Spooky girl seeks to remove her mold powers! (RE8: Shadows of Rose DLC in Review)

     Hey friends, as you know by now, I'm a big fan of the modern Resident Evil games and I'm definitely looking forward to the upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake, but I just finally got around to playing through the Shadows of Rose DLC. It's such a cool little add-on to the original story of the game, and it's even centered around the central character of that game, even if she's treated as a Macguffin there, Rose Winters. Of course, she is a baby in the base game, but as revealed in the post credits scene, Rose revisits the grave of Ethan, her father. What does this DLC hold in store for the superpowered teen who seems to be having a hard time? Well, let's dive in and see for ourselves. Luckily for us, I have a sample of the Megamycete saved here just for today, and this will help us all see how this story goes!

Little Rose is all grown up!

Roses may be delicate... but they have thorns.

    As you may recall, baby Rosemary Winters had to save herself to a certain degree in the base game of Resident Evil 8: Village. Ethan did his best and collected all of the different jars to save her, but in the end, Mother Miranda was looking to revive her daughter Eva, and tried to change Rose into a vessel for her deceased daughter. Rose had great power, and ended up being able to reconstitute as herself, despite the self centered machinations of the villain. After this, Ethan defeats Mother Miranda and they both go down along with the Megamycete in an explosion that took out the entirety of the titular village. Rose and Mia, her mother, continue through life with Chris Redfield acting as another caretaker for the girl, but Rose's powers continue on as she goes through school. Kids in school are mean, as almost anyone will tell you, and they don't even need a reason for that. Rose's powers manifest themselves in a way that she can only describe as "white sweat," which make her a laughing stock at her school. Because of this, Rose hates her powers and really just wants to get rid of them no matter what the cost. That cost becomes apparent when Agent K who works with Chris comes to her one day and tells her that they've found a certain crystal that can remove her powers, but they need her help to get it. Agent K takes her to a lab where they've kept a sample of the Mutamycete from the village, and there is a special crystal kept inside that could remove Rose's Abilities, and it can only react to someone who already has a connection to the mold, which Rose gets her powers from. She touches the mold and it's off to the races. That's all of the story I'll give you just because the DLC just came out a few months ago and I don't want to spoil anything. The gameplay picks up right there though, and that's what I will try to touch on.

    This DLC controls entirely in the 3rd person perspective, which immediately gives it a very different feel to Ethan's experience which was played entirely in First Person (though they also allowed the option for base game to be played in third person along with this DLC). This story feels entirely different just from this one change, and it honestly makes me want to do yet another play through of Ethan's story to experience the added view. Rose controls as you would expect, almost the same as Ethan, though she feels much slower than her father, and throughout her story, she only gets two guns, a pistol and a shotgun. What sets Rose apart, however, is ironically exactly what she's trying to get rid of in this game, her powers. As she goes through this DLC, she gets enhancements for her powers which allow you to get rid of the goopy mold seeping into these visions of the locales from Resident Evil 8 that have been reimagined in more creepy ways, as well as slowing down the mold monsters which pursue her all through her little trip through the Megamycete. She isn't really familiar with guns or anything, which definitely makes it hard for her to hold her own as well as her dad. The game is definitely more focused on psychological horror while the base game was focused more on action, save for the "House Beneviento" section. This game only has three major areas, all based on different locales from the village, but not in a way that I expected, which is why I don't want to give anything away, just in case you want to play it.

What does she remember?

    This isn't necessarily all about horror, it's also about learning who Rose Winters grows into, which is a very exciting and touching concept. Without giving too much away, there is a point in this DLC where there are stuffed monkeys around the area, and Rose says something to the effect of "Okay, I know I've seen these before, but why are they here?" That's a big deal because we're told time and time again in the base game that Rose's favorite toy is her stuffed monkey. That moment hit hard for me because there are certain things from my childhood that my parents tell me were extremely important to me, but I just can't remember them. It's so cool to have this character grow up before our eyes, and even though this was presented as a huge part of her character as a baby, it doesn't apply to her anymore, and she doesn't even remember it. This begs the question, what does Rosemary Winters even remember about the entire situation in the village? Obviously she was a baby, but it was such a huge threat going after her specifically, and she was able to do so much even just as a baby, but it's clear as this DLC goes along that she really doesn't remember anything about what happened. It's even possible that the story that Mia told her had to do with the Book of Shadows, especially we see Rose with the book in the final scene of the game when she's going to visit her dad. 

    This DLC deals with memories in a major way, and it's clear that it was no coincidence. The memories kept in the Mutamycete where the entirety of the gameplay in Shadows of Rose take place in are places that Rose doesn't remember, and even though the player does remember them, it's not in the same way. Nothing is as it seems, and Rose is absolutely right to be terrified when faced with the threats here. There was one section of this game that actually made me put the controller down for a while and take a walk because I got so shaken up, but once I got through it, I realized that it's not just about Rose getting through these trials, but it's about her growing from them and not letting them control her. I will give a spoiler here, and I'm sorry to tell you this, but it feels important. In the end of all these trials, Rose ends up keeping her powers, though I won't give her reasoning why. There is a reason for it in the story, but for now, let's just say that Rose learns to accept herself, and even though the kids at school are mean and don't accept her for who she is, she realizes that it doesn't matter in the long run. She has a family, and even if she can't completely remember everything that her father did for her, Ethan Winters lives on through his daughter's ability to push on through whatever hardships are thrown her way. 

    Rosemary Winters is a strong, interesting character, and one that I really hope they'll continue fleshing out as the Resident Evil series continues on. The Shadows of Rose DLC for Resident Evil 8 is an absolute joy to play, and though there were many moments where the fears seemed almost suffocating, there was always a spark of hope guiding the way to a better future for this character. I certainly don't know where Capcom is going next after this most recent installment in the storyline of the Winters family, or the universe of this game series, but I have to say, there's a light shining through the bleakness of these games that I hope continues on for a good while.

    Thanks so much for reading this post, friends. I know I typically write about horror things in October, but I just played this game recently and I wanted to write about it while it was still fresh in my mind. Have you played the DLC for this game? What did you think about it if you did? I have really loved everything about Resident Evil 8, and I hope for more spooky goodness in the near future as well with the Resident Evil 4 remake coming in a few months. I hope you're all doing well, friends, and thanks again for joining me for a tale of not just horror, but also hope. Until next time, I'm Jonathan, your Self-Proclaimed Survivor, and I'll talk to you all again soon.