Resident Evil Village: Winters Expansion Review

By all accounts, the recently released Resident Evil Village was a huge success for Capcom. Apart from reviewing very well by critics and media outlets worldwide, including us, the franchise is in a great position to continue its surge toward the release of the Resident Evil 4 remake next year.

Capcom has more stories to tell for Resident Evil Village, and allowing players to take control of Lady Dimitrescu is just too good an offer to pass up. Enter the “Winters Expansion,” highlighted by the addition of a new story campaign starring Rose Winters.

As far as content goes, the expansion is pretty meaty for $19.99, and if it’s your first time playing the game, we’d suggest taking the Gold Edition for the full experience. Let’s take a look at each of the new features and see whether or not this is worth a return trip to the cursed village.

A Different Perspective

It’s amazing how a new point of view gives off a totally different vibe, making it feel like you’re actually playing a new game. While Resident Evil 7 popularized the first-person gameplay for the franchise, Resident Evil Village continued the trend, to much success. Whether due to fan requests or not, the newly added third-person mode is an absolute treat and is enough reason to play the game again.

While the gameplay moments and plot may still be the same, seeing everything from another perspective is something we never knew we wanted, allowing us to see more of the world and become more aware of our surroundings. The first-person mode may have intensified the horror of it all, but this third-person mode is something that we feel should be in future games as well.

Sticking true to keeping Ethan as “unknown” as he can be, fans wanting to finally take a peek at our protagonist will be disappointed to know that Ethan will keep looking away despite best efforts to turn the camera around.

The addition of a third-person mode to Resident Evil Village isn’t a mere gimmick but is something that gives the game a much-needed refresh, providing more replayability to an already value-packed game.

Here Come The New Challengers

Another addition that the Resident Evil Village Winters Expansion will bring is having the trifecta of Chris Redfield, Karl Heisenberg, and the iconic Lady Dimitrescu as part of the Mercenaries roster.

You’ll have to work for them though, but the reward clearly outweighs the challenge. Get “A” Rank in all stages and you get the hammer-wielding Magneto,  Heisenberg. An “S” score in the new Bloody River level will reward you with Lady Dimitrescu herself.

Playing as Ethan was fun, but these 3 new additional characters really put a diverse spin on the Mercenaries game. They also have their own abilities and features that require money to upgrade via the Duke in between stages.

While Chris also uses guns like Ethan, he literally packs a punch that, when upgraded, can be as powerful as any firearm. Chris also has an Onslaught meter that gives him a speed and damage boost to help him take on the undead.

As Heisenberg, you can dish out damage using his hammer and ability to control metal. He’s not one of Miranda’s lords for nothing, as he can really take a punch and dish it out against even the deadly Soldats. Heisenberg can even call on a Soldat of his own to help him rack up the points.

The rose among the new additions, Lady Dimitrescu is certainly an interesting addition to the Resident Evil Village Mercenaries mode. Not only does she feel visibly taller, towering over most enemies, but she also has a Thrill meter that allows her to throw furniture or even summon one of her own daaughters.

Lady Dimitrescu also has those killer claws of hers, ripping apart anything that stands in her way, and even giving those Lycans a good old choke slam.

Winter(s) is Coming

The main course of the Resident Evil Village Winters Expansion is a new story-based extra campaign where you play Ethan’s daughter, Rosemary Winters, now grown up and struggling to live a normal life because of her inherited powers.

With the chance of ridding herself of these abilities, Rose enters the Megamycete from the Resident Evil Village incident to dive deeper into Mother Miranda’s research. What she didn’t expect was a nightmarish fight for her life, helped only by a mysterious entity that can only speak through short texts. It definitely feels like a nostalgic and emotional experience.

The main campaign in Shadows of Rose actually feels like a short expansion of Village, as it is retreading familiar areas from the base game with a twist. Puzzles are few and fairly easy, and it’s not as expansive as we would have wanted it to be, giving players around a 3-hour runtime depending on how they play. This might be a sore point for some, but the changes introduced give off a different type of horror.

Rose isn’t completely defenseless either, having the ability to blast enemies to incapacitate them for the kill. Add that to the usual array of firearms at your disposal and you’re more than capable to advance through the Megamycete.

Sadly, the ending of the campaign raised more questions than answers. Despite being dubbed as the end of the Winters family saga, it doesn’t feel over just yet, which may be a disappointment to some.

What We Liked:

• Third-person mode is awesome and should be a staple addition
• New characters in Mercenaries add great replay value

What We Didn’t Like:

• Shadows of Rose ending felt underwhelming

Verdict: Buy it!

Overall, the Resident Evil Village Winters Expansion is a great DLC that adds great replay value thanks to the third-person mode and the new mercenaries characters. While the Shadows of Rose campaign felt a bit too short and provided an underwhelming ending, the overall package is a great deal and certainly “Rose” to the occasion.

Players already done with Resident Evil Village will find this Winters Expansion a great reason to go back and experience the cursed village once again. For first-timers, the Resident Evil Village Gold Edition is the best edition to get for the complete experience.

*Resident Evil Village Winters Expansion was reviewed on a PS4/PS5 with a review code provided by the publisher.