Bandai Namco invited CGMagazine out to Los Angeles a month before the release of the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Those of you who are hardcore Elden Ring or Dark Souls fans, please know that it is not lost on me how incredibly lucky I am to have been able to play this new area early. Bandai pulled out all the stops to make this an incredible immersive experience, playing the game in the middle of the Hollywood Cemetary by candlelight, complete with a string quartette and the Withered Hand.
Beware: Spoilers lie ahead.
Jumping right into the DLC, we were given a few different builds to choose from, so I took on the Warrior and touched the Withered Hand to transport me to The Land of Shadow. I was in awe of the beauty in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. After you’re transported, you’re met with fields full of ghostly graves and decrepit trees. Where in the base game’s starting area, you see enormous, stunning, glowing trees everywhere you look, in Shadow of the Erdtree, it is the exact opposite. Though the graves are glowing, everything has the taint of death on it, with voices howling in agony everywhere you go.
The Elden Ring DLC is FromSoftware’s biggest expansion to date, with roughly 30 hours of gameplay and over a hundred new weapons that are available to bring back to the main map. The Land of Shadow is bigger than Limgrave, the starting area in Elden Ring’s base game. Between mass fields, towers, mountains and more, the grand scale of things is immediately apparent in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
Your first goal is to locate Scadutree Fragments, which strengthen your character and help better negate damage when used at Sites of Grace by giving you the Scadutree Blessing. The first characters you meet are Redmane Freya and Hornsent, who tell you about the fragments and give you a handy map of your first three. Any bit of guidance in Elden Ring is always welcome.
“Between mass fields, towers, mountains and more, the grand scale of things is immediately apparent in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.”
Later, you find Sir Ansbac, who tells you about six other Scadutree Fragments but does not give you the locations. There are also Revered Spirt Ash to collect, which do the same thing as the Fragments, but for your summons and horse, granting them the Spirit Ash Blessing. I can tell you fighting on a horse came in handy for me while exploring, and I came across these more often than the Scadutree Fragments. These boosts only stay with you in The Land of Shadows, so though your gear can go back with you, your buffs do not.
Our Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree hands-on preview lasted three hours, where we were given boundaries we were not allowed to pass, but there was still such a massive amount of content to explore that all the journalists went right to work. I, however, needed to find a plan of attack. Open-world games like Elden Ring have always been a slow burn for me, where I want to explore every inch. In a preview, however, this isn’t ideal.
Elden Ring is a different kind of beast, though, and you can find yourself beating your head against a wall, trying to take down the same enemy for hours. The same remains true with Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, with plenty of bosses to take down, but I knew there was no world in which I would succeed in such a short time frame. So, while everyone else gunned straight for the bosses, I checked out what else The Land of Shadows had in store for us.
“There is no shortage of variety of enemies in the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, that is for certain.”
There is no shortage of variety of enemies in the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, that is for certain. Immediately, you are met with what looks like a cross between a gargoyle and a giant eagle, but with armour. My first instinct was to avoid these due to their size, but they are pretty much everywhere in The Land of Shadow, so it wasn’t long before I was forced to fight. It turns out that size was deceiving in this case, as these enemies seem to be the most basic I encountered.
There was, however, a smaller enemy that would give most players a run for their money. Although I did not catch its name, there was a part human/part creature that looked bent in half, wearing a mask with rings in its hands. This one slaughtered me, but it still feels attainable somehow, so I am eager to see what loot it drops. Running through the fields in The Land of Shadow will cause this creature to swoop down on you, and it was fast…so was my death.
There are also some notable shadowy figures across the map. They seem harmless enough, and you have to get pretty close to aggro them. One at a time is easy to take down, but they can easily end up outnumbering you. These black shadows moan and scream when you are making your way through the map, like tortured souls left behind.
Even fewer are other shaded figures, but these won’t harm you. When you find one that looks like a white shadow, it will tell you a part of the story in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. I found some wailing in pain, only to tell me horrific parts of how things came to be as they are in The Land of Shadow. They tell fragmented pieces, and I am eager to see what the full story they have to tell is.
We had access to two main boss areas in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Belurat and Castle Ensis. This is where most people spent their time, as major bosses lie in these areas. First, I went the route of Belurat. I don’t have the names of all the available bosses, but I will do my best to describe them.
On route to Belurat, there is what I can only describe as a massive torchman. I liken this to the Tree Sentinel in Limgrave. I engaged a few times to see what he might do, and I’m still not confident that he will be beatable anytime soon. With how massive it is in size, not to mention its enormous legs and kicks that rain down fire, this boss will be a challenge even further down the line.
Once in Belurat, everything felt grand in scale. It appeared to be a tomb-like area, but guarded by these shadows that hit hard, but what doesn’t in Elden Ring? Some of the larger ones had smaller shadows, like minions, and they would walk in pairs. To get there, you face Scorpions, large and small as well.
The first section past the Scorpions feels like a gauntlet, making you dip down alleyways to avoid being pummeled by enemies above. There is room for experienced players with various weapon types here. Ranged will be appreciated. This area led to a boss called “Devine Beast Dancing Lion,” who reminded me of a Chinese Dragon. Many journalists dawned its headgear, so it is beatable so far!
“The open world in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree offers a lot to players, both those who enjoy story beats and neat discoveries and those who wish to battle and collect gear.”
Castle Ensis is the second main area we could explore. Here, you head toward a black castle with gold trim. It is guarded by another gigantic boss, though one with a tiny head. Its skeleton and muscle are completely exposed, and you can see directly inside its gaping ribcage, which has been hollowed out. He seems to don a helm and cape and an enormous greatsword that he twirls to slam a lightning-like attack down at you.
This seemed the most approachable of the main bosses I came across, being able to actually take a chunk of his health off. You can also sneak by and run, avoiding him altogether, but I heard that if you defeat him, he will not return. The torch creature I never even made a dent in. On the way to Castle Ensis, you will fight knight-based enemies, some of whom make the trip dreadful and some who help you gain back some of that confidence. The final boss here is Rellana Twin Moonknight, and those who defeat it will receive a slick set of black knight armour.
Those two areas are where everyone else at the preview focused, so instead, I explored. The open world in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree offers a lot to players, both those who enjoy story beats and neat discoveries and those who wish to battle and collect gear. I don’t want to spoil everything I came upon, but I will say this: I found things that some members of the team had not yet seen.
“For those of you who dare to touch the withered hand, The Land of Shadow awaits you, and it will not be kind.”
Heading far south, there was an unassuming-looking man, but when I got closer, I learned my lesson very quickly. North led me to a massive skeletal dragon, the Ghost Flame Dragon. Staying on my steed, I was able to stay under it and take it down for the most part. Watch out for Ghost Flames, stomping and thrashing here, but the Great Katana was found nearby.
South East, a path leads to another wailing man, begging to be put out of his misery. Past that a deep cave leading to secrets and spoils. In Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, there wasn’t a corner I found that wasn’t rich with loot, story, battles and just stunning scenery to take in. The audio was also used to create great suspense, with the use of low tones and even silence that made my footsteps sound frightening.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will not be an inexpensive DLC, but with just the small taste I got of The Land of Shadow, there is no doubt in my mind that there is ample content here, making it work the premium price tag. For those of you who dare to touch the withered hand, The Land of Shadow awaits you, and it will not be kind.
