A great addition to one of the best games of our time, sometimes overdone in terms of difficulty. Elden Ring has grown with the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, but is it more than players are ready for? Find out in our new Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree review.
It has a huge open world, at least twenty unique bosses, many new weapons, mechanics that completely change the way the entire game plays, NPCs with interesting offshoot quests, and dozens of hours of gameplay, so why is it in the highly anticipated addition to the ultra-successful Elden Ring received mixed reviews from players?
Elden Ring has earned its place as the best game of 2022. Developers FromSoftware honed their skills in hardcore combat in Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Still, in Elden Ring, they added a huge open-world Between-Earth, with secrets and many original ideas contained in Shadow of the Erdtree being made by the extra, which was released on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox on June 21st. Let’s look at what’s new in the addon, its new positioning, and why FromSoftware created one of the best addons in history.
More than two years have passed since the release of Elden Ring and we haven’t reviewed it as such. In that write-up, the reviewer praised the game for its “virtually flawless world, designed in every sense” and the way FromSoftware managed to make every inch of it unique, and it boasted Elden Ring in an actual travel mode boasted that this is all true for the new DLC. Shadow of Erdtree is largely like many fully open-world games, and its quality is better than most of them. And yes, the local map is smaller than in the base game, but it’s well done. There is, of course, a pitfall: because SOTE is at the core of everything the Elden Ring offers, it also takes some of the game’s downsides to the next level
The most controversial aspect of the entire DLC, as many of you may have guessed, is the balance of the difficulties. And yes, I realize we’re once again returning to the infinite story everyone’s been tired of for a long time: FromSoftware releases some new features, and the hardcore debate immediately begins online, with more players demanding if they get in trouble, it comes down to it, and fans of the genre try to explain to them what it really is It’s an important part of Japanese studio gaming. I’m just one of the fans, but I admit that even I found some moral exhaustion in SOTE. And it’s all due to the way the writers decided to balance the expansion by using a completely different development system.
In Shadow of the Erdtree, it doesn’t really matter what level or building you’re in when you break into another land. Normally, anyone who isn’t too stupid will kill you in two hits, whether you’re level 120 or 160. Enemies’ lives and damage are stupid, more so than in standard play, but try to do this justice by stuffing yet another collection – shards of decay. Blocks scattered across the map bless the hero – a permanent reward for his “resistance” and the power of his attacks. If you put them all together, in theory, the power of the player will be equal to the gameplay, and the balance will be more memorable in the main campaign (not in practice at all, but more on that later choice).
Shards are a questionable system, as they negatively affect the world’s exploration process. If you ignore them, most places will tear the player’s hair until he finally makes his character more or less acceptable and gets more blessings. This means that if you want to play well and not suffer on bosses for a few hours, instead of quietly riding around the world on a river and visiting attractions, guides have to prepare the pieces available, and all are collected online as soon as possible. And right after that, go back to normal.
Why shards are needed is also unclear because even with all the blessings, fights and bosses can’t be said to turn into an easy ride. There are no late hits or six-step combo attacks. Opponents have almost infinite stamina starting seconds after finishing work or magical effects. It also didn’t interrupt the small display, making it hard to see what was happening. On the other hand, it’s still not easy to play with the pieces either, which means we could have done without all this extra dancing.
It feels just like the DLC designers created the lion’s share of the enlargement’s fights with a clear imagination and prescient that each gamer would use both summoned spirits to help them or multiplayer. When Elden Ring first got here out, there was lots of controversy in this subject matter: how “noble” it’s miles to play with assistants. But Shadow of the Erdtree gives up on this dialogue. Because if you play as you most possibly intended, the use of all of the equipment to be had to you, from spirits to gadgets created as a part of crafting, the sport actually transforms: you begin to be less angry and more admire staggering fights with powerful demigods, because you sooner or later have windows seem to take a breath and determine the state of affairs.
Moreover, there are lots of cool battles right here: the conflict with Messmer the Impaler, who may be seen on the quilt of Shadow of the Erdtree, turned out to be one of the maximum incredible in FromSoftware’s repertoire.
Nevertheless, the overall fashion inside today’s games of Fromov continues to be perplexing – a regular boom within the degree of hardcore. One gets the sensation that Miyazaki had visible enough movies of humans beating his video games on bananas, and determined to go into an “fingers race”, coaching his virtual creations increasingly more evil strategies, permitting him to extra brutally punish foxy gamers. But inside the long term, the bulk of mere mortals will lose this race, and simplest a handful of superhumans with extremely good patience might be capable of enjoy future “souls”.
Now, let’s focus on the positive and give a big shout-out to the amazing open world in Shadow of the Erdtree. Trust me, you won’t find a map like this anywhere else. It’s massive, packed with different fantasy landscapes that each have their own unique vibe. Plus, it’s jam-packed with tons of content and secrets for you to discover.
The world of SOTE is all about going vertical. Picture it like layers of a waffle cake, with different zones stacked on top of each other. It’s not your typical straightforward transition from one region to another. The creators really put some thought into it, coming up with clever and creative ways to move between areas. For example, you might stumble upon a dungeon and find yourself taking not one, not two, but a whopping four elevators down. And when you finally emerge, guess what? You’re in a massive valley with multiple castles and bosses, which you had previously only seen from a hilltop in some distant place. It’s unpredictable and keeps you on your toes, which is something you don’t often see in other similar games.
The combination of unexpected paths and breathtaking scenery in SOTE creates an exhilarating experience that’s hard to find elsewhere. It’s the kind of feeling that gets your heart racing and makes you want to keep exploring.
About the plot without spoilers
So, here’s the deal with Shadow of the Erdtree: the story unfolds separately from the main plot and can be played either during or after it. You’ll head to the Shadowlands to follow in the footsteps of Mikella, who left his physical body and escaped to that region. In the open world, you’ll find big crosses marking the main plot points, but there are also some side stories in the add-on. The most interesting ones revolve around Mikella’s seven followers, and their storylines are closely tied to the main narrative of the expansion.
Now, let’s talk about Queen Marika and why Mikella ended up in the Shadowlands because of her. One of the big baddies you’ll encounter is Marika’s son, Messmer. He’s on par with the other demigods of the Elden Ring, but he wasn’t mentioned in the legends of the Tree of Erd or Between-Earth in the main game. You’ll learn more about this as you progress through the add-on.
The add-on doesn’t bring a ton of variations, but it might affect some boss fights. Overall, Shadow of the Erdtree is a pleasant surprise, especially towards the end of the playthrough, for all the fans who wanted more Elden Ring lore. The expansion expands on the narrative and even fills in some of the gaps that have been bugging fans since 2022. However, you know how FromSoftware rolls – they like to keep things a bit mysterious. The events in the add-on leave room for your imagination and don’t spill all the beans about the original game’s story.
Open world of the Shadowlands
The Shadowlands are like a totally separate zone, not connected to Between-Earth. To reach this new place, you must take down two bosses: Radan and Mog. Now, Mog lives in this arena thingy, and inside that, there’s a hidden passage to the Shadowlands. When you first open up the map, it might seem small, but don’t let that fool ya. The Shadowlands may be smaller than Interearth, but they really focused on making it more vertical and jam-packed with content.
Exploring the Shadowlands is like an endless adventure. Players of Shadow of the Erdtree have tons of ways to check out this new region. For example, you can float up to the sky ruins or venture down deep into a dungeon. And hey, don’t forget about research! It’s not just about enjoying the breathtaking landscapes and that dark fantasy style we all love, but it can also lead you to treasures and even face off against some tough opponents or bosses. Those enemies are going to be the main roadblock on your journey.
You can try following the crosses on the map to do the main story stuff but don’t be surprised if the local bosses give your character a beating real quick. If that happens, you can always explore other places because you’ll find hidden passages all over the map. You’ll come across side bosses and dungeons to conquer. Now, these forges and underground prisons might not be as fancy as the underground cities in the main game, but they’re still interesting spots to find runes and level up your character.
The developers stuck to what works when they built the open world of Shadow of the Erdtree. That’s why this add-on is like the gold standard of Elden Ring design, just on a smaller scale. The Shadowlands give you that same thrill of discovery and adventure as when you first played the main game.
The best part? They blessed us with several different biomes in the Shadowlands, including those iconic swamps that FromSoftware fans adore. But what really sets the Shadowlands apart is its verticality. Most of the time, you must figure out the right path: climb a mountain or descend safely. It might feel like a puzzle at first, but trust me, the reward is worth it. You get to soak in some stunning views and even snag new gear for your exploration. Let’s dive into the details, shall we?
New equipment
FromSoftware knew that Shadow of the Erdtree would attract longtime fans who had tried out many of the classes and gear from the original Elden Ring. That is why the addon adds eight types of weapons, from throwing knives and animal claws to giant samurai Odachi swords. One of the most noticeable new items is the “Milady” blade, which has a huge range of moves, powerful strikes, and a fairly high attack speed. However, the replenishment of the arsenal is not limited to one weapon.
New spells, ashes of war, summoning spirits, talismans – all these new items will surprise even Elden Ring veterans and help create unique equipment builds. Some of the items turned out to be only an improved version of things existing in Interearth, but such a wide variety opens up wide opportunities for replaying with different classes and sets of equipment.
There will be no problems with improving weapons because forging stones are generously scattered in the Shadowlands. This can be called a strong argument in favor of abandoning past builds and using new equipment. Shadow of the Erdtree encourages experimentation in character building as much as the main game.
Battles and bosses
The Shadowlands are as interesting to explore as they are dangerous to conquer. FromSoftware has done a great job with new enemies and bosses that walk a fine line between fair player skill and unfair difficulty. Even a high-level character with fully upgraded gear won’t feel like a god in the Shadowlands – the boss battles are very exciting and some of the most difficult in FromSoftware’s games. This is the peculiarity of the developers – adding the most difficult enemies to addons.
The fact is that each boss is unique and requires an individual approach to defeat. For example, someone moves quickly and unpredictably, making it very difficult to find the right moment to strike. Others will easily allow the player to approach them but will block attacks and deliver several blows in a row, instantly lowering the health bar to zero. To avoid becoming an easy victim, you need to monitor the movements of your enemies and strike accurately and carefully.
Some of the opponents force you to change not only tactics but also equipment. A boss with two swords is easier to defeat if you parry attacks with a shield, and you need to keep other enemies at a distance – a weapon with a large attack radius will do. But even the right selection of items will not make life easy, and the appearance of the bosses makes you feel fragile against the backdrop of these bizarre creatures and majestic demigods.
The danger is posed not only by bosses but also by simple enemies living in new locations. Shadow of the Erdtree introduces a new class of armored enemies that could easily be classified as mini-bosses in the main game. These golems roam around some places on the map and are very durable, although they look like bizarre animated baskets – FromSoftware is not shy about adding even such unusual creatures to the dark fantasy world. It is not necessary to fight with the golems, although if they see the hero, then you should run away; otherwise, you may come under fire from fireballs.
80% of the content is optional, and that’s the best and worst thing about DLC
All the required content of the add-on is linear, like the passage from Bloodborne. There is literally a road paved from the starting bonfire straight to the lair of the final boss. Moreover, unlike other Miyazaki games, along this path, there are no random NPCs with their own side quests but full-fledged companions of the player, united by a common goal. They not only tell you what to do next but are also found in main locations, give quests, and can come to the rescue in battles with the leaders. Moreover, depending on the player’s choices, different characters will support him. And some quests even have three endings. Three! In the game FromSoftware!
The situation with all other directions in the Kingdom of Shadows is much more complicated. At first, it seems that bosses, loot, and secrets are hidden only along the road leading along the main quest, but you soon realize that every ravine, cliff, or rise leads not just to another location but to a new biome. Did you climb up to the plateau to look around? Here’s a cave that opens into the location of the local Smaug. Did you go down to the river to look for loot? I found a descent into the swamp biome, from which you can get into three more huge zones. The concentration of events per square meter of the map is simply off the charts: every nook in the main game would hide a piece of lore and perhaps materials for crafting, which can lead to the next adventure for an hour or maybe a dozen hours of gameplay.
And it seems great that all the complaints about the “empty open world” of the original game are completely inapplicable to the addon. But you only need to look at a map of the Shadowfell to see the problems. Firstly, this is some kind of mix of incompatible colors, landscapes, and biomes. In the kingdom of shadows, beautiful views are rare; from the ledges, only a mist-covered cascade of ravines and waterfalls is visible. Secondly, due to the vertical level design, transitions between zones are not obvious in the game and are not displayed at all on the map. Even worse is the situation I encountered in one of the later locations. Her map is hidden on the lower level of the zone, which cannot be accessed from the upper mandatory tier. That is, in order to find a passage to the mandatory boss, you need to look for a hidden passage to the optional zone.
Third, this design betrays one of the most disappointing trends in adventure for me: the lack of autonomy of these new biomes. All of them add to the themes from the main game, without changing anything. So what if Renalla had a sister, Relanna, who sided with Mesmer? Why should I be interested in knowing that Mogu is worshiped by a tribe of troll cultists? This approach is reminiscent of fan mods when a careful developer makes the most toothless reading of an already existing plot.
But in Shadow of the Erdtree, these uninteresting and rather incoherent additions to the open world of the main game are made to an incredibly high level. Everything from optional caves to boss castles is head and shoulders above the content from the main game. Every encounter with enemies, every puzzle, and the boss fight is made manually and does not repeat the conditions and content from the main game. Instead of ordinary mobs with an HP bar, like a boss, real duels await the player at the end of a branched dungeon. So far, my favorite part is the Weeper shaman, who summons his illusions onto the battlefield. If the clones are not killed in time, each survivor will fill the player’s debuff meter before disappearing, which will eventually lead to a one-shot. This may not be the best fight in the game, but it’s definitely more interesting than another battle with the treeworm at the end of the catacombs of the original Elden Ring.
The main leaders are also at the level of the best bosses of the main game or higher. So far, the biggest excitement has been the battle with Mesmer, the Rotten Knight, and Malenia’s distant relative, the giant scorpion-centipede-butterfly Romina. The only pity is that the path to get there is chaotic, confusing, and exhausting. It is so chaotic that when you reach the end, you barely remember where or how you came from.
Shadow of the Erdtree comes as no surprise – it repeats all the strengths of Elden Ring, for which millions of players around the world love the hardcore adventure. Not all full-fledged games can boast as much content as this add-on. Adventures in the Shadowlands are filled with dangerous battles, breathtaking scenery, and new equipment that gives you plenty of room for experimentation and replayability. And not to mention the polished graphics and soundtrack – FromSoftware managed to make one of the best additions in the history of the industry.
Oddly enough, despite all the strengths of the supplement, it cannot be said that Shadow of the Erdtree is a must-read. If you were oversaturated with Elden Ring at one time, then the DLC can be safely postponed until later: we have more new good content for the game, but this does not fundamentally change anything. Statements in the style of “I haven’t seen SOTE, which means I haven’t seen Elden Ring ” are completely inappropriate in this case, which cannot be said, for example, about The Old Hunters for Bloodborne or DLC for Dark Souls 2. But this is rather not a minus, but a plus : Apparently, Elden Ring initially turned out to be a completely finished game that did not need global corrections, and therefore, the addition to it is exactly what it should be – an addition, not an addition. an indispensable component without which everything would fall apart.
