Resident Evil Village – Winters Extended Review – This Rose Won’t Bloom

Winters’ Expansion includes Shadows of Rose, the first story DLC for Resident Evil Village. It picks up 16 years after the game ended and introduces Ethan Winters’ teenage daughter, Rose, as a playable character. Rose has at her disposal her unique powers that set her apart from many other protagonists in her long history of Resident Evil, but it’s the pacing, the style, that sets Shadow. , with a shift in tone, is a shift to a third-person perspective. Rose’s separately from the main campaign in the village. It’s more comparable to the recent Resident Evil remake than either of Ethan Winters’ bad luck, but as much as I adore those games, I hope this switch isn’t indicative of the future of the series .

Shadow of Rose begins with the discovery that Rose’s powers have ruined her formative years. The story sheds light on the details of how her powers manifest, but sweating a white substance is reason enough for mean-spirited classmates to ruthlessly tease her for being “different.” Rose just wants to be a normal kid and want to get rid of these weakening abilities, so when offered the chance to find a cure, she jumps at it with little hesitation. To achieve the cure, you must enter Megamycete’s consciousness. Not only is this fungal root responsible for the powers of Mold and Rose, but all humans who come into physical contact with it absorb and store their memories. and allows Capcom to revisit iconic locations from the Village story, albeit with some key differences.

The first place you return to is Dimitrescu Castle. Although the house’s resident Lady is absent this time around, the ramparts are inhabited by a villainous version of Ethan’s allied merchant Duke, who will happily dispatch his own creatures to scare Rose away. The grotesque monster is similar in design to the mold in Resident Evil 7, except that it has a nasty habit of sucking Rose’s face every time it grabs it. With the help of an unseen entity, they can only communicate by summoning written words that appear to float in the air or on various surfaces. Provides occasional ammo and recovery items, and hints on where to go next. His presence is more important to the story than moment-to-moment gameplay, but the floating words add a fun wrinkle to follow the scene, as it feels like you’re being guided by an all-knowing presence.

Despite Michael’s help, defeating the Face Eater quickly depletes the limited pistol ammo, even if the headshot is aimed correctly. The staggering eyesores absorb bullets, and precision hits slow them down, but fighting the Face Eater isn’t particularly satisfying, partly due to the fact that they share the same canned death animation. The fun pop that often accompanies deadly headshots in the Village’s main campaign is particularly absent, so combat has a tamed aura that wasn’t there before.

Luckily, one of your first tasks is to awaken a power that allows Rose to focus on enemies and freeze them in place for a few seconds. Use of this ability is limited in the same way as ammunition, but it does give you the chance to drop leads on easy targets or take advantage of escape opportunities to add a slim layer of strategy to some encounters. Freezing enemies isn’t the most exciting power, but it gives you a rare advantage over enemies and makes old combat come alive a little. Because the slow, deliberate pace as Ethan makes his way to Castle Dimitrescu has been replaced by a chaotic dash through the castle’s halls. The layout is the same in both cases, but the familiar path has been altered by the presence of undulating pools of black mold that follow a specific route. This makes navigating much more linear than before, but Shadows of Rose’s frantic pacing makes the castle feel somewhat fresh again.

Much of the DLC, however, doesn’t get much more exciting than this. Resident Evil is known for being ambitious and over-the-top when it comes to its storytelling, so this isn’t surprising, but it does delve into some of the subjects it briefly alludes to. Likewise, much of what’s there isn’t really explained and the story feels very rushed, likely a by-product of the short three-hour playtime. There is. For the most part, Shadows of Rose is forgettable.

It’s also a shame that Rose’s powers don’t evolve until the final boss fight, which lasts way too long despite its short length. By adding Kano wrinkles, her weapon is decidedly weaker, especially the pistol and shotgun combo. Some situations call for stealth, but sneaking around is complicated by a frustrating element of trial and error. Putting yourself behind cover and trying to track down enemies with a third-person camera is a bit annoying, mainly because the controls aren’t fluid enough. Since I didn’t, I come across one of the few areas where the over-the-shoulder view feels at a disadvantage.

In addition to Shadow of Roses, the Winter’s Expansion will also add a third-person mode to the Village’s main campaign. Cutscenes and certain animations reverting to first person are a bit jarring, but they work well most of the time. For those who sometimes want a different kind of atmosphere, the third-person perspective offers quite a departure.

Other new additions concern The Mercenaries mode, which adds several new stages and a few more characters to the score-based time-attack action. Equipped with weapons. The most noticeable difference between the two, though, is Chris’ boulder punching fist, where if you get close enough to an enemy you can land two devastating punches that explode their heads in a shower of blood. Defeating it will fill Chris’s Onslaught Gauge. When this is full, you can deal more damage, move faster, or use your target’s locator to shoot blasts from the heavens.

Karl Heisenberg and his giant hammer are among the other new playable characters, further diversifying the roster with slow but powerful melee builds. While it’s always a good opportunity to pulverize enemies into pulp with his signature makeshift weapon, he can also use his electromagnetic powers to collect debris and launch it as deadly shrapnel. You can also do the same with a saw, as if you were visiting Ravenholm in Half-Life 2. He can also summon one of his giant robot his zombies to raid nearby Lycans.

However, the best of the new characters is, of course, Lady Dimitrescu herself. Castle His Dimitresque gigantic mistress can slash enemies with his terrifying claws, unleash swarms of bugs to devour them, and even smash them by throwing dressing tables at them. Like Chris, she has a Thrill her meter that can be filled to deal more damage and increase her movement speed. She can also summon her daughter to help in a pinch.Each of the new characters adds variety to her The Mercenaries with a unique playstyle, turning it into a mode worth sinking your teeth into. increase.

Shadows of Rose may be the most notable part of Winters’ Expansion, but The Mercenaries is the most cost-effective. Rose’s story is an uneven and short continuation of the Winters family story. It succeeds in making familiar locations feel fresh again, but it doesn’t do enough to make Rose’s powers up to heighten the action or make the experience worthwhile. is worth noting, and its inclusion as an optional way to play Resident Evil Village is a boon to those considering replaying the game. The Winters expansion is well worth it, and Shadows of Rose has its moments, but enough compelling material packed into such a short timeframe that a return to its eponymous village is entirely recommended. Is not.