Years after the ending of Resident Evil Village, Rose Winters returns to face the same horrors as her father. Knowing very little about her father’s past will she be able to survive? What about her powers that were referenced at the end of Resident Evil Village?
Heading Home
Shadows of Rose is an add-on for Resident Evil Village that was developed by Capcom and released on October 28th, 2022 as part of The Winters Expansion. If you purchased the Gold Edition this expansion was included for free. The Winters Expansion also features a third-person mode for the Resident Evil Village and additional content for the mercenaries mode.
The story opens up with Rose relenting over the fact that she has powers and is different than everyone else around her. A new character named K informs her that there may be a way to remove her powers and become normal. The only catch is she’ll have to interact with a sample of the mold that started everything that her family has gone through. Rose is able to establish a mental connection with the mold sample and is thrust back into the village that’s featured in the main game, but with a twist.
Throughout Shadows of Rose, you’ll explore three of the notable environments from Resident Evil Village, Castle Dimitrescu, House Beneviento, and the caverns where the final assault on the village takes place. Given that this was a DLC I was not expecting to explore new areas and from a development point of a view, I understand that it’s much easier to use an existing level or environment assets than to create new ones. Luckily for Shadows of Rose, this is done well enough that the areas feel familiar but presented in a way that doesn’t feel like a full retreading of what came before.
Castle Dimtrescu is no longer brightly lit and inhabited by Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters, but is instead, a dark castle filled with red and black mold that has created new threats and puzzles. House Beneviento, a fan favorite from the main game that many refer to as the doll house, takes on a new identity but still has the psychological horror focus that was present in the main game.
I was curious if Capcom could surpass the horror that made the doll house segment of Village stand out, and while I won’t spoil what happens during Rose’s exploration of the House I’ll still say it definitely managed to creep me out.
Puzzles and Powers
The puzzles in Shadows of Rose start off following the same format that we’ve seen in past Resident Evil games, find keys to unlock doors to find key items to unlock additional weapons or other key items to progress. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this gameplay flow in the beginning. It’s a type of progression Resident Evil fans will be familiar with and it doesn’t overstay its time to the point of feeling old or stale. The rest of the puzzles in the game do leave a bit to desired but I think they make a decent enough narrative piece to keep the player going.
The combat was what I was most interested in seeing given how the ending of Village played out. We’re told in the final cutscene of Village that Rose has powers of some kind but we never find out what that means until now. We find out that Rose is able to briefly control the mold monsters and this translates into gameplay as her being able to stun them for a short amount of time. She can also drive back the mold by destroying flowers to unlock new paths. Rose’s powers have limited uses and do not evolve much further until the end of DLC. It’s clear her powers are meant to be an addition to the classic Resident Evil combat mechanics and not the sole focus.
Guns such as the pistol and shotgun do return along with ammo management. Having to decide if firing off a few rounds or just stunning an enemy does feel natural for a Resident Evil experience but I do wish we saw a more interesting take and application of Rose’s powers.
All Questions No Answers
I spent around 3 hours with Shadows of Rose and was hoping I might receive answers to the whereabouts of Mia Winters, how Mother Miranda turned the mold into a fearsome bioweapon, or even learn more about Rose’s life between Village and now. We do get glimpses of what Rose’s life is like but it only amounts to hearing voices mocking and bullying her for being different.
What actually happens in the story is Rose encounters a spirit guide that communicates in gold writing and guides Rose through the different environments. This results in the spirit guide leading Rose to weapons, providing healing items, helping her grow her powers, and building a connection with her that she’ll always remember. This was not the story I was hoping for in Shadows of Rose but I think there will be a ton of people who connect with it. I had to constantly remind myself that this experience was an add-on and not a full Resident Evil experience so instead of answers I just got more context as to who Rose is. The final scene plays out the exact same as the final cutscene from Resident Evil Village, the only difference is the player now has a better understanding of what Rose can do with her powers.
Final Thoughts
With the Winter’s family story finally concluding I can’t wait to see what comes next in Resident Evil 9. I would love for Rose to make an appearance again, and I really hope she doesn’t turn into a villain.
Shadows of Rose is great to check out if you’re looking for some new Resident Evil content this year, but if you don’t mind waiting, I’d recommend a sale or a price drop. While the reuse of the environments works well and is interesting enough to not feel boring the story left me unsatisfied. I was disappointed that there was no hint of what comes next but teeing up the next entry in the Resident Evil franchise through a DLC may not work for what Capcom has in store.
