Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose Review: Through Rose-Tinted Glasses

The Resident Evil Village: story DLC is finally here, and as a diehard fan of the franchise, I was pumped to get my hands on it. Shadows of Rose is meant to wrap up the Winters saga with a story featuring Ethan and Mia's daughter, Rosemary. Unfortunately, after playing it, we're wondering if it was a tale that actually needed to be told.

Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose Review: Rose Red

Rosemary Winter's story in Shadows of Rose takes place 16 years after the events of the base game. Rose has had a tough time, and not just because she's grown up without a dad. Her molded DNA gives her some awkward characteristics, like white sweat, that caused her to be bullied by her peers. She longs for a normal life, and when the opportunity to rid herself of her powers presents itself, she jumps at it.

A member of Chris Redfield's team approaches Rose and tells her that if she psychically links with a leftover piece of the Megamycete, she can obtain a "purifying crystal" that'll remove her molded DNA and leave her entirely human. Unfortunately, there's still some bad mojo within, and Rose is attacked almost immediately. The mental landscape takes the form of familiar sights from the base game, like Castle Dimitrescu, and for some reason, hundreds of copies of Rose are being tortured and killed within.

So, Rose is tasked with uncovering the mystery behind her clones and a malicious manifestation of The Duke. Unfortunately, the ensuing journey is almost completely comprised of reused assets from the base game, which had me scratching my head. Resident Evil Village is the fastest-selling entry in the franchise, but Capcom's post-game support for it has been significantly weaker than it was for Resident Evil 7.

Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose Review: A Rose by Any Other Name

I enjoyed my four hours with Shadows of Rose. However, as a Resident Evil lore aficionado, I have to question its necessity. Ethan's story got a succinct ending in the base game, and the epilogue with Rosemary was a good cap to the Winters' story. It seems like other tales could have been told that could have further developed concepts that were skimmed over in the base game.

A DLC that would have tied Village to the greater Resident Evil universe would have been amazing. For example, at one point, Ada Wong was meant to appear in Village, and when the DLC was first announced, I hoped her role was being restored. The only solid references the base game has is Chris Redfield, a single Umbrella logo, and a note from Oswald Spencer in Miranda's lab. Unfortunately, in distancing itself from RE6, Capcom made RE7 and RE: Village feel like they're almost a separate series.

Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose Review: Guns and Roses

The big new addition to gameplay that comes with Shadows of Rose is that we gain access to some of her powers. Many of the puzzles in the remixed Castle D and House Beneviento require you to destroy red flowers so the attached vines will wilt, opening a new area for you to explore. Rose has the ability to tear these down, and later on, she can use her powers to stun enemies temporarily.

However, this DLC suffers from one of the same issues seen in Resident Evil 7. Rose only encounters a handful of enemy types, with the most common being a molded zombie. The lack of enemy variety quickly made combat monotonous. Rose also doesn't get access to the vast arsenal Ethan deployed. Instead, she gets the worst pistol in the game, a pump shotgun, and pipe bombs. It all felt very limiting, considering that the game takes place in a realm where thought becomes a reality.

Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose Review: The Final Verdict

With how popular Village is, I had high hopes for the DLC. Unfortunately, it seems like Capcom phoned it in with this one. Shadows of Rose is another example of how uneven the franchise has been over the years.

For every Resident Evil 2 remake, there's a Resident Evil 3 remake, and for every End of Zoe DLC, there's a Shadows of Rose. We can assume that with Resident Evil 4 remake's launch less than six months away that this will be the only story DLC Resident Evil Village gets.

It's unfortunate because there are a lot of stories about the four lords, the Duke, and Miranda that were begging to be told. And don't even get me started on the ending. It's better left undiscussed -- let's just say you'll be left feeling more than a little cold.

Score: 7/10