Thoughts on Ethan Winters from Resident Evil 7?

[NightShift]

I thought he was a good player avatar. Some of the lines he said felt more real than what you'd come to expect from a Resident Evil game and that made me like him a bit. I also appreciated that he got some kind of development with his desire to survive and his relationship with Mia. It's a lot more than you usually get with player avatars.

I'd like to see him come back but only as a NPC. I don't think he's good enough to return as protagonist again now that the whole "average guy" bit doesn't work.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

he never seemed to fully take in just how messed up of a situation he was in and that was kind of endearing

 

[Yesterday]

His reaction to his wife flipping out and cutting his hand off was "Alright, Fine!" He's great

 

[Asbsand]

What about Booker?

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THE BEEEEESSST! idk

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

I have no thoughts. He's basically a non-character and the game being first person just turns him into a self insert to me.

tbh, with all the hoopla and excitement over the remakes the less and less confident I am that we'll ever see anything 7 again.

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RE7 sold rather well so I'm hopeful that RE8 will be a continuation of RE7's vision of the RE world.

 

[Deleted member 7051]

he never seemed to fully take in just how messed up of a situation he was in and that was kind of endearing

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I am so adamant it wasn't his first rodeo. So much stuff doesn't make sense unless Ethan was involved with the new Umbrella in some capacity.

He wasn't even remotely surprised by anything going on and how did Umbrella even get there so fast anyway unless he told them where he was in the phone call at the very beginning of the game?

I'm sure he (and Umbrella) knew about Mia, Eveline and what happened on the boat and finally getting information on where Mia was led him - and Umbrella - straight to Eveline.

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

He was fine for the first person presentation that VII chose to go roll with, but he didn't project enough potential to make me desire a comeback.

On the other hand, he went through some weird physiological stuff that could be fleshed out and that could be used to make him a pretty unique anti-Umbrella agent going forward. Maybe not the type that willingly signed up to join a paramilitary or government entity but will get involved to shut shot down if it's in proximity. Just thinking out loud and contrarian to my held perceptions.

 

[AdaWong]

Absolute garbage, and not even close to the iconicness of the classic characters. RE8 must have a classic character.

 

[doemaaan]

You know, I just finished watching a speed run on this game and then read the synopsis for the two DLC's and I'm pretty amazed that Ethan is a regular Joe Schmoe but can hold his own against these mutants like Chris Redfield, Leon Kennedy, Jill, etc etc. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets accepted into Stars or whatever organization these counter-zombie people are in.

 

[SmokedSalmon]

I liked the part where he got into a chainsaw duel with Jack. Some of his reactions are pretty fun too. He can come back as far as I'm concerne.

 

[Kalnet]

For a guy to get his hand chainsawed, he took it pretty darn well while going against his bat shit crazy wife. Definitely my least fav protagonist in the RE series.

Though I can understand the both of them are working with umbrella but it still felt off and one-sided about him.

 

[Soriku]

I'm down for any character named Ethan.

I liked how they tried to make him as much of a "normal guy" as possible. Knowing of course that nothing you do in that game is "normal", but I like how freaked out he got and how he was clearly not in his element, giving himself little pep talks and whatnot. Particularly at the beginning of the game, and as time went on his attitude went more towards "fuck this just get me out of here"

Reminded me a lot of how in horror films a normal person becomes a badass through extreme circumstance.

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This, instead of being the like other characters who are more confident action game heroes, he's just a guy put in some fucked up circumstances, but still a badass. Memorable? Idk. Doesn't help you don't see his face. Did it fit the tone in RE7? Yes. Makes you feel more vulnerable. Should he return? I don't think he needs to.

 

[Fiery Phoenix]

Absolute garbage, and not even close to the iconicness of the classic characters. RE8 must have a classic character.

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Like... like Ada?

 

[Drwu]

I'd like to see him come back but more as a supporting character,

 

[Hours Left]

He's a big ol' nothingburger of a character.

 

[T.Rex In F-14]

Had no idea that was his last name and would have no idea who that was a photo of without any context. There were several things about RE7 that I did not like and him as the protagonist was one of them. Leave him in 7 and get back to the good characters.

 

[RedshirtRig]

His occasional comment on how bananas things were was amusing, but that was about it. Wouldn't mind a return, but he needs more character.

 

[Mary Celeste]

Definitely a bland character who seems pretty blase about the insane terror of that house along with having his limbs cut off. I think you can do the everyman character a bit better than that.

The voice actor sounded positively bored most of the time lol.

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His blase attitude and bored demeanor is the character. That ain't bland, it's hilarious

 

[skeezx]

halfway through the game right now, dunno where the story ultimately takes him but my takeaway is you're not supposed to give two shits about him. which is fine, i'm down with mute faceless protags but throwing a wife in the mix makes for some weird characterization. "wtf my wife is dead or a zombie or something. well whatever, now on to find the second key..."

 

[Xagarath]

I'd rather have Mia back. 7 was great, and I like the idea of a more normal, vulnerable RE protagonist, but Ethan just didn't register very much.

 

[Powdered Egg]

Ethan was barely even a character. I don't know why they just didn't allow us players to create our character or at least choose skin palettes.

Ethan also has serious lack of judgment. For the first hour of the game I kept asking myself why didn't he just call the police or FBI?

 

[TaleSpun]

...his last name was Winters??

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

Absolute garbage, and not even close to the iconicness of the classic characters. RE8 must have a classic character.

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Well, duh. He's suppose to be an everyman like the protagonists of many horror films that RE7 draws from. The game and story wouldn't have worked with a classic character as the protagonist, all things equal. *frustration intensifies*

 

[newmoneytrash]

he's so boring and i don't understand what he could bring to the franchise moving forward

 

[Senator Rains]

My first reaction was "who?"
In fact I just saw his face for the first time in this thread lol. He was boring. Didn't like him at all, but then again, I didn't like much of RE7 because it was an

Like... like Ada?

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Yeah I'm throwing my name into the pot. Girl needs her prime time.

 

[GSR]

He was fine and RE7 wouldn't have worked with a classic or more traditionally "badass" character. The moment I knew he was gonna work for me was when you pick up the pistol while Mia's chasing you and he just mutters, "okay, fine". His VA did a great job of maintaining that "I can't believe this shit" tone throughout.

Don't need to see him return though.

 

[residentgrigo]

Bring him back, but not as a playable character. A solid lead and not all that trustworthy as he takes aspects of the plot with little resistance, especially in the 3rd act, despite commenting on all sorts of stuff otherwise. He is also clearly infected but who knows what that means after Eveline´s death.
He was 33 btw. and the are 2 other Ethan W.s in the canon. One is dead.

 

[Kalentan]

Well, duh. He's suppose to be an everyman like the protagonists of many horror films that RE7 draws from. The game and story wouldn't have worked with a classic character as the protagonist, all things equal. *frustration intensifies*

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Seriously, any classic character as the MC and it doesn't work. There's a reason Chris' DLC is not only far less scary but you feel a lot more powerful even if he's toned down from the previous games.

 

[DJwest]

A boring nobody.

Would be great to never see him again.

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Apart from his name and the fact that he wears a watch, I don't remember a single thing about him

 

[LinkStrikesBack]

He is also clearly infected but who knows what that means after Eveline´s death.

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They can cure the infection , so presumably not a lot. He, Mia,Zoe and Joe baker presumably would have gotten any medical treatment they need to be cured post game.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

might as well not exist.

 

[Z-Beat]

He's probably the least developed character in all of Resident Evil.

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That's probably Forrest

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

He was a floating camera.
There was no person to like.

 

[Dice]

Lame. For the efforts taken to make Mia an interesting NPC and PC, it's strange that the main dude so ....meh.

 

[cyklisten]

Are people legitimately saying that Ethan is less developed than earlier protagonists in the series?
I´ve just finished REmake and the story was almost non-existant with the least character-development I´ve experienced in a long time.
The game was good, but Jill was as blank a sheet as can be.

 

[StallionDan]

There is nothing to like, he was a blank.

Worst RE protagonist ever.

 

[Z-Beat]

There is nothing to like, he was a blank.

Worst RE protagonist ever.

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In the main entries, yeah pretty much.

But Gun Survivor's protagonist was...something

 

[Ferrio]

He was bland but in a good way. I found his reactions to everything interesting. It was as if he didn't care that such monsters could exist.
Then it turned out he worked for Umbrella and everything clicked. Or not.

The main star is this badass though:

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I don't mind Ethan, but I'd rather Joe come back.

 

[Kneefoil]

There wasn't much to his character, but I do think he was absolutely the correct protagonist for the game. The previous RE protagonists have done some superhuman shit since the series became more action-oriented, so for a title that marked the series return to its horror roots, they really needed someone who was just a guy who happened to get swept up in a whole lot of trouble. Ethan fills that role well.

I do like him, and I would like to see him come back and get fleshed out more. Doesn't have to be in another main protagonist role, but it could still work, I think, so i'm down.

 

[skeezx]

i think they went so far with "character action" by RE6 they over-learned and went too far in the other direction. not a bad thing as he worked for RE7 but ten years from now when we're playing RE12 he'll be this really odd outlier

personally i'd like if RE8 doubled down on the direction and the remakes can spinoff into it's own thing with the fan favorites/wacky stuff and both could work in tandem in their own way. but i'm guessing RE7 will be a one-off in this regard

 

[StallionDan]

In the main entries, yeah pretty much.

But Gun Survivor's protagonist was...something

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Leave Ark alone.

Actually Ark had a pretty good personality, due to memory loss he believed he was a good person, but finds out he is a horrible person from others so is conflicted, then it turns out he was pretending to be the bad guy and he was good like he thought.

Brought to you in worse acting than RE1 even.

 

[KingBae]

I love RE7 to death and I like the cast quite a bit (Jack baker is up there as one of my favorite villains). The issue is Ethan works great within the confines of this one game, but I just don't see him or the rest of the cast fitting in with the rest of RE lore. So I'm not sure if it would even work to bring him back unless it's a direct continuation of 7. Other than that I like him within this one game.

Off-topic: Chris Redfield in RE7 is easily my favorite RE protagonist right now. Criminally underrated. That's the one character that would be great to see again.

 

[Silence_and_I]

Actually I liked his character quite a bit. To think that he went to that extreme extent to find her wife and rescue her shows how cool of a character he was. One other great thing about him was that he was a normal human being, he didn't have any sort of military experience, unlike Leon and Chris.

He also had to deal with a lunatic family which to me was way scarier than normal zombies and other enemies of other RE games. I think that was the reason RE7 was the scariest game in the whole franchise for me. A clueless guy against a family of lunatics in a creepy mansion in the first-person view, nothing is scarier than this.

 

[residentgrigo]

Sherry spent over a decade in the "care" of the US government, kinda, due to her changed blood and genetical makeup so the survivors if the Dulvey Incident have happy days in front of them LinkStrikesBack. Even if we assume that Blue Umbrella are the "good" guys, which Chris clearly disagrees with. He went out of his way to kill Lucas and to trash the information he had.

The people in RE 7 aren´t the usual Billy or anime film character situation that can just be moved on from but the loose ends from the Revalations are just out there too. Not that anyone needs a followup to Rev 1 (or Vendetta).

 

[Finale Fireworker]

That's probably Forrest

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You missed an opportunity to say "It's FORREST!" like Barry.

 

[Linus815]

he fucking sucks.
and im surprised at so many people saying he was a good player avatar - his reactions to things were so inconsistent.

 

[Deleted member 8196]

Delete him from the canon.

 

[Phil's Empty Chair]

He's a nothing.

 

[Gorger]

Completely forgettable, and the game being in first person did a disservice to his growth as a character by never showing him during any cutscenes throughout the whole game. This picture I see in this thread is actually the first time I see his face! Jill, Chris, Leon, Claire, Barry, Ada, Wesker and Rebecca on the other hand are iconic characters that has stayed with me since the 90's.

Capcom should look at Wolfenstein on how you create a character in first person. B.J Blazkowicz is one of my favorite protagonist in an exclusively first person game.

 

[How About No]

I liked him enough, even though I know he doesn't amount to much

I liked a lot of his one liners

"That's not groovy!"

Bakers we're the true star of RE7 anyway