All Bosses in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

The radical reinvention of the series’ formula in Resident Evil 7 would end up being precisely what the franchise needed most following the disappointing Resident Evil 6. Between its first-person perspective, greater emphasis on horror elements, and a change in horror film inspiration (famously calling back more to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre than any of George Romero’s zombie films), Resident Evil 7 truly feels like a brand new chapter in the series. However, for all the ways that it shakes up the classic Resident Evil formula, RE7 still retains all the core elements that made it a household name to begin with. One area where Resident Evil 7 is surprisingly like the rest of the games in the franchise is its boss fights.

RE7 pits protagonist Ethan Winters against the diabolical Baker family in a series of increasingly mechanically complex and challenging boss encounters. Not long after the game’s opening moments, players are thrust into a life-or-death battle against Ethan’s estranged wife Mia, and things only continue to ratchet up the tension from there. Each of Resident Evil 7‘s bosses are recurring fights that see Ethan facing off against the same foes in different locations, introducing new mechanics each time as the foes themselves continue to mutate thanks to some lab-made pathogen. In that sense, Resident Evil 7‘s boss battles are no different than the classic encounters from the original PlayStation trilogy of titles, and the need to conserve all your strongest ammo for these fights remains unchanged as well.

Mia (Guest House 1F)

Summary

The first boss battle in RE7 is a doozy. After reuniting with his missing wife, Ethan makes a beeline toward escape from the strange Louisiana farm he finds himself trapped in. Ethan and Mia’s heartfelt reunion is short-lived, though, as she soon transforms into a hideous distorted version of herself hell-bent on ending Ethan’s life. Within seconds, Ethan has to pivot from rescuing his wife to fighting her off using an axe, and the end result of the encounter introduces several important plot points that have a lasting impact on Ethan Winter’s legacy within the Resident Evil franchise.

Strategy

The fight with Mia begins in earnest after she throws Ethan through the wall. As soon as you regain control of Ethan, look around you to spot the axe — this is your primary weapon for the fight. The basic strategy for the first fight with Mia is to circle around her, blocking attacks when you can and countering with your own hits. Essentially, this first boss fight is more of a scripted encounter that Resident Evil 7 uses to teach players the mechanics of boss fights and combat. After a few hits, Mia will be defeated, triggering a sequence that opens up the next segment of the game’s exploration.

Mia (Guest House Attic)

Summary

Following the first fight with Mia, Ethan gets to explore the Guest House a bit in order to find a way out. Eventually, he’ll make his way to the attic, where his wife shows up once again to try and cut their reunion short. Unlike the first encounter, players can actually fail this fight with Mia. Not only is she much stronger and more resilient, she comes bearing a chainsaw. Thankfully, the game gives players exactly what they need to survive this encounter from a thorough exploration of the Guest House.

Strategy

The most important items players get during the exploration segment before this fight are the handgun and ammo. Accordingly, players should lean on these items heavily when fighting Mia a second time. Mia will charge using the chainsaw, making it important to maintain a healthy distance and dodge when she gets too close. Also, be aware that Mia can easily cut through the wall to chase Ethan if he’s scrounging for ammo. Aim for Mia’s head and try to restrict your shots to surefire hits (it wouldn’t be a Resident Evil game without limited ammo, after all). After a few successful hits to the head, Mia will go down and trigger a cutscene that leads to the next part of the game.

Jack Baker (Main House Garage)

Summary

The second fight with Mia will lead directly into Ethan’s confrontation with the owner of the farm and the patriarch of the family who lives there: Jack Baker. This deranged and deadly psychopath will begin to stalk and chase down Ethan as he tries to escape the Baker farm, routinely busting through walls and knocking down doors to reach his prey. Ethan will eventually get away long enough to gather some supplies and regroup, making contact with a police officer responding to a call. That sense of relief is only momentary, though, as Jack shows up at the most inopportune time to spoil Ethan’s plans for escape. With no other option left, Ethan has to face off against Jack in his own garage.

Strategy

The key to this fight (pun intended) lies in the car sitting idle in the garage. As soon as the police officer meets his untimely fate, players will get control over Ethan again. Immediately run to the workbench near the car to grab the car keys. You may need to kite Jack around the car to avoid getting grabbed, but eventually, you should be able to get behind the wheel and start the car. Ram Jack with the car a few times and the game will eventually trigger a cutscene. After running over Jack with the car and watching him apparently die, climb the ladder to end the fight.

Jack Baker (Main House Morgue)

Summary

The first fight with Jack in the garage opens up the rest of the house for plenty of exploration. During this segment of Resident Evil 7, players will have several smaller enemies to contend with. Eventually, though, players will need to enter the morgue to acquire a key necessary to progress the main story. There’s no other way into the morgue other than to drop down, and as soon as players enter the room Jack shows up yet again. This time, though, Jack is wielding the largest pair of scissors imaginable. Thankfully, there are several hanging bodies that players can use to maneuver around Jack as they mount their defense.

Strategy

The hanging corpses in the morgue are going to be Ethan’s best friend during this fight. Jack is pretty handy with those laughably huge scissors he wields, and they deal as much damage as you might imagine. Making use of the arena, players should circle around Jack while also kicking the hanging corpses into him. If Jack is hit by a corpse, it will momentarily stun him, allowing Ethan to line up a headshot. After players deal enough damage using firearms and kicking corpses, Ethan will get the chainsaw to finish the job. With the chainsaw in tow, simply block Jack’s attacks and counter with your own to quickly end the fight.

Marguerite Baker (Old House 1F)

Summary

After dealing with Jack a second time, Ethan will get the final item he needs to be able to leave the main house and head out to the courtyard. From here, the next step is to venture to the Old House to acquire the serum. Of course, getting through this part of the game is easier said than done, as Marguerite Baker will stalk Ethan through the Old House, making the entire segment a deadly game of hide-and-seek. Eventually, Ethan will fall through a weak section of flooring, leading to the first fight against Marguerite.

Strategy

After spending most of the time in the Old House hiding from Marguerite, this first boss battle allows players to exact some revenge. As you might expect, this initial fight against Marguerite is just the first phase of a larger battle and is relatively easy in comparison to the rest of Resident Evil 7‘s bosses. Marguerite will throw Ethan to trigger the battle, and as soon as players resume control over the protagonist they should equip the Burner. Flame all the insects Marguerite sends flying your way, switching to the shotgun or handgun to shoot her in the head when she pops out. After a few hits, she’ll fall down into the hole and crawl away to safety…for now.

Marguerite Baker (Greenhouse)

Summary

Following the first fight against Marguerite, players will have a way out of the Old House. Exit through the hole Marguerite escapes through to find yourself in a large courtyard just outside a greenhouse. Head inside but don’t head upstairs just yet, instead entering every room you can to gather valuable supplies and ammo. Once you collect all the items, head upstairs to trigger a cutscene that shows Marguerite is very far from defeated and ready for round 2. During this fight, Marguerite plays another deadly cat-and-mouse game with the player, making it necessary to stay mobile and quickly shoot her whenever she appears.

Strategy

During the second fight against the Baker family matriarch, sound is the best tool players have. Listen out for Marguerite’s taunts to get an idea of her location and then aim your most powerful weapons near any openings she might emerge from. Eventually, she will pop out and lunge towards Ethan. As soon as she reveals herself, begin firing into the strange growth on her abdomen to deal damage before she eventually retreats again. After dealing damage to the growth, she will launch a swarm of insects at you, so keep the Burner handy for the swarms and use other weapons against Marguerite herself. After dealing enough damage to the growth, it will explode, killing Marguerite once and for all.

Jack Baker (Testing Area)

Summary

Before Ethan can bid farewell to the Baker farm once and for all, he needs to craft the serum that can save both Mia and Zoe. Of course, nothing in a Resident Evil game could ever be so simple, and Ethan’s exit from the Testing Facility has one giant fatal roadblock — a third fight against Jack Baker. No longer restricting himself to a human form, Jack lets the mutation take full control of his body to transform into a hideous monstrosity that engulfs an entire floor of the facility. This last fight against Jack sees the arena begin to literally crumble around them, and Ethan will be lucky to escape with his life, much less the serum.

Strategy

Like many other Resident Evil bosses, Jack Baker’s obvious weak spot in his mutated form is the giant eyeballs dotting his body. Due to Jack’s size, Ethan needs to stay mobile and avoid sweeping attacks that deal tons of damage. When possible, aim for the eyes and get off a few shots to destroy them. After destroying four of Jack’s eyes the area will become engulfed in flame, making the final four eyes much harder to target. Destroying all of the eyes will trigger the second phase of the fight, forcing Ethan down to the lower level to fight Jack in the water. Thankfully, the strategy for this part of the battle is the same. Stay mobile and shoot the one large eye to end the fight and trigger the final act of Resident Evil 7.

Mia (Wrecked Ship)

Summary

Following the final fight with Jack Baker, Ethan makes the terrible discovery that he now only has enough serum for one person. This prompts the player to make a choice between saving Mia or saving Zoe, which will impact how the final act of the game plays out. If players choose Zoe over Mia, they will encounter Mia a third and final time aboard the Wrecked Ship. While Mia does more damage this time around, the same strategy as before still applies.

Strategy

As soon as the fight begins, turn around to grab the crowbar off the wall. Like the first fight with Mia, players need to circle straight around her while blocking her attacks and countering with attacks of their own. The crowbar deals a hefty amount of damage, and after a few hits Mia will suffer defeat one last time. “Til death do us part”, indeed.

Eveline (Guest House)

Summary

The section on the Wrecked Ship reveals plenty of revelations regarding how the Baker family and the strange mutations on their farm connect to the broader Resident Evil lore. At the center of it all is the young girl Eveline, who players come face to face with on the Wrecked Ship before eventually following her to the mainland for a final showdown. The fight against Eveline takes place in three distinct phases but is (for the most part) a scripted sequence that players will have a very hard time failing as long as they follow the prompts and keep shooting.

Strategy

The first part of the fight involves approaching Eveline in the attic. Ethan will need to block her attacks, alternating between advancing toward her and defending against her telekinetic blasts. Eventually, Ethan will get close enough to inject her, which triggers the second phase. Eveline will begin to transform and become part of the house itself. During this second phase, shoot Eveline’s face with your strongest weapons. After dealing enough damage, she will throw Ethan and destroy the house to trigger the third and final phase. As soon as Ethan lands outside Eveline will grab him. From here, begin shooting her face with everything you’ve got. Eventually, Chris Redfield will toss Ethan a powerful handgun that you can use as a “super weapon” to fire the last few shots and end the battle.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Resident Evil 7: Biohazard gameplay screenshot.