Resident Evil Village’s Shadows of Rose aims to “conclude” the Winters family saga

So, who’s on deck for the next mainline game?

Resident Evil Village left us off on a wild note, with so much room to speculate about the near and long-term future of the series. In between releases, it’s always been fun for me to put the pieces together, theorize, and then ultimately see Capcom take a different direction than the clues might’ve suggested. A new quote out of Tokyo Game Show 2022 has rekindled the conversation, specifically with respect to the upcoming Shadows of Rose DLC for Resident Evil Village and where the series could go with the next mainline entry.

As reported by IGN out of Tokyo Game Show, director Kento Kinoshita says that Capcom is “creating the Shadows of Rose story to conclude the Winters family saga.”

A short and open-ended but very thought-provoking quote, to be sure.

Without spoiling anything, this remark changes my expectations for what kind of story Resident Evil 9 (reminder: we don’t have an actual name yet so that’s just shorthand) might tell. (That closing Village scene was a head-turner at the time.) Now I’m even less sure about what to expect — just unresolved bits and pieces that were seeded in Village.

Is it time for old favorites to shine again? To bury Umbrella once and for all? Once we know the core playable cast and setting, we’ll have a much better picture.

Jumping ahead

For more context (Village plot spoilers), here’s how Capcom originally framed the Shadows of Rose DLC when it was announced: “Set 16 years after the events of Resident Evil Village, this new tale follows Rose Winters, the daughter of main protagonist Ethan, as she struggles with her terrifying powers. Players must explore and survive a warped and mysterious realm inside the consciousness of the Megamycete in search of a cure.”

Some fans, who have had enough of Ethan’s “everyman” antics across Resident Evil 7 and Village, are hopeful that Resident Evil 9 will combine the old and the new. Personally, as much as I do want to see Jill Valentine (or others!) back in action, particularly after digging her refreshed characterization in the Resident Evil 3 remake, I like the Winters storyline and would’ve been fine seeing it wrapped up in the next game. As is, I’m wondering if this DLC will feel significant enough for people like me, or if it’ll seem shoehorned.

We’ll find out what’s going down on October 28, when Shadows of Rose debuts as part of Resident Evil Village Gold Edition and the Winters’ Expansion. My Halloween plans are set.

I’ll also be back in for the new third-person mode. According to producer Masachika Kawata, the mode “took about as much effort as creating a new game” due to the “exceptionally large variety of player actions” in Resident Evil Village compared to Resident Evil 2 and 3. “You can guard, you can move while crouching, and there is a lot of examining objects. We made thorough adjustments to ensure that those unique animations would look completely connected, and that it would be playable at a good tempo.”