The Mercenaries are back, with Winters’ Expansion for Resident Evil Village. The mode will bring new maps, as well as new playable characters.
The Lady of the house
Resident Evil Village was a pretty big hit for Capcom, and the series. A first-person survival-horror adventure, the 8th numbered RE title also brought some new characters to life, a few of whom have become fan favorites. Well, one of them.
A 9 foot tall vampire, Lady Dimitrescu was a break out star, lording over a castle that main character Ethan Winters had to battle his way through. She also had vampiric daughters, which were an interesting riff on the ‘Brides of Dracula’ theme. And now she’s back.
The Winters’ Expansion is the means for the villain’s return, though in a way that fans might not have expected. Though the new pack will be loaded up with some single player action, it’ll also contain the return of The Mercenaries.
An action-only mode that first appeared a years back on the 3DS, The Mercenaries will give players the ability to actually become the Lady. And yes, that means being gigantically tall, and having access to all of her powers. She is not alone either, and will be joined by Chris Redfield and the magnetically-powered baddie Karl Heisenberg.
Here’s the official rundown on the new characters:
Lady Dimitrescu looms large over enemies in this action-packed mode, where she brings her nine-foot stature to bear against any Lycans or other foes unfortunate enough to cross her path. In combat, Lady Dimitrescu builds a Thrill meter by slicing adversaries to ribbons with her razor-sharp talons. This allows her to perform special actions like slamming down hostiles or summoning her daughters.
Meanwhile, Lord Karl Heisenberg possesses his own electrifying powers. Equipped with a massive hammer and the ability to manipulate magnetic currents, Heisenberg can really put a charge into his attacks. The terrifying creations from Heisenberg’s factory, Soldat Jets, also join him in the fray – but be mindful not to get caught in the crossfire of their self-destructive assaults. Heisenberg can also trade off movement speed to see what enemies are made of by pulling them in with his magnetic field or put on a show everyone can enjoy by slinging scrap metal, like saw blades, their way.
Chris Redfield also S.T.A.R.S. in “The Mercenaries Additional Orders.” The legendary BSAA agent packs a serious straight punch that can not only get him out of situations where he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, but it also builds up his Onslaught gauge in a hurry as well. When Onslaught is active, Chris moves and reloads with lightning speed. Chris can also request support from the Hound Wolf Squad by using his target locator to pinpoint enemy positions and call in support strikes.
Capcom press release
In addition to the trio above, there will also be a pair of new maps to play, with the Bloody Village and Bloody River. And as mentioned, there is a single player component as well. That stars Rosemary Winters, Ethan’s daughter, and kicks off 16 years after Village closed out.
The Winters’ Expansion, and a new all-inclusive Resident Evil Village Gold Edition, will be out for consoles and the PC on October 28th.