Resident Evil DLC Shadows Of Rose Will Be One Of The Hardest

During Capcom‘s TGS 2022 Online Program, the publisher announced that it had been exploring the option of releasing the game on last-gen consoles, and announced that Resident Evil 4 Remake would also be released on the PS4. Several other announcements were also made during the stream.

Capcom also held lots of interviews during and after TGS and as a result, there is a lot of information that exists out there regarding what to expect, but players are unaware since the interviews were in Japanese and lie obscure from coverage from a wider audience.

Thanks to ResetEra forum member Dusk Golem we now know much more about the upcoming DLC and a little bit more about Capcom’s approach to the Resident Evil series in the future, and what it may attempt.

Dusk Golem was kind enough to compile all the information they obtained from the 7 Japanese interviews into a clean little list. We will discuss a little about all.

Major Takeaways:

• Shadows of Rose DLC is expected to be the longest in the Resident Evil series.
• Will have psychological horror elements and will be among the toughest to survive in the series.
• It is directed by Kento Kinoshita, the director of the Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen expansion, with work by devs that have never worked on Resident Evil titles.
• There is a big mystery in Shadows of Rose.

We reported all the details that were revealed in last week’s TGS, however, there were much more details that were also revealed in the various follow-up interview by Japanese media and publications. They are as follows:

1. Shadows Of Rose Will Be Directed By Kento Kinoshita:

Kento Kinoshita was last responsible for directing Capcom’s Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen expansion, which was well-received and to this day has a cult following. Reportedly, he and a team of devs were brought in late into Resident Evil Village‘s development by Jun Takeuchi the lead producer of the Resident Evil series.

Jun Takeuchi reportedly wanted Kinoshita’s own unique take on the series for the RE8 DLC and asked him to try it before release. Kinoshita was inspired by the gothic horror tone and chose to strengthen it for the DLC.

2. The DLC Is Made To Be Harder To Survive Than Most RE Games:

Kinoshita wished to lean more on the horror aspect in the DLC, and the devs describe it as “Psychological Horror” meets “a Dark Fairytale” mixed with “a Nightmarish Fever Dream.” The devs say that the expansion will be hard to survive than most Resident Evil games.

This of course reflected in Rose’s character too. In the DLC, Rose plays more defensively than other Resident Evil protagonists and has different supporting or defensive powers that do not necessarily level the battlefield but give her a slight edge against enemies. As she is basically a normal 16-year-old, she moves slower and her aim could need improving as well. The main goal is to survive, not kill everything.

3. There Will Be Enemies Exclusive To The DLC:

The DLC will reportedly have many new enemies never before seen in the Resident Evil series, including the “Face Eater” and “Sclerotium” that were previously shown in the TGS 2022 showcase.

4. Levels Will Distort And Become Nightmarish With Bizarre Elements:

Reportedly, Castle Dimitrescu is considered Chapter 1 and levels in the game will distort and present bizarre imagery and level design to drive home the psychological horror and nightmarish feel, and will continue to get more so as the story of the DLC progresses.

5. Will Be The Longest DLC In Resident Evil History:

The developers expect it to be about 4 hours in length. This is much longer than previous DLCs in the series. According to stats obtained from HowLongToBeat, all DLCs in RE history are mostly 1-2 hours in length. This is taking into account the DLCs for RE5 and RE7.

However, these estimates are based on real-world data obtained from players, while the length of Shadows of Rose is expected to be 4 hours only according to devs. how long it truly is, will only become clear once the DLC releases and real players experience it.

6. Not All Creatures Are Harmful:

The developers say that not all creatures in the DLC will be harmful to the player, and part of the challenge and experience of Shadows of Rose is to figure out which are harmful and which will actually help you in the expansion.

7. Shadows Of Rose Will Conclude Winters Family Arc, But Rose May Return:

While it has been known by fans for some time, the developers further clarified that Shadows of Rose will conclude the Winters Family Arc of the Resident Evil series and the characters will not be returning.

The devs also said that while there are no plans for characters from Winters Family Arc to appear again, if Rose is liked by the fans, the devs may bring her back in a future instalment. For now, though, the expansion takes place 16 years after RE Village just to conclude the story of the Winters family.

8. There Is A Big Mystery At The Heart Of Shadows Of Rose:

The devs said that there is a big mystery in Shadows of Rose that will be revealed towards the end. The mystery is of such significance that upon ending the game and doing a second playthrough of the DLC, it will give more meaning to not only the world around Rose but will give a new perspective on the characters and monsters and that it will change how you look at everything in the game.

9. 3rd Person Camera Was Difficult To Implement, May Not Return For Future Titles:

The devs say that the third-person camera for Resident Evil Village was very difficult to implement since they wished to stick with the artistic choice of not showing Ethan’s face, an aspect that was particularly difficult. The team says that they are not in specific favour of either first-person or third-person cameras and will consider them both for future titles.

They also say that since both cameras provide vastly different experiences they will decide on the camera for each future title on a case-by-case basis and will not provide both for one title. They also confirmed that Resident Evil 7 will not get a third-person camera update as they feel the game fits well in the first-person perspective.

10. Original Plan For A Chris-Centred DLC Was Scrapped:

The devs state that the original plan was for Resident Evil Village to have a DLC centered on Chris Redfield which would portray a Chris that has gone mad from stress and guilt over his past and actions.

However, as they were going through potential ideas, the team go too interested in Shadows of Rose and decided to “instead make that the meatiest DLC piece the series has had to date.”

Similar Reads: Stalker 2 Possibly Delayed To A 2024-2025 Release Window