When I gave Elden Ring a 10 two years ago, I did so not just because it\u2019s an incredible game, but because it also raised the bar for open-world games as a whole. The way it encourages exploration, rewards curiosity, and challenges you to find your own individual solutions to difficult combat encounters by including tons of different viable weapons, spells, and other build options is absolutely exemplary. Now, FromSoftware is back to raise the bar on everyone yet again, this time when it comes to what you\u2019d expect from a “simple” DLC. Shadow of the Erdtree may not do anything radically different from the base game, but this expansion somehow feels like a scaled-down version of that same experience that recaptures all of the magic of playing Elden Ring for the first time, with more content packed within than many fully priced games. Its unexpectedly large realm is filled with new secrets, new discoveries, a ton of new build options to experiment with, as well as some of the most challenging and unforgettable boss battles Souls fans will have ever seen. <\/p>\n
I strolled into Shadow of the Erdtree thinking I was some kind of Elden Lord badass, having defeated Malenia<\/a>, Mohg<\/a>, Placidusax<\/a>, the Elden Beast<\/a>, and every other big threat around. My level 150 character was armed with fully upgraded gear and the maximum number of flasks\u2026 but let me tell you, it did not take very long for the Realm of Shadow to humble me. Even though the only requirement to access the new areas is to beat Radahn<\/a> and Mohg \u2013 which, granted, is no small feat \u2013 you\u2019re going to want to over prepare before stepping foot into this new arena, because it is brutal<\/em>. FromSoftware definitely skirts the line between fair and unfair with some of the later boss designs in particular, perhaps getting closer than ever. But crucially, it never actually crosses that threshold, and that masterful tightrope walk \u2013 along with some truly spectacular boss design \u2013 results in some of the most thrilling and satisfying bosses Elden Ring, and the entire Soulslike genre<\/a>, has to offer. <\/p>\n It\u2019s not just the quality of those fights, either: Erdtree has them in quantity, too. According to our count, there are more than 40 bosses, with 10 of those being the big, showstopper fights that reward you with a Remembrance upon defeat. Compare that to the more than 100 in the base game<\/a>, and it\u2019s a significant chunk.<\/p>\n According to our count, there are more than 40 bosses.<\/p>\n When you bring up the map<\/a>, it may not seem like The Realm of Shadow is that big, but it is incredibly dense because it\u2019s stacked in layers. Paths lead upwards toward ruins suspended in the sky, others delve deep beneath the surface, and some even pull you in directions you might not have believed you could even be pulled. You might find a hidden ladder tucked away in the far corner of a castle rampart, only to follow that trail for an hour before it eventually spills out into a totally new, otherwise-inaccessible area.<\/p>\n But even with all of the discoveries to be made, I never felt lost or unsure of where I could or should go next. The main goal of this DLC is to follow the footsteps of the demigod Miquella<\/a>, who left his flesh behind and fled to the Realm of Shadow. These footsteps are marked by large crosses that elegantly serve as subtle signposts to let you know when you\u2019re in the vicinity of a plot-critical path, without it ever feeling like your hand is being held as you\u2019re nudged in one explicit direction. <\/p>\n\n Apart from the main quest, there\u2019s a whole host of new NPCs, including seven followers of Miquella that you\u2019ll encounter at various points in the journey. Each of them have their own small questline that ties into the main story, and those can even have an effect on some of the latter boss battles, depending on your actions. And while I consider myself a fairly casual enjoyer of Elden Ring\u2019s extensive lore compared to some of the scholars out there, even my limited knowledge of the deeper plot let me appreciate some pretty fantastic, eye-opening revelations towards the end of this story that are well worth the effort of getting to.<\/p>\n Shadow of the Erdtree is essentially a full Elden Ring adventure made miniature.<\/p>\n It took me about 25 hours or so to beat the final boss of Shadow of the Erdtree<\/a>, but I could easily see myself putting in another 15 or 20 on just this one playthrough. I still have a handful of optional bosses I need to go back and cross off my list, areas on my map I haven\u2019t fully explored, weapons and skills I haven\u2019t gotten to play around with yet, and sidequests I still want to follow to completion. That\u2019s pretty much exactly like when I completed my review of the base game after about 80 hours, which makes sense because Shadow of the Erdtree is essentially a full Elden Ring adventure made miniature. It condenses the whole experience down to something comparatively compact, all of it satisfyingly tuned specifically for end-game characters who thought they\u2019d seen it all.<\/p>\n It is no exaggeration to say that Elden Ring is FromSoftware\u2019s largest and most ambitious game yet, and that ambition has more than paid off. Even after 87 hours of blood, sweat, and tears that included some of the most challenging fights I\u2019ve ever fought, and innumerable surprises, there are still bosses that I left on the table, secrets that I\u2019ve yet to uncover, sidequests that I missed out on, tons of weapons, spells, and skills that I\u2019ve never used. And this is all on top of PVP and cooperative play that I\u2019ve barely been able to scratch the surface of. Throughout it all, while the fundamentals of combat haven\u2019t changed much from what we\u2019ve seen before, the enormous variety of viciously designed enemies and the brutal but surmountable bosses have brought its battles to a new level. Even with all the threads I didn\u2019t manage to tug on my first playthrough (of what I\u2019m sure will be several), what I was treated to can easily be held amongst the best open-world games I\u2019ve ever played. Like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild<\/a> before it, Elden Ring is one that we\u2019ll be looking back on as a game that moved a genre forward. \u2013 Mitchell Saltzman, Februrary 23, 2022<\/em><\/p>\n Score: 10<\/strong><\/p>\n Read the full Elden Ring review<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n While I haven\u2019t had any \u201choly ****\u201d moments of awe like the first time I took the elevator down to the Siofra River<\/a>, exploration and discovery throughout the Realm of Shadow is still a delight thanks to its stellar art design, a great variety in the areas you get to explore, and the tantalizing rewards pretty much everywhere you turn. There are eight brand-new weapon types<\/a>, ranging from throwing knives<\/a> to beast claws<\/a> to giant odachi samurai swords<\/a>. My favorite of the new arsenal, though, is the light greatsword<\/a>, specifically the Milady. True to its name, the Milady has a very regal-looking moveset with combos that flow nicely into each other and hit hard, but are also relatively fast compared to actual greatswords. For me, it\u2019s a sweet spot. I actually swapped off of my powerful dual Bandit Curved Sword<\/a> bleed build<\/a> (albeit, minus the White Mask<\/a>, which I ruined my chance to get) to instead rock a Strength\/Dexterity-focused build using one of these and found great success for the majority of the DLC.<\/p>\n I experimented with a couple of other weapons as well, something that is possible thanks to the ample opportunities to collect a bunch more Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones<\/a> of both the standard and Somber<\/a> varieties. However, in all my travels I found that while the new weapon types are fun \u2013 there\u2019s certainly an appeal to going hand-to-hand against an army of hands \u2013 none of them ultimately measured up to the strength of the weapons that I carried over from the base game. It\u2019s totally possible that there are some talismans<\/a> I was missing to really make the new ones sing, but I was hoping to go through the entirety of Erdtree with a brand-new build. Instead, I found myself swapping back to my bread-and-butter bleed build to get the kind of damage I needed when the going got tough \u2013 but hey, that build did have two years to get optimized through the original endgame.<\/p>\n There are so many promising new builds that I couldn’t help but wish Larval Tears were more plentiful.<\/p>\n Besides, variety is the spice of life, and Erdtree is one hot dish. Not only are there a ton of new weapons, there are also plenty of new spells, Ashes of War<\/a>, Spirit Ash summons<\/a>, and talismans to cover an enormous range of different playstyles. There\u2019s now a talisman that enhances two-handed attacks; one that decreases spellcasting time dramatically, but causes you to take increased damage; another that increases the damage of abilities that involve stances; and another still that increases your damage every time you defeat an enemy. Yes, there are also plenty that are just better versions of very useful talismans you probably already have, and there\u2019s no shame in sticking to what works. There are so many promising new builds that I couldn\u2019t help but wish Larval Tears<\/a> were more plentiful so I could respec my character a little more freely, as I started to run out by the time I finished Erdtree\u2019s campaign. I still have a ton of different builds I want to try, and I\u2019m already happily onto my second playthrough to see them. <\/p>\nWhat We Said About Elden Ring in 2022<\/h2>\n
Weapons of Choice<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Joy of Freedom<\/strong><\/h2>\n