Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
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Elden Ring : Shadow of the Erdtreefeels like a well - executed victory lap for FromSoftware . This is n’t justElden RingDLC for the sake of it ; it ’s a greatest hit album of poison swamps , mountain ledge , sweeping vistas , and integral gimmick pull directly from the company ’s back catalogue . As someone who beat the main game ’s story three time in full ( once as Elden Lord , once for Ranni , and once for the Frenzied Flame ) in addition to my chief NG+4 fictitious character , I was incredibly curious as to what else FromSoftware had planned forShadow of the Erdtreeto link up offElden Ring . After more than 60 time of day , I have n’t been let down .
There ’s a mickle ofDark SoulsinShadow of the Erdtree , most notably in its stage design . morphological callbacks to areas like The Duke ’s Archives and New Londo Ruins are littered throughout , and longtime thespian who still recollect how to extend to one particularDark Soulsboss will be in for multiple treats . Enemy design contain reverberation of the past times , too - of course you fight down a honcho that is part beautiful woman , part giant dirt ball at some point . Why would n’t you ?
Living In Elden Ring’s Shadow
DLC That Expands The World Without Changing It Too Much
That ’s not to say there ’s nothing new under the Erdtree inElden Ring’sDLC.The expansion boasts heap of new arm , Spirit Ashes , Ashes of War , spells , and outfitsto find ( including my new favorite part of headware , visualize above , which is dropped from one ofShadow of the Erdtree’searly bosses ) . There are dozens of new foeman to find , a great lineup of boss battle to both locate and subdue , and some of the most beautiful location FromSoftware has ever grow . After hours upon hours of being worried that the whole DLC was locomote to take place in the heavily advertised yellow , hazy landscape painting of ghostly grave accent , discovering a coastal shore littered with glowing blue flowers literally had me gasping and smiling with relief .
Elden Ring ’s director has reveal just where players postulate to go to enter the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC ’s mental object .
It ’s tradition at this point for FromSoftware ’s soulslike DLC offering to challenge players even more than the foot game , butlikeElden Ringbefore it , Shadow of the Erdtree’sdifficulty is a spot of a motley travelling bag . In myoriginalElden RingreviewI called the plot " FromSoft ’s most approachable title yet " and the same holds dead on target here , with the majority of the game ’s enemies and bosses feeling more build- than acquisition - dependent . Bleed builds are still OP inShadow of the Erdtree , and keeping a +10 Mimic Tear in your back sack is still a dependable fail - dependable for the game ’s most difficult battles . That being said , you will definitely need to be in the horizontal surface 120 - 130 range before starting the DLC .
WhileShadow of the Erdtree’snew weaponsand Ashes of War , especially the martial artistry - focussed single , are fun to play around with , my own reading of the " ol' faithful"Elden Ringloadout for Modern playthroughs ( Lordsworn ’s Blood Greatsword with Wild Strikes seize ) was impressively effective against most of the DLC ’s boss . Even so , it ’s a welcome gain that the expansion offers lots of ways to get more Smithing Stones and Ghost / Grave Gloveworts , which makes try out the new drop much easier .
The Good And Bad Of The Erdtree
Minor Technical Issues Don’t Ruin Good Game Design
Those Shadow Realm Blessings are what help to balanceShadow of the Erdtree’sdifficulty without breaking the base game too much , and their carrying out is excellent . Simply put , there are two dissimilar items ( Revered Spirit Ashes and Scadutree Fragments ) which increase damage simplification and tone-beginning magnate for both your Spirit Ash process and yourself respectively , but ONLY while you are in theShadow RealmElden Ring’sDLCtakes place in . When you fast travel back to the Lands Between , these bonuses are no longer alive . This allowsShadow of the Erdtreeto mirrorElden Ring’sSacred Tear / Golden Seed progression system , where players would take in both more and stronger flask as they worked their way of life deeper into the game , without giving away too many permanent upgrades .
The majority of myElden Ringexperience in the past had been on PC , but I playedShadow of the Erdtreeon PS5 for this review . I never experienced any effect playing with ray tracing turned on while progressing through the main story , butonce I reached the DLC there were some pretty noticeable grain belt down - in issues , stuttering , and framerate drops that finally force me to switch the game back to Performance Mode or else of Quality . After playing through all ofArmored Core 6,FromSoft ’s last title , which includes arguably even higher levels of things happening on screen without causing the PS5 any such framerate issues , it was a little surprising .
Armored Core 6 is the practiced mech biz on advanced consoles and an infrangible must - bring for anyone who bask FromSoftware ’s distinct style .
The biggest negative affair I can say aboutShadow of the Erdtreeis that nothing has completely bobble my idea like finding Nokron for the first time did . The most exciting reveals wo n’t be mention here , but ifShadow of the Erdtreesuffers from anything it ’s the gauze-like scope and scale of its own root game . Elden Ringis recursive straggle on a grand scale , monumental enough on its own to qualify as two or three separate games already , and in contrastShadow of the Erdtreefeels like a tighter , more compressed world- a world that ’s still basically the size of it of Atlus Plateau + Liurnia , to be clear , but denser .
Shadow Of The Erdtree Is FromSoftware’s Victory Lap: Review Score & Final Thoughts
Elden Ring’s DLC Gives Players More Of What They Love
Overall , this is a beneficial affair . One of the independent complaints musician had aboutElden Ringwas that one of the last areas in the former game , Mountaintop of the Giants , both felt too empty and too unmanageable at the same time . It seemed like a less polished part of the human race than places like Caelid and Limgrave did , and the jump in trouble did trivial to encourage exploration . I start out a new reference specifically for this review , and before entering the DLC I progressed the main story through overcome Renalla , Morgott , Radahn , and Mohg . Once I unlock thelift that strike players to the Mountaintop of the Giants , I kibosh following the main itinerary . Later , after about 30 hours inShadow of the Erdtree , I locomote back to the Mountaintop with the confidence that only 50 more level can give you and enjoy it immensely .
If you loveElden Ringit ’s hard not to recommendShadow of the Erdtree . New NPCs , detail , questlines , opposition ( sports fan of Jarburg , brace yourselves ) , and everything else you ’d carry from a FromSoftware expanding upon are all to be found here . The $ 40 price tag seems steep but finger fair when consider the amount of content on offer and I know for a fact that , despite the frankly insalubrious bit of hours I ’ve put into the game already , there ’s still a luck more I have not find yet . Shadow of the Erdtreeis an splendid expansion ofElden Ring’sworld- just change state off ray tracing before hopping in .
Elden Ring : Shadow of the Erdtreelaunches on PS5 , Xbox Series X / S , and personal computer on June 21 , 2024 . A PS5 codification was provided to Screen Rant for the intent of this review .
