Shadows of Rose | Review

Initial Release Date: October 27, 2022

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S

Developer: Capcom

Genres: Shooter Adventure

Publishers: Capcom, Capcom U.S.A., Inc.

SPOILER WARNING! NOT WRITTEN BY AI

Introduction: Shadows of Rose follows Rosemary Winters 16 years after the events of her father, Ethan Winters in Resident Evil Village. Shadows of Rose is an exclusive story based DLC campaign tied to the purchase of Resident Evil Village Gold Edition.

I always said that Capcom for the most part makes decent story based DLCs for their Resident Evil games. Will Shadows of Rose prevail or fail? Keep reading to find out my thoughts after completing the four hour-ish campaign.

Presentation: Shadows of Rose overall delivers a solid presentation featuring a third person adventure of four plus hours of Rose’s story. It’s not scary but does have a eerie atmosphere as you relive previous settings from Village through Rose entering the Black God megamycete at the beginning of the game.

Like I said, the game is about 4 hours long. Has good visuals on the Playstation 5. Sound design was really good as well character dialogue. Story is straight forward which I’ll get into below. Gameplay was decent and is designed around Rosemary Winters being a 16 year old girl. Don’t expect to be a tough protagonist in Shadows of Rose.

Story: Shadows of Rose takes place after the events of Resident Evil Village. Rosemary Winters (Ethan Winter’s daughter) is contacted by an illusion of Dion “K” Wilson. K talks Rose into merging with a fragment of the Black God. Rose enters the Black God where she must find a crystal that can take away her powers for good.

Along the way Rose is contacted by a disembodied voice who’s the spirit of her father named Michael. Michael helps guide Rose through the mansion, house, cave and deep stratum finally reaching the crystal and meeting Miranda who’s the final bossfight.

The story is straight forward barebones Resident Evil fan fair. I did like the ending when Rose choose to restore her powers to save Ethan Winters who she finally meets. Rose is a conflicted girl. She believes she is a outcast, a freak of sorts due to her light powers.

Rosemary Winters sacrificed everything to save her father. I wished the Winter’s story didn’t end here but it looks like it will. Rose continues staying under protective custody of Chris Redfield and the government.

Gameplay: Rosemary Winters is a 16 year old girl and Shadows of Rose’s gameplay is centered around the idea of slow movement and the use of Rose’s powers of light to fight the liquid void. Rose does acquire a Pistol and Shotgun in the mansion level. Ammo was plentiful.

Puzzle mechanics introduced are the ability to destroy plant cores that can block doors or hallways. Destroying the cores requires Rose’s light power which requires energy refills via white herbs.

Enemies include Rose Copies, Mannequin Giants and Mold monsters. Bossfights include Eveline and the Merchant’s Giant Mold monster. Exploration iwas linear. If you played Village the gameplay layout in Shadows of Rose is very similar. Puzzles are standard Resident Evil fair like matching paintings etc.

Playing as Rose I did feel vulnerable. Difficulty on normal was pretty easy. I maybe died twice throughout the entire campaign. Capcom did do a good job making Shadows of Rose feel like a “Rose game” and not a Ethan game.

Visuals/Graphics: Visuals were really good but for some reason I thought Village looked better when playing both games on my Playstation 5. It must be due to one being first person and other being third person.

Sound/Music: Sound and music lent a solid, yet visceral atmosphere. The mansion, caves and house all had a eerie atmosphere due to the sound design and music. Every creature had their own creepy signature sound.

Final Verdict: Shadows of Rose is all about Rose’s inner demons being expelled and coming to terms with her father Ethan Winters. Gameplay will not be everyone’s cup of tea but I enjoyed it. Presentation overall was pretty good.

I will say buying the entire Resident Evil Gold Edition just for Shadows of Rose is not worth it. Shadows of Rose is a decent value for $10.00. Thanks for reading – Jason