Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Review

Elden Ring has become such a monument that it can now create a huge event for the release of a simple DLC. Of course, “simple” may not be the most appropriate term to describe Shadow of the Erdtree, which is intended to be a major expansion worthy of the name.

Considering the original game’s success, From Software decided to take its time refining all the elements of this new adventure, aiming for the most massive DLC ever created by the studio. After experiencing it thoroughly, sweating blood and falling back into the infernal loop of rage, desperation, and excitement, we can only thank Hidetaka Miyazaki and his teams for not rushing to make it happen.

Test conditions: We played the PS5 version of Shadow of the Erdtree DLC after completing the original game entirely in around 100 hours (without New Game +), and started the expansion with a level 150 character (Dexterity/Intelligence build). Note that you must defeat the optional boss Mogh in the main game to gain access to Shadow of the Erdtree. We completed the entire DLC, including the best-hidden bosses, in around 30 hours. Unfortunately, only the final boss is still resisting us. This review is spoiler-free, as always.

A Dense and Diverse Mini-Adventure

As expected, Shadow of the Erdtree is a wallet-size version of Elden Ring. Nothing negative here, on the contrary, let’s just say that if the main game were of a reasonable size, it would be something like this DLC. The Kingdom of Shadows – the playground for your new failures – features a smaller map than The Lands between, with a size that could be considered equivalent to Necrolimbe combined with Caelid (roughly). Which still means many square kilometers to explore, and this region is much more crowded.

You’ll encounter almost as much diversity and different biomes as on the main game map, with areas that stand out from the rest thanks to their unique identity. As usual, it’s quite possible to miss 50% of this new playground if you don’t use your curiosity, and it would be a shame to miss even a single corner of this Kingdom, rich with so many surprises. From Software doesn’t try to rehash its previous environments, and still manages to stun us with stunning views that require us to stop and take our time to admire our surroundings. Between landscapes full of flowers, colors and contrasts, and more arid regions that make you dizzy, the DLC shows that it still has that little something extra that made Elden Ring so impressive.

Not everything is enhanced by the base game’s aged technology, but we won’t put Elden Ring on trial again here. It’s true that this DLC is not flawless, with highly visible texture bugs and weather effects that aren’t always successful, such as questionable fog. However, when all the stars are aligned and the lighting management is perfectly calibrated, Shadow of the Erdtree can still amaze. We’ve taken countless screenshots.

Staying on the subject of the very few criticisms that could be made of this expansion, we could have done without the new catacombs, which aren’t exactly original, even if the studio has made the effort to vary the underground dungeons a little more as a whole with two additional atmospheres in lava and ice, offering more elaborate and interesting places to explore, even if they do repeat themselves.

And you’ll have to forgive a touch of “recycling” when the rest of the content is up to scratch. It’s hard to attack From Software on the level-design aspect, given the studio’s mastery of the subject. It even takes the liberty of trying new things here, with a zone that looks like an (almost) open-air dungeon that you can explore with Torrent, or a dark forest that doesn’t encourage bravery, but rather requires you to play Naked Snake, hiding in the bushes to avoid any enemy encounters.

Prepare to Lose… Again

Courage is the key to overcoming the Kingdom of Shadows’ ruthless challenges. We’re not sure whether this impression will be the same for everyone, or whether it’s unique to us after spending two years without touching the game (and Elden Ring isn’t like riding a bike, you forget), we’ve had a rough experience.

The new bestiary is particularly fearsome if you’re not at the right level, with regular monsters having extremely frustrating patterns, such as elite sniper slugs or Messmer’s minions, which will make you rage more than some bosses. As we noted in our preview, the major enemies in this expansion are no match for the ones in the original game. True, they’re not quite memorable like Malenia (except for the final boss, for some reason), but they’re still enough to give you a few nervous breakdowns, thanks to their tricky movesets.

We won’t go into too much detail, so you can discover them for yourself, but I promise you, the challenge is there. Only one of them – whom we won’t name – really disappointed us more than the others, despite his screen-clearing charisma. And here again, we wouldn’t have said no to slightly more original intermediate bosses, to avoid finding ourselves up against 48 new dragons or Tree Sentinels. We’re kidding, because the pleasure of confronting these colossi is still great, and the number of never-before-seen bosses to face is more than satisfying.

A New Path to Power

Facing all these threats won’t just require you to have a perfect build and a high level of skills. You’ll also need to collect new resources in the form of fragments, which will give you permanent passive bonuses only available within the Shadow Realm. There are two different kinds, fragments that increase your character’s stats, and others that increase the power of your summons. These fragments work in exactly the same way as your vials: once you’ve collected a certain number, all you have to do is rest at the first site of grace to “consume” them.

This is a global bonus (you don’t have to select one characteristic over another) that is definitive. Once these fragments have been spent, there’s no going back, at least as far as we know. After all, apart from masochists who want to create even more difficulty for themselves, there’s no reason not to spend these fragments. This new system brings a real sense of progression to Shadow of the Erdtree, and it’s a much-needed addition as your character’s evolution follows a rather flatter curve once you’ve passed level 150.

The best part is how you collect these fragments. You’ll have plenty of them to collect throughout the Shadow Realm, and to find them, you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled. Most of them can be found at the foot of giant crosses left by Miquella, Marika’s endless childs, whom you’re chasing here. But you’ll also find others in more hidden places. With this concept, Shadow of the Erdtree encourages exploration more than ever, providing satisfying rewards for those who prefer to wander around instead of confronting tough bosses. And as we mentioned earlier, you’ll never get tired of discovering the new zones in this DLC, especially with a specific goal in mind.

It’s also an opportunity to delve a little deeper into the game’s lore, bearing in mind that it’s more obscure than ever. Once again, it’s completely cryptic, following the great tradition of From Software games. Of course, if you’re the kind of person who swallows 10-hour videos on the game’s universe (not like us, but we understand), you’ll love poking around in every document, even if the outcome of this adventure may not satisfy every theory. The DLC feeds the basic universe while adding new plots, and if you don’t get the answers to all your questions, you do get a few scenes that give a little more depth to some of the characters you already know. New NPCs, with their own quests, also make their appearance to flesh out the plot of this adventure, with different implicit choices available to you to alter the outcome of certain confrontations.

A New Blade for a New Era

We wouldn’t go so far and say that this is what brings replayability to this content, even if we remain curious to see what other paths can be taken. Rather, the wealth of possible new builds will make you want to start all over again. Added to the dozens of additional weapons you’ll find in this expansion, your arsenal expands with new ways to fight.

These completely new weapon categories are sometimes hard to find (which encourages even more exploration), but some are worth the trouble. One of these is the unarmed combat style ideal for monks, offering very fast attacks that can easily interrupt enemies while disrupting their balance more effectively. There are also endless throwing weapons for a more versatile style, and the arrival of hybrid weapons such as very large katanas or very long swords halfway between a swordfish and a fencing foil.

This means you’ll have to reconsider any tier lists or weapon guides you may have seen in the past, as these will no longer necessarily be relevant. Elden Ring had plenty to offer in this area, but this DLC pushes the envelope even further. There’s a wealth of new War Ashes, of course, and additional spells for those who love magic or Faith builds.

Exploring all these possibilities will require an enormous number of extra hours of play, bearing in mind that it took us around 25 hours to reach the final boss, while having seen 90% of the map (even very well hidden areas). Playtime is highly variable, depending on your gameplay style and whether you’re comfortable with the game or not. In other words, you’ll find plenty of content. If you’re one of those people who felt that Elden Ring tended to overdo things and stretch itself too far in its final third, you may not appreciate this new addition, but for those who want more, there’s no reason to resist the pleasure. Those overwhelmed by the immensity of the basic game may even find this a more digestible formula, with less tendency to spread itself too thinly.

Conclusion

From Software has managed to retain the best of Elden Ring to offer a “miniature” version, almost perfectly designed in spite of a few minor criticisms. Shadow of the Erdtree follows in the footsteps of the original game, but breathes new life into it thanks to a new progression system, loads of bosses that will make you blame the controller for bad faith, and scraps of lore that will be the subject of hours of analysis. Above all, the studio shows that it is capable of offering even more when we thought it had delivered everything. It’s impossible not to recommend the experience to those who wiped away as many tears as they sweated in The Lands between, who can go in with their eyes closed (and their muscles warmed up).