Elden Ringis one of the most successful and important games of this console generation, andElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreecame along last year to make it even better. While the expansion isn’t universally beloved, with many criticizing everything from its storytelling to its high difficulty, it’s generally considered to be, at the very least, incredibly impressive. Indeed,Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreesets a new gold standard for FromSoftware’s DLC.
FromSoftware games have had strong DLC outings since Artorias of the Abyss, released for the firstDark Souls. EvenDark Souls 2, a black sheep among FromSoftware’s action-RPGs, received praiseworthy DLC. All of this is to say that expectations for Shadow of the Erdtree within the FromSoftware fanbase were quite high. Even so, few could have predicted the sheer depth and breadth of the expansion, which more or lessmakes Shadow of the Erdtree a spiritualElden Ring 2. Indeed, despite its shortcomings,Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreeis FromSoftware’s most ambitious expansion to date, and that’s something worth celebrating.
Looking Back at Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, One Year Later
Shadow of the Erdtree Is Bigger Than It Has Any Right To Be
Even without getting intoShadow of the Erdtree’s various bosses, new weapons, and game mechanics like Scadutree Fragments, it’s a shockingly impressive add-on by virtue of its sheer scope. Indeed, despite Hidetaka Miyazaki’s pre-release statements about Shadow of the Erdtree being comparable to the region of Limgrave in the base game, The Land of Shadow is much, much bigger than that.
Much of this comes down to density and verticality. Like in the base game,Shadow of the Erdtree’s level designis defined by layers: cliffs will give way to sprawling, detailed valleys, small caverns will open up to vast mountainside plateaus, and castles will loop around and in on themselves in a labyrinthine manner. The result is an open world that is dizzyingly large and constantly unfolding, which is not what one would typically expect from a DLC, especially when the base game is already so gargantuan. This is all before considering its underground dungeons, as well.
For Better or Worse, Shadow of the Erdtree Is the Standard Against Which Future FromSoftware DLCs Will Be Measured
IfElden Ringrepresents FromSoftware’s peakin game development, then Shadow of the Erdtree is the company’s peak in the practice of post-launch expansions. It’s borderline revolutionary when it comes to new areas to explore, combat tools to use, and narrative content to devour, and this could turn out to be a blessing or a curse for FromSoft moving forward.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s final bossis arguably FromSoftware’s most difficult to date, which makes the DLC a touchstone in an additional way, as it gave rise to one of the largest points of contention within the community regarding its difficulty.
In all likelihood, FromSoftware won’t manage to ‘top’ Shadow of the Erdtree in terms of raw size and ambition. Then again, few expected the studio to be so ambitious withElden Ringand its DLC, so anything is possible. Regardless of what the future holds, it’s undeniable that Shadow of the Erdtree will be a key part of FromSoftware’s legacy for the foreseeable future. The expansion was well-received by most, but not all, and that remains true to this day.
It’s a far cry from the reception thatElden Ring,Sekiro, andBloodbornereceived upon release, which were all showered with love and proclaimed as masterpieces. Perhaps Shadow of the Erdtree will go down in history as not onlyFromSoftware’s best DLCbut also the first time that mainstream audiences truly turned against the studio, at the height of its popularity.
