Where Resident Evil Village was focused on telling the story of Ethan Winters, the Winters' Expansion DLC is primarily focused on telling the story of Ethan's daughter, Rose. Village players mostly knew of Rose as an infant, with a flash forward for the ending DLC. Shadows of Rose DLC, the story expansion that makes up the core of the Winters' Expansion DLC, fills in some of the gaps around Rose's upbringing and her relationship with her parents, all while avoiding dastardly threats.

Clocking in at just under five hours on my first playthrough, Shadows of Rose isn't exceptionally long, or in-depth, but it does offer up a traditional Resident Evil style of play. Your weapons are ammo are limited, as are Rose's powers, with the only real "action" sequences being the boss fights. Evasion and avoidance are key to survival.

Because Shadows of Rose takes place inside the Megamycete remnant, everything Rose experiences is either a memory or an interaction with one of the consciousnesses previously absorbed. As a result, the environments will feel familiar to anyone who's played through the main game, as they are remixed and redressed versions of what's come before. That's not to say everything is identical (just because the first section's boss looks like the merchant doesn't mean he is the merchant), only that you shouldn't expect a whole new area to investigate.

Despite using the environments of Resident Evil Village for Shadows of Rose, the story isn't really about the places or characters from Village. Instead, the focus of the story is on Rose, her feelings of inadequacy, the fear of being "different," and the loss of her father. A parallel story explores similar themes from Eveline's point of view, as the remnant consciousness from Resident Evil 7 is shown to be highly jealous of Rose, for the simple fact that she had a family.

It is the familial story that is both the greatest strength and the greatest weakness of Shadows of Rose. The adventure plays with a number of ideas, but it doesn't really give them the depth they deserve. Instead, it's a superficial exploration that satisfies in the moment, while leaving you wanting more. Think of it as a snack instead of a meaty entree.

Shadows of Rose is played entirely from the third-person mode. There is no option to play through it in first person, which is a bit of an odd choice given that the base game exclusively used first person. For the most part there were no issues playing in third person, with the exception of trying to quickly crawl through small holes. More than once I would get near a hole, crouch down, and then try to move forward to get through it, only to have Rose stand up. It turns out I was crouching too late. Whenever this happened, I had to take a step or two back, crouch, and then move forward to prevent Rose from standing when she reached the hole.

Another complaint likely to be shared by most players is the reuse of the ending from the main game. While I understand that the developers wanted to be clear about the timeline, it does end up feeling a bit hollow for those who have already completed the Village storyline. It also leaves some of the same questions unanswered.

In addition to Shadows of Rose, the other major inclusions in the Winters' Expansion are third-person modes for the main game and the Mercenaries Additional Orders. The third-person mode shifts the camera view to the same one used in Shadows of Rose, but it doesn't really change the feeling of the main game. Honestly, third-person mode probably should have been included as a free update to the base game rather than being sold as DLC, especially when you realize that Ethan probably doesn't have a fully modeled face. He's always looking away from the camera.

Mercenaries Additional Orders adds three characters (Chris Redfield, Karl Heisenberg, Lady Dimitrescu) and two new levels to the bonus Mercenaries mode. Unlike the base game, Mercenaries Additional Orders is unlocked from the start, so players buying Resident Evil Gold can jump in and play Mercenaries right away. You'll have immediate access to Chris Redfield, but you have to earn Karl Heisenberg and Lady Dimitrescu.

Lady Dimitrescu can be a formidable force on the battlefield, but you do have to keep in mind her height. She is taller than other characters, and that reflects when you're playing as her.

In the end, the Winters' Expansion DLC is an enjoyable way to wrap up most of the plot threads from Ethan's story, but it does end up feeling lightweight, especially for the $20 asking price. If you've never played Resident Evil Village, getting the Gold edition with the Winters' Expansion included is a no-brainer. If you're buying it separately, ask yourself how much you expect to play Mercenaries mode, as that's where the bulk of the replay value lies.

Score: 7.0/10