Resident Evil Village: Winters' Expansion

 PC
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. GameCritics
    Dec 8, 2022
    80
    While the Winters’ Expansion offers some neat new toys to play with, it’s the Shadows of Rose campaign that is its triumph. Despite a few blemishes and a short length, it once again proves that Resident Evil still has a lot to give. I just hope we get to see Rose again, perhaps with a few new powers under her belt. The series’ original characters should all be pushing 50 by now, and she’s just the fresh face to carry the series forward — out with the old, in with the mold.
  2. GamingTrend
    Oct 31, 2022
    80
    The Resident Evil Village: Winters’ Expansion is a nice bundle of story and gameplay content that managed to engage and entertain me despite being a short-lived experience.
  3. TheSixthAxis
    Oct 24, 2022
    80
    As a package, the Winters' Expansion is a necessary addition to any Resident Evil fan. The added content for Mercenaries is just the temptation needed for new players to take on the mode’s challenges (or a reward for those that already have), and Rose’s story is a perfect conclusion to the Ethan Winters saga. Personally I can take or leave the third person mode, but it’s a nice inclusion nonetheless. I’m certainly intrigued by the prospect of where the series will go next and would heartily recommend a return to the Village as a necessary destination whilst you wait for the Resident Evil 4 Remake.
  5. Ragequit.gr
    Nov 14, 2022
    76
    Winters' Expansion offers a few more hours of entertainment to Resident Evil Village fans. Shadows of Rose is a good addition to the main story and The Mercenaries mini-game has its best iteration in years. Unfortunately, a mediocre implementation of the 3rd person mode and the steep price of admission, detract from its overall value.
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  1. Polygon
    Oct 24, 2022
    Shadows of Rose isn’t a spectacular DLC, and it doesn’t necessarily do or say anything meaningful. It feels like a B-tier horror film, which isn’t out of place for Resident Evil, though its sometimes self-serious tone can become tiring, especially after two whole games in the decidedly grim saga of the Winters family. Those invested in their narrative will find something to chew on, and the addition of the third-person perspective makes returning to the base game an exciting possibility. But it doesn’t do anything to further the narrative. Much like Rose herself, it feels less like a stepping stone in the franchise — a gentle nudge toward more plot points that will potentially remain unresolved for years to come.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
3.4

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 41 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 41
  3. Negative: 23 out of 41
  1. TasmanDevil
    Nov 7, 2022
    0
    Not worth the money. Don’t buy it. Three hours of gameplay that leads to nothing are not worth it.
  2. Young_Fawn
    Jun 21, 2023
    6
    A Good DLC Worth the Price

    I'd like to preface this review by saying that it's only worth the Price if you plan on playing the entire game    A Good DLC Worth the Price

    I'd like to preface this review by saying that it's only worth the Price if you plan on playing the entire game again in third person mode, which I did. At that point, I do believe you are getting your money's worth.

    The Third Person mode allows the game to be played like how the Remakes are, which to me, was a massive selling point. I hope they drop the 1st person mode in future games and just do third person, to me, this is where Resident Evil shines.

    The Shadows of Rose additional story is a solid conclusion of the Winter's story line. The writing is fairly decent and it's interesting to play as the character you've spent the entire game trying to save.

    Some of the powers Rose gets are pretty cool, it adds a new element to the game and there's also a fair amount of the returning voice cast as well, which makes it rather compelling to me.

    I did have a few issues with it though, overall.

    For one, I don't care too much about the length, yes it's short but I don't think that's a problem. My problem is that there is little to no enemy variety and a lot of the assets in the base game are reused. There is practically no new set-pieces for the entire DLC, it's all everything you've seen before. It might "Look" fresh if you haven't played the main game in a while, but if you go straight from the base game to the DLC, you'll see the comparisons and reused assets immediately.

    The "Mold Counter" when an enemy grabs you, you can use your special ability to break the grab, similar to using a knife or grenade in the remakes. My problem with it though is that for some reason, Rose is basically frozen in place for what is far -far- too long in my opinion. If you're in a tight corridor and there's nowhere to push them back from, basically you and the enemy are moving again at the exact same time, leaving you open to get grabbed again. I don't know why the enemy isn't at least stunned or you can move immediately after countering, it just made getting grabbed a bit frustrating.

    Some of the boss encounters are pretty cool and there are some genuinely creepy, horror scenes in the game which will have you a bit worried for your safety.

    Overall the DLC is worth the price if you're looking for a short fresh new story, and to play the entire normal game again in third person mode (which I could not recommend enough).

    6/10 - The DLC is worth it just for the "Statue" game alone.    … Full Review »
  3. zaratti
    May 26, 2023
    5
    I'm a big Resident Evil fan. Ever since I played and replayed Resident Evil 2 Remake three times in a row. I love how incredibly the games areI'm a big Resident Evil fan. Ever since I played and replayed Resident Evil 2 Remake three times in a row. I love how incredibly the games are presented, how polished the gameplay is and how good the visual and sound design is. Resident Evil Village is a great game and the DLC for it is pretty fun and satiated my thirst for RE8 content.

    I think the DLC is fun but flawed in several ways. The gameplay itself is fun but I would've rather they didn't force the third person perspective. I guess they were coding the RE4 Remake and thought that they could just add it to RE8 as well but I don't think being forced to use it in the DLC is a good choice at all.

    Another thing I thought was lacking is the story. It's just so barebones and uninteresting to me. They could've made it much better but they introduced supernatural elements that just don't fit Resident Evil. I'm disappointed by the story.

    I didn't like how the locations in the DLC were recycled locations from the main campaign. It feels like they cut corners and didn't bother to make brand new, interesting locations which is a shame.

    Overall, Shadow of Rose is a fun but very underwhelming expansion for a great game. I expected better.    … Full Review »
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