After selling 25 million copies and winning just about every Game of the Year award, FromSoftware had a lot to live up to when they finally released their first and only expansion for Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree. It took over two years, but the wait is finally over, and as of this writing, five million people have ventured into the Land of Shadow, including myself. After exploring pretty thoroughly, and defeating every boss, I can safely say Shadow of the Erdtree is the best expansion FromSoftware has ever released in terms of scope and ambition. Some design choices still have me scratching my head and with so many high highs, the few lows do stand out.
Into the Realm of Shadows
The story here is basically for us to figure out why Miquella (introduced in the base game) went to the Land of Shadow. Over the course of 30-40 hours, this will become clear the more you explore and interact with the NPCs in The Land of Shadow until the final revelation, which, admittedly, I figured out early into my play through. Not that I’m some genius detective or anything, but rather this is FromSoftware’s most straightforward, up-front storytelling to date. As such, as the events unfold, it becomes clear that things aren’t what we were initially led to believe, and once that happened, for me, it was somewhat clear where it was headed.
But let’s be honest. For most of us, the story isn’t the draw for a FromSoftware game. It’s the combat, bosses, enemies, world design, and so on. And in this regard, Shadow of the Erdtree knocks it out of the park. Save for a few nagging issues, this is FromSoftware firing on all cylinders. The bosses are some of the best they’ve ever designed, with each major boss being completely memorable and distinct. The new enemies are mostly good, with a few repeats and some truly pain in the ass new ones that hit like a relentless truck.
The level and word design are where I have some issues. It’s still Elden Ring, so it’s still an open world that can be traversed on foot or by riding Torrent, the spectral steed. For the most part, the Land of Shadow is impeccably designed with something to engage with every minute or so. Be it a new mausoleum, Gaol (pronounced “jail), or forge (boss-less mini-dungeons with a central puzzle mechanic that leads to a new weapon), to the towering Legacy Dungeons that contain secrets upon secrets as you make your way to the boss of the dungeon. Shortcuts still play their usual pivotal role in providing a great sense of relief when you finally discover one. Each area has its unique look to set itself apart from the other areas, and some are truly the most beautiful FromSoftware has ever created.
It sounds like I love it, right? So, what are my issues? Well, there are just too many areas that lead to nothing. Literally nothing. Just another cliff overlooking an area you’re going to get to eventually. Some people like this, but for me, it felt like a step backward from the base game where there was something to discover in every direction I went. And oftentimes, when there is an item, it’s a crafting item, a smithing stone, or a cookbook. Now, I recognize that this is a “me” problem and others may have use for that particular item and love that aspect. If that’s you, ignore this part and add however many points you wish to the score.
There’s a whole optional area of the map that is deeply horror-inspired and some of the spookiest designs FromSoftware has ever come up with. The sense of dread is palpable. Unfortunately, it’s pretty linear, and with the exception of one important item, if you do go off the beaten path, you’ll likely find a crafting item. I don’t want to spoil the mechanics of this place because it does add to the tension, but it’s also one of the great missed opportunities to make the place truly special and worth revisiting. Fortunately, it does lead to a mini-dungeon with one of the best optional bosses in the entire game that FromSoftware has ever created, so it does make up for it a little.
The other nagging issue is tied into the former, and that is how FromSoftware decided to handle people who may have over-leveled for the DLC and want to provide those people with a significant challenge to overcome. To combat this, they have come up with upgrades called “Scadutree” (pronounced “Shadowtree”) Fragments. When you’ve collected enough, you can redeem them for a permanent Shadowtree Blessing, which raises the amount of damage you inflict and reduces the amount of damage you take. So it seems that they’ve scaled enemies to whatever level you entire the expansion, and these fragments are rebalancing things out the more you have.
The issue I have with this is that these things have to be collected from all over the map. This wouldn’t be a problem if there were always in a specific area or landmark, such as physical tears in the base game, which were always found in churches or a drop from an Erdtree Avatar enemy. But here, they can literally be anywhere. The final three are in the last legacy dungeon of the game and are so far off the beaten path that I have no doubt most people will never find them or not before they’ve finished the DLC. Since these things are so crucial to leveling, having them tucked away in hard-to-find places means it’s not an organic substitute for traditional leveling.
I ended up finding every one of them and ending the DLC with the max level of blessing, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t use a guide for the last seven or so fragments. There is also a similar mechanic for your spirit ashes and Torrent, the “Revered Spirit Ash.” I wound up with eight out of ten possible levels for that item.
Getting Right Back Up
If I sound like I’m focusing on these two things I didn’t care for in the game, it’s only because everything else is working at such a high level that these two things really stuck out to me. But make no mistake, I enjoyed my time in Land of Shadow, and I loved being back in the world of Elden Ring. While this isn’t my personal favorite expansion FromSoftware made (that still belongs to The Old Hunters for Bloodborne) I can definitely say it’s their most ambitious and complete. It’s honestly hard to imagine where they go from here, but I can’t wait to find out.
Score: 8.5/10
Pros:
- Some of the best bosses From has ever designed
- Great level design in the legacy dungeons
- More variety in the lesser dungeons and caves
- It’s more Elden Ring
- Lots of new build potential
Cons:
- Exploration isn’t as rewarding as the base game
- Scadutree Fragments is an inorganic replacement for leveling up
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree downloaded on PS5 for review. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.