An oozing liquid surrounds me as I try to escape from the clutches of tall, zombie-esque enemies. They push their decaying faces towards mine, draining my precious health bar. A familiar voice taunts me as I negotiate the corners of Castle Dimitrescu, all the while being hunted in a more sinister way than Ethan Winters ever was. This is Shadows of Rose.
See gameplay for Shadows of Rose here
Resident Evil Village was one of 2021’s best games, and it’s a fantastic instalment in the RE franchise (check out our ranking of the games). However, there are those of us who consider it to be one of the less scary titles from Capcom’s horror series. Luckily, Shadows of Rose has other ideas.
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Playing as Rose Winters, daughter of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Village protagonist Ethan, it’s clear from the beginning that this story DLC is much more about scares than action. Enemies dwarf our new hero, meaning every threat is more intimidating than the many of the ones we face in RE8’s campaign.
Combat is still a valid option, with Rose able to wield a few different weapons to put down any hostiles. There are classic weapons like the LEMI handgun and M1897 shotgun that players will recognise from Ethan’s inventory. However, Rose also has her own, unique supernatural power - which you’ll learn about as you play - that can halt baddies in their path, giving just enough time to slip by them without taking damage. This ability isn’t limitless, though, and will require ammo.
Despite the ability to delay foes, there’s still something about Shadows of Rose that feels scarier than Village’s main campaign. The way the castle that we know so well from the main game has been altered is unsettling, because it’s essentially a whole new labyrinth despite being familiar - a design choice that suits the overall story, but I’ll leave that thread unpulled to avoid spoilers.
What I will say is the plot, early on, focuses on Rose being hunted, and the experience in Castle Dimitrescu is based on this pursuit. The Duke - the merchant from the main campaign - makes it clear that you’re the rabbit in this veritable bloodsport, and the sense of impending doom is utilised well to add urgency to your puzzle-solving.
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That’s right, there are puzzles in Shadows of Rose, and they’re in the mode of Village’s brainteasers. Posed in the form of riddles, these lateral thinking exercises are not only fun, but they also provide a moment of mental respite from the intimidating monsters that stalk you through the halls.
Shadows of Rose also has boss fights - which I’ll leave untold for you to enjoy - and an overall plot that complements the tale of Resident Evil Village. Some questions remain unanswered, but overall the story DLC is a fitting end to the Winters Family’s tale that took me nearly three hours to play through on my first go. There’s more to the Winters’ Expansion than Rose’s story, though.
Another interesting feature is the inclusion of a third-person viewpoint for the main campaign of Resident Evil Village. After playing through Shadows of Rose with the over-the-shoulder camera angle, I then replayed Ethan’s story with the same settings, and it’s an interesting experience with ups and downs.
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Firstly, the shift away from first-person means the game isn’t as scary. Being able to see enemies in this new wider perspective, especially when turning corners, makes everything less intimidating. I’m not saying it makes Village as action-focused as 2020’s Resident Evil 3, but there’s definitely something missing from the fear factor.
Part of this could be because I know Village quite well at this point, but it feels like the lack of scares is more down to the level of immersion being diminished by seeing the character on the screen at all times. That being said, there was a point where I genuinely jumped because of the sight of Ethan’s shadow, which then made me laugh at myself for a good while.
Speaking of amusement, it’s funny to see Ethan turn away whenever you try to get a show of his face with the third-person camera. Before playing Winters’ Expansion, I’d wondered whether or not Capcom was going to embrace the face, but it seems the developer has instead doubled down on the decision to deprive us of our hero’s visage, although you can still see his side profile.
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There are some gameplay benefits to playing Village in third-person. For one thing, this new camera option makes the game feel more like its third-person predecessor Resident Evil 2, which is good news for series fans who aren’t down with the usual FPS vibes of the Ethan Winters titles.
The third-person camera also adds a more cinematic feel by keeping the player character on-screen for most of the action, which is especially noticeable during Chris Redfield’s section, where the action escalates to a fever pitch.
Speaking of Chris, the former S.T.A.R.S. member (who deserves his own story DLC) is now playable in another game mode: The Mercenaries Additional Orders. This minigame unleashes you in a selection of arenas - all based on the areas from Village’s campaign - pitting you against varying numbers of enemies while timing your run.
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While it was previously only playable as Ethan, Chris Redfield is now an available option from the beginning, and he’s an absolute beast. Unlike Ethan, Chris can’t guard or heal during Mercenaries. Instead, he’s able to punch enemies, and it’s beautiful.
Playing on PlayStation 5, R1 is a right-armed straight punch and L1 is a left hook. These attacks are fully upgradable between rounds, just like firearms, and they’re enough to get you through any enemy that dares get within striking distance.
See Chris in action here
Whereas normally players would have to unlock Mercenaries through the content shop (using in-game currency collected for doing challenges), the extra mode is playable immediately in Winters’ Expansion. I found this out because my PS4 save file for Village doesn’t transfer into the PS5 version of the game. This isn’t that uncommon as Yakuza: Like A Dragon has a similar setup, but it’s something to be mindful of if you’re jumping between the two platforms.
It’s not just Chris who is playable in Additional Orders, as both Alcina Dimitrescu and Karl Hesisenberg join the roster. However, these characters aren’t playable straight away, instead locked behind set challenges, which means I’ve yet to sample either of them at the time of writing.
Overall, Resident Evil Village’s Winters’ Expansion offers a lot in one DLC bundle. Shadows of Rose is a superb horror add-on, moving away slightly from the action to deliver more of a classically scary experience. The third-person camera angle adds a new feel to the main campaign, for better and worse, and The Mercenaries Additional Orders offers plenty of challenges and replayability thanks to its three extra player characters.
Resident Evil Village fans have had a long wait for this DLC since the game launched, but Winters’ Expansion is a fitting reward for such patience. It’s intriguing and satisfying, and a must-play if you love the main game.
Resident Evil Village Winters’ Expansion releases 28th October, 2022, for PC, Xbox, PlayStation 4 (version tested) and PlayStation 5 (also version tested). Code for the game supplied by the publisher.
Featured Image Credit: CapcomTopics: Resident Evil Village, Capcom, PlayStation