RE Village Winters Expansion DLC (PS5) Review

Quality Time with the RE Village Cast

Following the release of Resident Evil VII, Capcom has been on a tear when it comes to the biggest action horror franchise in games. While there have been lows even in the most recent entries, Resident Evil is at its best right now. The series’ eighth core entry, Resident Evil Village, added spins on traditional Gothic monsters while injecting in some of the progression that made RE4 so good while leaving the story open for an exciting ninth title. When the Winters Expansion, specifically the new Shadows of Rose chapter, was announced it appeared that we were getting Rose’s story early but it turns out that this is only part of her story, meant more as a way for us to learn about who she is and the legacy she carries. 

Outside of Shadows of Rose, the new expansion pack for RE Village adds enough content to bring players back to the game while also sweetening the deal for new players but isn’t nearly as varied and fun as the extras in RE7. I’ll be covering multiple parts of this expansion but know that RE Village as a whole is recommended and anyone who hasn’t played it but are a fan of Resident Evil should absolutely check it out. Much like my thoughts on both A Plague Tale games, RE7 and RE Village are best played together as they’re connected in a satisfying way. There are lore implications that might further connect these games to the other remakes and the series as a whole but both titles starring Ethan Winters create a surprisingly satisfying character arc for a protagonist without a face in a franchise that’s always been pretty light on story and character growth. 

There are three pieces of content in this Winters’ Expansion package: a third-person mode for the base game, additional Mercenaries content with new playable characters, and the single-player section Shadows of Rose. The big draw and the most interesting is of course Rose’s chapter; she’s a brand new character left in an intriguing place by the end of Village. Playing through Village in third-person though is a fun way to see the various scenarios even if I think this particular game works better in first-person. The Mercenaries missions are fun but it is not nearly as compelling as other bonus modes in other Resident Evil titles. Playing as other characters is always cool and taking down lycans as Lady Dimetrescu is worth the effort of unlocking her. 

Back to Rose, her story took about three hours to complete for me, which did make for a spooky evening. As the daughter of Ethan, Rose carries a specific connection to the Megamycete, an eldritch entity that is the origin of many of the beasts we’ve encountered in Ethan’s story, granting her powers and manifesting as patterns on her skin. In an effort to be a normal teenage girl, Rose is given a potential solution by psychically connecting to a piece of the Megamycete, resulting in a journey through a metaphysical world that plays with her psyche and the memories of those connected to this strange being. 

Rose’s chapter takes players through a few interesting scenarios but mostly re-uses spaces and assets found in Village in a more linear fashion. Where the extra content shines brightest is where most Resident Evil games feel best, exploring a larger section with multiple keys and rooms. This is mostly in a sectioned-off part of the castle we pour through as Ethan, this time facing skeleton-like creatures that drain Rose’s image by horrifically slurping off her face. In fact, Rose’s deaths result in blood-curdling screams, prolonging the death scenes further than usual in Resident Evil. Ultimately this makes mistakes just take longer to try again but the visuals and sound design of a game over are striking. Unfortunately, while the new monsters are interesting visually there is not enough variety to make combat feel as good as the base game.

Combat in Shadows of Rose is reductive but her unique powers are thematically cool. 

Eventually, Rose is cast deeper into the memory constructs of the Megamycete where we learn how she suffered bullying because of her powers and appearance. She also is guided in this world by a golden voice that provides tips and sometimes creates items for her. The general framework for Rose’s chapter is a lot of fun to play through but it doesn’t quite push into being a standout Resident Evil experience. 

There are moments in this story that try to recreate the fear that the House Beneviento section so prominently displayed, even using the same environment but it doesn’t feel as scary or special this time around. That said, there’s a piece where Rose has to keep an enemy within view and that results in a fantastically scary chase but goes a little too far with the number of enemies, resulting in a lot of trial and error to get right. There are even simple stealth sections, featuring creepy dolls warped by the twisted mental state of this world but the creatures are just not as interesting to interact with as the lycans or RE4’s Ganados.

In what should have been an exciting boss encounter, the chapter ends on almost the same notes as the base game. This creates a frustrating ending as the story of RE Village doesn’t push forward; Shadows of Rose develops her as a character and helps us familiarize ourselves with her. Hopefully, this means that the next title features her more prominently and creates a more satisfying character arc because having this as the foundation could create something special. 

I wasn’t expecting much out of this expansion but we did get a few lore details that further expand what we know of the Megamycete and the villain using it plus more Village gameplay with a character that we might see more of later in the series. That’s a great thing.

Luckily, because of the financial and critical success of this new wave of Resident Evil titles, the next entry in the franchise looks promising and could potentially break through the colossal expectations that come with remaking an all-time classic. Regardless, now is a great time to be into Resident Evil and there are plenty of ways to play the latest (as well as many legacy titles) on modern gaming platforms. 

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 7/10

VISUALS - 7/10

SOUND - 8/10

CONTROLS - 7/10

REPLAY VALUE - 6/10

OVERALL - 7/10

Learn more about Resident Evil Village on the official website. Screenshots were captured via native PS5 features.