FromSoftware has rightfully earned its place as one of the most influential developers in modern gaming, and that legendary status can be largely attributed to the developer not only birthing the Souls genre but also making it extremely popular amongst fans. The latest entry in the series Elden Ring is emblematic of those very strengths, and hundreds of thousands of fans have already experienced epic adventures across the mystical world of The Lands Between. Right from the freedom to chart your own path across this gargantuan world to enticing rewards for exploration and unparalleled flexibility, Elden Ring has no shortage of reasons to adore its beautifully crafted world and its complex web of systems.
Given the massive success of the release, it’s no wonder that the developer had plans to introduce post-launch content to the base game. The highly anticipated Shadow of the Erdtree is looming over the horizon, and we are undeniably excited to see what’s in the full release. But the bigger question here is whether the developer will be able to capture that lightning-in-a-bottle moment once again or will it end up being an underwhelming dessert to a wonderful meal?
Elden Ring has no shortage of merits, but the game’s biggest selling point is undoubtedly the shift to an open-world structure. The Lands Between is a sprawling playground of possibilities, and the world is chock full of diverse biomes begging to be explored. There are towering castles, lush forests, snow capped peaks, and of course Miyazaki’s favorite poisonous swamps. The geographical variety is honestly surprising, and so is the sheer scale of the world that inhabits it all.
From what we know about Shadow of the Erdtree, FromSoftware seems to have a good grasp of what fans would want out of such an experience. The Land of the Shadow is touted to be around the same size if not larger than Limgrave from the first game, and Miyazaki has confirmed that the relatively smaller kingdom will also be home to different kinds of areas including but not limited to poisonous swamps that we all share a love-hate relationship with.
One of the more interesting things about Shadow of the Erdtree is the map design. Elden Ring has no shortage of interesting sights to see and secrets to unfold, but there are still vast stretches of empty space to go along with that too. Miyazaki has stated that The Land of the Shadow would feature a markedly richer world design and a more seamless transition between the main dungeons and surrounding areas. Given the relatively smaller scope of the map itself, FromSoftware can focus more on making functional decisions and crafting a more purposeful space with The Land of the Shadow – and that is one of the most enticing points about the experience.
Then there are the bosses, who have always been the star of the show in the case of FromSoftware’s works. Elden Ring features dozens upon dozens of bosses with varying movesets, and many of these fights will undoubtedly go down as some of the best in all gaming. Shadow of the Erdtree will deliver over 10 new bosses to fight, which is a lot more than what we have seen in prior expansions like Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters and Dark Souls 3’s Ringed City.
The bosses in the trailer look absolutely ferocious from the flame-spewing giant to the lion-headed beast and the twin serpent soldier, and Miyazaki has claimed that these fights will be some of the toughest in the entire game. While that sounds enticing on a surface level, some of Elden Ring’s toughest boss fights can end up being a bit unfair with the likes of Malenia and Mohg dealing an insane amount of damage with each hit leading players to lean into one particular kind of strategy to defeat them.
We hope that Shadow of the Erdtree’s bosses shouldn’t try to retread the same steps with its boss designs and instead try to create something that manages to be tough but fair at the same time. Bosses like Orphan of Kos from Bloodborne and Slave Knight Gael come to mind, and we hope that Shadow of the Erdtree’s bosses will probably share the same merits as these enemies which should make these bosses a lot more interesting to fight. But to counter that point, Miyazaki has already compared the bosses here with Malenia from the base game – so we can’t really say for sure.
Then there are the new weapons which include but are curved swords that look like a great option for crowd control, spells that will affect a range of enemies within a vast radius, and even new fighting styles like martial arts which can be seen in the trailer. Furthermore, the trailer also showcases a shield with sharp edges that can serve both offensive and defensive purposes, and the expansion will introduce boomerangs and automatic crossbows for long-range engagements. Of course, there’s no shortage of options for expressing yourself with the base game’s suite of weapons and armor – but Shadow of the Erdtree’s new offerings will obviously add a lot of new variety into the mix as well.
Another trick that helps Shadow of the Erdtree’s favor is the convenience that it offers for jumping in. You can jump into the DLC regardless of your character level, and your power level within The Land of the Shadow is dictated by a separate power that exists only for that world. That being said, entering the zone itself requires defeating both Starscourge Radahn and Mohg – so you would have to be at a pretty high enough level to be able to check off its entry criteria in a practical sense. But then again, the conclusion of the main story doesn’t affect the DLC and neither does the DLC’s conclusion affect the central narrative – so that also makes it a lot more accessible.
Speaking in terms of the actual length of the content itself, we don’t have any concrete numbers at the moment. But if we try to piece together the many different areas, weapons, and bosses that we know about – it seems like a fair guess to assume that Shadow of the Erdtree would be at least 20 to 30 hours in length if not more than that. So going by that assumption, Elden Ring’s DLC is definitely en route to be the biggest FromSoftware expansion to date. Of course, it’s all a primitive guess and the actual numbers could end up differing by a significant margin – so do take that information with a grain of salt.
There’s a lot going for Elden Ring’s upcoming expansion, and it seems to be having all the markings of a great experience. Between this and the developer’s track record with similar DLCs, the signs are looking positive for Shadow of the Erdtree. As previously mentioned, there are some pitfalls that the developer should try to avoid including but not limited to the boss fights. But by and large, Shadow of the Erdtree sounds like a confident conclusion to the epic narrative of the Shattering of the Elden Ring.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
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