Well, it’s finally here. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has cast its looming shadow over the already massive game that is Elden Ring. With the introduction of an open world comes the promise of a sandbox large enough to engage with and have fun in, ideally without becoming bored or frustrated with repetitive activities and an uninteresting gameplay loop, sometimes littered with collectables that seem to exist only to inflate an otherwise hollow experience.
Despite being their first foray into open-world game design, FromSoftware seemingly took the tightly designed yet expansive-feeling worlds of their beloved Souls series of games and successfully transformed them into what can now be considered one of the best open-world RPGs of all time.
Yet, the shift to an open world came with the monumental task of making enough meaningful content to stretch out a 60 to 100-hour experience while still accounting for the larger and mostly connected game world to coalesce and come together in one harmonious package.
With the introduction of Shadow of the Erdtree, Elden Ring’s first and final piece of significant downloadable content, a shift has occurred in its approach to design. Instead of a massive and sweeping world to explore, the Shadow Realm opts to capitalize on what FromSoftware does best—captivate the player in a larger-than-life feeling world, interconnected by fun and engaging activities that don’t necessarily always lead to new areas, but nevertheless deliver satisfying and rewarding content that never disappoints.
“Despite this steep and daunting level of challenge, I found the boss encounters, without a doubt, my favourite aspect of Shadow of the Erdtree.”
That’s not to say the Shadow Realm is small by any means. Rather, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree feels more like a return to the expertly crafted design principles found in games like the original Dark Souls, with the added skill cap of games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and the Old Hunters DLC content for Bloodborne.
Instead of an obvious central hub, players entering the Shadow Realm for the first time through Miquella’s Cocoon via Mohgwyn’s Palace will find themselves in a new location, the Gravesite Plains, which immediately gives players the ability to explore the new map to their heart’s content, with the exception of a few specific areas that will only fully open once they are near one of the new endings available in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
Unlike Elden Ring’s base game, which featured multi-layered and complex maps that took time to explore and fully discover, the Realm of Shadow instead, feels more akin to a crossroads, in which the player is free to pick a direction, head out, and hopefully have the mettle to see it to their destination. This will often lead to new weapons, ashes of war, boss encounters or other bolstering gear, such as the new Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes consumable, which grants both the player and their collection of Spirt Ashes a significant boon, exclusive to the Shadow of the Erdtree content.
Often, these Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes can be found next to Miquella’s Crosses, new and iconic landmarks that dot the Realm of Shadow and hint at Miquella’s departure from the Golden Order. These new upgrade materials are vital in standing a chance against the ten or so new main bosses found in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. In addition to the bolstering materials for the Tarnished and Spirit Ashes, Shadow of the Erdtree also introduces new titan-sized Wickermen that roam around the map, which, when bested, reward the player with new and powerful Flasks of Wondrous Physicks, which grant the player useful boons that are essential against some of the later encounters in the expansion.
Unlike Elden Ring proper, boss encounters in the Shadow Realm do not mess around and will end the player given the opportunity. In fact, even with plus 9+ and 25 weapons, some of the health pools of the later encounters, particularly one of the ending bosses, forced me to completely reevaluate my build several times before finally coming out on top. Despite this steep and daunting level of challenge, I found the boss encounters, without a doubt, my favourite aspect of Shadow of the Erdtree.
“…if there is one aspect of Shadow of the Erdtree that I wish could have been handled differently, it would be FromSoftware’s utter and unwavering reliance on cryptic and environmental-based solutions to finding your path forward.”
In the Elden Ring base game, despite having acquired the Platinum trophy twice over, once for my initial Playstation 5 playthrough and then a brisk victory run on PS4, my approach to the game was that of a jack of all trades, master of none mentality, in that, if I found a weapon or skill that I wanted to use, I’d drop everything and attune my runes accordingly to its stat requirements, which got me through the game but ultimately left me with a strange assortment of stats that didn’t particularly cater to any specific build or play style.
To my horror, this uneven stat distribution quickly made me realize just how inept I was at dispatching some of the later bosses present in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. However, this was actually a blessing in that it made me not only relish my eventual victories in the DLC more than I would have if I had just brute-forced my way through, but due to having to respec, I eventually found myself going back to the Lands Between, finishing old questlines, seeing things I hadn’t even realized were in the game, just to better attune my character to a specific build and stratagem required to finally best whatever encounter I was stuck on.
Outside of the spectacle of truly challenging bosses, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree brings with it a monsoon of new weapons, ashes of war and powerful incantations and spells, many of which I must admit I still haven’t had the chance to find or the very least, fully appreciate.
“Outside of the spectacle of truly challenging bosses, Shadow of the Erdtree brings with it a monsoon of new weapons, ashes of war and powerful incantations and spells…”
Chief among the dozen or so weapons I did discover and have time to play with, some of my favourites include the Beast Claws, a set of gauntlets that transforms the Tarnished into what essentially feels like a werewolf from Bloodborne, complete with a blood-buildup perk, the Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana, a very anime-inspired oversized Katana with a bloody slash Ash of War that made me feel like I was living out my best Bleach-inspired life.
Finally, I loved Messmer’s own Spear of the Impaler, a powerful Legendary weapon with a large AoE attack with the added bonus of being able to hurl the spear at distant targets with no significant cost to stamina or FP, making it an incredibly fun and versatile weapon to use while exploring the Shadow Realm.
Another aspect of Shadow of the Erdtree that stood out to me during my time with the new content would have to be the sheer amount of NPC battles present in the Land of Shadows, something that fans of the PVP aspect of Elden Ring will likely appreciate. FromSoft was also kind enough to include a bevy of smithing stones, including new Somber and Ancient level materials, which can now often be found by slaying various lesser dragons that dot the coasts of the Realm of Shadow, giving the Tarnished plenty of opportunity to max out some of the new weapons found during their journey.
In spite of the smaller map, at least in comparison to the Lands Between, Elden Ring’s new area still feels like a significantly large map to explore, consisting of at least 4-5 new biomes, new catacombs, optional bosses, and secret areas that require thinking outside of the box, which should ultimately the take player anywhere to 25-30 hours to complete, give or take, depending on your skill level.
On that note, if there is one aspect of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree that I wish could have been handled differently, it would be FromSoftware’s utter and unwavering reliance on cryptic and environmental-based solutions to finding your path forward. Despite having put around 40 hours into the new content, I have a strong inclination that I have missed some vital content along the way due to some areas of the Realm of Shadows feeling overly obtuse in providing the player with enough context to proceed accordingly.
Regardless of this, however, once enough people get to finally experience the wealth of content that is Shadow of the Erdtree, I’m sure all of the nuances and secrets FromSoftware have expertly crafted will come to light, taking away the frustration I felt knowing there is still stuff out there that I have yet to take in and experience fully.
Ultimately, Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is a true testament to players who have already done everything there is left to do in the Lands Between, making it some of the most challenging but rewarding experiences to date put out by FromSoftware and an essential, must-play expansion, acting as a reminder as to why Elden Ring was Game of the year for 2022.
