Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Review (PS5) – Still Untarnished
Approaching the final site of grace, having at last felled the closing boss of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, I couldn’t help but reminisce on the journey through the DLC. Much like the base game preceding it, Shadow of the Erdtree left me utterly fulfilled, content and most of all, like I’d achieved a most melancholic victory. As hollow as the protagonists from the Souls series.
When Elden Ring landed in 2022, there was a spectacular wave of hype that carried it all the way through to its crowning as the Game of the Year and Elden Lord. Surely, FromSoftware had reached their lofty peak, unable to ascend to higher plains given the sheer scope and size of what was, for many, their magnum opus. Yet, with Shadow of the Erdtree, Hidetaka Miyazaki set his team the bold ambition of illuminating the Tarnished even further.
By now, you’ll have seen the other reviews. You’ll have likely played it for yourself. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a sensationally good-value package of an expansion to an already incredible title. I too, believe it to be in the upper echelons of video game DLC. A package overflowing with such quality, it could overshadow even some fully fledged releases and challenge them for Game of the Year in 2024.
So, Tarnished, won’t you join me in exploring what makes Shadow of the Erdtree yet another unparalleled success to one of the games of this generation?
Then We Will Fight In The Shade
Upon entering the Realm of Shadow via Mohg’s palace, you’re immediately met with a wide rolling field. In the distance I spied a grand keep, on the left a castle garrison, and in the middle a giant flaming harvest troll… thing. Yet, I didn’t go in any of those directions. Oh no, instead, I ventured right and back on myself, upon which I stumbled into a mini-boss, a dungeon and a plethora of new foes.
Condensed into its purest form, this is the most infatuating element of Shadow of the Erdtree: discovery. There are four main regions to discover, filled with temples, bosses, mini-bosses, dungeons, catacombs and everything in between. Weapons to uncover, armour sets to loot, secret paths to stumble into. The sense of wonder was what truly drove me through the DLC, and the dense nature of the areas inspires your desire to explore.
Unlike some Souls experiences, the main path here is actually fairly clear – follow Miquella’s signs through the giant keep in the distance. For players like me, that’s carte blanche to go in every other direction first, which works exceptionally well. It helps a massive deal that some of these discoverable regions are some of the most visually stunning in the entire game.
Wandering into the Cerulean Coast for the first time to be met with rolling hills of bright blue flowers, ascending the mountain of Jagged Peak accosted by lightning, scaling the Shadow Keep floor by floor within its massive library. There are standout highlights in Shadow of the Erdtree that demonstrate FromSoftware have plenty left in the creative tank.
NPCs, By The Shadow of Grace
Storytelling stirred up quite the talking point when Elden Ring first arrived. From those adoring the depth of lore to others lamenting the obtuse NPC questlines, it was a hotbed for discourse. Shadow of the Erdtree remains true to Miyazaki’s brand of vague narrative, deciphering the full depth of which will keep lore-hungry explorers searching for some time.
However, the DLC does take some steps to make this more approachable. For one, I found that NPC interactions were much clearer than is typical in the series. Speak to any of the handful of characters and you’ll quickly get a sense of their motivations, and shifting perspectives. They’re also easier to stumble across on the whole, with the exception of one or two that’ll require a bit more input from guides.
For the most part, this is an improvement for me. It was nice to have the majority of the side characters active in my playthrough for a significant portion of it. Moreover, the narrative and gameplay payoff for seeing their journeys through to the end felt meaningful. It’s not quite Iron Fist Alexander, but the efforts to create a small cast to follow in your Tarnished footsteps was appreciated.
In terms of the lore Shadow of the Erdtree enshrines, there is a lot to unpack. From Miquella’s motives to Mohg’s role and beyond, there are significant implications and ramifications for Elden Ring’s story contained within. Rather than be an additional piece of skippable content, Shadow of the Erdtree’s lore contribution feels essential to answering crucial questions from the base game.
The Erdtree, it’s Messmer-ising
But to Hell with lore and the world, no-one plays FromSoft games for a jolly jaunt in the countryside. How is the gameplay, the exploration, the rewards, the bosses, the enemy varieties, the level design? As you might expect by this point, they’re all, for the most part, stellar. I’ll come on to my (admittedly very minor) gripes later, but for now let’s wax lyrical about Elden Ring once again, shall we?
In order to balance the difficulty of Shadow of the Erdtree for both newcomers and veterans, FromSoftware have introduced two new items: Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes. The former increases your defensive and offensive stats, the latter improves your spirit summons. Both only apply to the DLC area, and they’re virtually crucial to survival.
I appreciated this system for two reasons. First, it meant my level didn’t especially matter going in. Second, it actively forces the player into the Realm of Shadow to uncover these items. Open worlds are often criticised for having little reason to explore off the beaten path. Well, Shadow of the Erdtree has both the content and essential incentive to, rewarding curious players with the means to progress.
Simultaneously, it creates an effective difficulty ceiling. Want to dodge roll in with a level 1 naked character, supporting a lion’s mane for a head and no fragments or summons? Shadow of the Erdtree will provide the consummate challenge to overcome. Despite the discourse around difficulty modes in FromSoft titles, you can be sure someone will be beating this blindfolded, using only their left foot, on a pot customised to be a controller in no time.
The Glint-stone In Your Eye
Having said that, Shadow of the Erdtree’s metaphorical difficulty mountain to overcome is without doubt a endurance test. I played on the patched version (where the aforementioned Fragments were buffed), which is worth bearing in mind, and found that most common enemies could fell you just as fast as Radagon, if you weren’t careful. Even so, the skill requirement never felt unduly punishing, or unfair.
I embraced the challenge, for the most part. Even keeping with my Radahn armour set and trusty Bloodhound Fang (+10), I was able to sweep most foes before me aside fairly swiftly. Even bosses, thanks to using the available tools like summons and requesting NPC aid (don’t “get gid” me), I could overcome within three attempts. Yes, if you’re careless, you will die, a lot. Shadow of the Erdtree’s enemies are agile, nimble and can throw flurries of combos at you, so recklessness will ping that “You Died” screen rapidly.
The exception is the final boss. Who, after about 50 deaths to them, can royally **** ***. Kidding… mostly. The skill ceiling is crushed into oblivion harder than a meteor sailing into the Lands Between. It’s a fitting final standoff, but it’s most certainly one of FromSoftware’s most brutal. Don’t be surprised to see them appear in multiple “top 10 hardest” lists for years to come.
Without spoilers though, the boss encounters are some of my favourites across the whole series. The aesthetic flair on display is straight up mastery of the craft. The combo chains, variety of special attacks to counter and sheer level of imaginativeness have raised the bar even beyond the stratospheric heights the developers are known for. Memorable? That’s an understatement.
Emerge From Shadow
Mini and side bosses, discoverable across this new realm, aren’t quite as thrill-inducing. Repetition of the same dragon fight is common, while Mausoleum fights feel underwhelming, despite how remote their locations are. While I don’t begrudge their place in the DLC, the question of filler crops up again, as it did with dungeon bosses in the original Elden Ring release.
Thankfully, there’s an abundance of new and sharp pointy things to collect and dispatch your foes with. Beast Claws, for example, are a stylish way to eliminate a God with innate, savage-like blows. Great Katanas are a nice addition, providing yet another way to carve through foul beings, only with greater slices. Wonderful.
If there are small issues with Shadow of the Erdtree, they’re likely to stem from general exploration rewards, and the just-mentioned repeating of lesser enemies. I found myself towards the second half of the DLC skipping through the open spaces, not because there wasn’t things to fight, but because there was no reason to.
The majority of items you can find in the larger landmasses are either upgrade materials (virtually pointless by this stage), or item crafting ingredients. Neither are exciting, and for every new weapon you’ll acquire from an awesome dungeon pit, you’ll wade through about 20 smithing stones you don’t need. It’s a tiny dampener on the overall experience, but even the grandest of achievements has flaws.
Heed Miquella’s Call To Light
As we’ve already seen, for many the difficulty gradient demanded by Shadow of the Erdtree will be a tough barrier to overcome. For me, it feels tuned to the ideal balance in its current form. Others will also face resistance towards the overcomplicated nature to which you can access certain areas of this expansion. Truly, even finding the last region’s map was a nightmare even Bloodborne would struggle to host.
I implore you not to be bogged down within the rhetoric or the discourse, however. Shadow of the Erdtree isn’t a pristine video game, devoid of any tarnishment or issue. If you had problems with Elden Ring, you’ll have them here, too. Perhaps they’ll even be elevated by how FromSoftware have designed it to satiate the never-ending hunger of Souls fans.
Shadow of the Erdtree, at its heart, is a glowing beacon of faith displaced from its developers onto its community. It’s a content-rich, creatively bankrolled and mesmorising experience that’s nigh-on essential to the complete Elden Ring experience. You won’t need Miquella’s kind words or manipulative power to appreciate the beauty of this Realm of Shadow. It achieves that all on its own.
Expanding on Elden Ring’s already impeccable legacy in meaningful and spectacular ways, Shadow of the Erdtree is another triumph from FromSoftware. Some of the series’ best boss battles, visually stunning vistas and a leaner yet equally deep narrative lend this expansion the right to be considered one of the best pieces of DLC money can buy.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is available now on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5 (review platform) and Xbox Series X|S.
Developer: FromSoftware
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.
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