Release Date: October 27, 2022
Developer: Capcom
Genres: Shooter, Adventure
Publishers: Capcom, Capcom U.S.A., Inc.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S
SPOLIERS THROUGH OUT! Shadows of Rose follows Rosemary Winters sixteen years after the events of Resident Evil Village involving her father, Ethan Winters. Shadows of Rose is a full fledged DLC expansion with it’s own story and gameplay mechanics that takes place in Resident Evil’s universe.
The story goes that Rose wants to get rid of her powers so she meets up with Dion “K” Wilson. “K” is a member of the mighty Chris Redfield’s BSAA Hound Wolf Squad. With K’s help Rose merges with an object called the “Black God” allowing her to find the Purifying Crystal she needs to get rid of her powers.
As far as Resident Evil expansions go Shadows of Rose is decent. For the most part, whether it was Resident Evil 5, 6 or 7. Capcom makes decent story expansions for their mainline titles. In this day and age I don’t see many AAA based games adding true single player story expansions. It’s usually multiplayer like what Rockstar did.
I finished up the castle section which I assume is the largest section of the DLC. The story makes sense so far involving Rosemary Winters and her quest to get rid of powers even if the game takes place in her head involving the Black God.
Rose offers a different perspective in regards to Resident Evil Village’s gameplay. Rose is a teenage girl so she can’t body slam or punch rocks into dust like Chris Redfield. She can’t spinning jump kick zombies through windows like Leon S Kennedy either. Rose can use shotguns and a pistol which is a start. More importantly than guns Rose can use her mold powers.
Enemies in Shadows of Rose are called Face Eaters. They sorta look like mold monsters. You also have bigger brute molds where you have to shoot their weak-points. You can upgrade Rosemary Winter’s powers by collecting RW Variant Flasks which lets Rose destroy Mold Cores and stun blast Face Eaters.
Gameplay in Shadows of Rose is more survival horror because Rose is weak. She does have powers which help her however. Gameplay was okay I guess but I just can’t get over how damn slow Rose runs. It’s slow on purpose for sure but annoying nonetheless.
You progress through the castle section by collecting various keys to unlock weapons and modifiers. More importantly, collecting a Bronze, Silver and Gold Mask allows Rose to collect the special Crystal which ends up being a fake as said by the Masked Duke.
Visual perspective is third person unlike the original Resident Evil Village which was first person. Graphics were average at best as I played Shadows of Rose on my Playstation 5. Sound and music was eerie featuring calming yet desolate Resident Evil tunes you expect.
To be clear, I am not finished with Shadows of Rose DLC. So far I say it’s a good DLC. Far from great though. It is it’s own game featuring Rosemary Winters. Oh yea, Rose communicates with a an entity that guides her by writing on walls.
It has to be Ethan Winters right? I know it is. When or if Shadows of Rose DLC hits $9.99 buy it if you enjoy Resident Evil. If you want to watch gameplay right now check out Shadows of Rose Video Playlist. Thank you for reading – Jason
