Prior to now couple of years, builders have tried to reclaim the time period “enlargement”. Arguing there is a distinction between conventional DLC and fully-fledged add-ons, the likes of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores have been used as poster childs for the motion. Whether or not there actually is a distinction between the 2 is up for debate, but when battle traces needed to be drawn, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree would snigger off claims it’s “only a little bit of DLC”.
FromSoftware has returned to its open world masterpiece with a huge add-on that borrows the Andrea True Connection hit as its prime descriptor: “Extra, Extra, Extra.” Shadow of the Erdtree doubles down on all of the hallmarks of the 2022 base sport in a brand new location, full with further boss fights, contemporary NPCs and quests, and a lot extra gear. It is an extension within the 15 to 20-hour vary if you happen to stick purely to the principle path, however set within the Realm of Shadow — the place half the complete map kinds optionally available content material — essential development solely scratches the floor.
Having fulfilled the necessities to enter the brand new space, you may be offered with a landmass on roughly the identical scale as Limgrave, the Weeping Peninsula, and a little bit of Caelid mixed. It is a sizeable enlargement of the world that brings again the identical construction as the unique title: choose Websites of Grace direct you alongside the principle path, Legacy Dungeons symbolize grand places to discover off to the facet, and additional optionally available catacombs, caves, and pits densify the map. It is extra Elden Ring, which is each a incredible and ever so barely anticlimactic factor. Magnificent within the sense you’ve got the possibility to return to one of many PS5’s all-time greats with new content material, nevertheless it’s laborious to not shake the very fact you are simply going via the motions once more.
New places are what thwart that unlucky feeling more often than not. Following within the footsteps of Miquella, the DLC spans towering castles, lush historical ruins, sinister woodland, menacing mountains, and extra. It manages to supply rather more visible selection in a smaller house than the bottom sport does, making every zone distinct in each feel and appear. A few of the most enthralling locations within the Realm of Shadow are solely optionally available and take appreciable effort to even attain, so venturing off the core narrative path will show simply as rewarding as overcoming any mainline boss battle.
And what a set of boss fights awaits. FromSoftware has dialled its encounter design as much as 11 in Shadow of the Erdtree, with new shape-shifting villains to get rid of alongside a contemporary set of accomplices that populate the facet dungeons. The brutal problem returns — Shadow of the Erdtree may be very a lot endgame content material regardless of the very fact you’ll be able to entry it earlier than slaying the Elden Beast — coupled with new issues to think about like elemental shifts and projections. When you’ll have a greater understanding of how the sport performs based mostly on years of expertise at this level, the DLC makes up for it within the sheer harm numbers these bosses can produce.
One solution to enhance your individual stats past regular level-ups is to have interaction with a brand new characteristic launched within the enlargement: the Shadow Realm Blessing. By gathering Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ash throughout the open world, you’ll be able to improve your assault energy and harm negation with the previous and enhance your spirit summons with the latter. The upgrades kind a essential a part of upgrading your character past their regular means as the usual levelling system will solely offer essentially the most minute of enhancements when you’re able to enter the DLC space.
The system works nicely, offering cause to completely discover new locations. Nevertheless, it is also emblematic of the enlargement as an entire: Shadow of the Erdtree supplies appreciable quantities of visible newness, however by no means does it change the way in which the general bundle really performs. Whereas there are new weapon varieties to experiment with, your construct from the bottom sport will stay greater than viable from the begin to the very finish of the DLC. Solely a single new armour set proved objectively higher than what we had geared up going into Shadow of the Erdtree, and our Lordsworn Greatsword was by no means bettered.
After all, gear acquisition in Elden Ring is about greater than sheer stat developments; you’ll be able to spec in direction of a sure harm sort, grow to be essentially the most modern Tarnished attainable, or customise for a sure weight load. Nevertheless, such is the sense of familiarity coursing via the enlargement that you just by no means actually really feel the necessity to change issues up or strategy the sport in a brand new approach. It is nonetheless the identical Elden Ring of 2022 in a giant new playground. That is going to be music to the ears of some returning followers, nevertheless it’s tough to not really feel such as you’re merely doing the identical issues over once more. Whereas there may be a lot for the eyes to see, your button presses by no means differ. It simply feels a bit too acquainted, particularly coming greater than two years after the bottom sport.
That sense of familiarity considerably carries over into a couple of small technical drawbacks. Texture pop-in is as soon as once more a slight downside — significantly for grass out within the open world — whereas, moderately unusually, it is extremely tough to see typically when the in-game clock is about to nighttime. It is robust to say whether or not it is a glitch or intentional, however a few of the visible backdrops (throughout the Scadu Altus particularly) merely aren’t there whenever you go away a Web site of Grace. But they are going to be if you happen to quick journey some place else throughout the identical time of day.
Conclusion
By doubling down on what made the bottom sport so chic, FromSoftware has crafted an Elden Ring enlargement that is simply as nice as it’s acquainted. Shadow of the Erdtree delivers extra of the identical model of content material you really liked two years in the past moderately than introducing new methods to have interaction. That is sufficient to think about it a incredible enlargement, although it is laborious to not really feel such as you’re simply going via the motions once more. With a brand new land to discover, a contemporary set of bosses to struggle, and further lore to devour, it is a lot extra Elden Ring.