has a small effect on gameplay, I can see what they were going for. Since encountering Mia, she's been evasive, violent and deranged; she viciously attacks and maims Ethan on the first encounter. OTOH, Zoe, while a stranger, was helping and advising Ethan, sharing the same goal as him (freedom) and wants to help him survive.

Although it's not until the section following that choice that we learn more about Mia and her involvement in the story and see her compassion for her husband, until then there's little redeeming about her. At the very least, Ethan would be justified in seeking legal advice for a restraining order or divorce proceedings when they get back home

But anyway, the "choice", while I can understand the weight behind the options, serves little purpose. While there's two versions of the ending, the reality is that it's pretty much the same. Having seen the effects of both options, Zoe doesn't matter either way after that point and even Mia follows the same path, somehow, despite not getting on the boat. It didn't need to be there and neither the gameplay nor the story were improved by including it.

 

[CritialGaming]

It's Resident Evil being Resident Evil.

As good as RE7 is, once you get basically through with the "family" the rest of the game is just filler junk imo. The tension goes away, and it really is just a convoluted story segment to tie the game up because they needed a way to tie in some evil company doing bad shit to people.

It's just typical really, and one of the most meaningless gaming choices I have ever seen in any game.