The big DLC for Elden Ring will be released on June 21, 2024. MeinMMO author Christoph Waldboth was able to take a closer look at the expansion as part of a preview event. You can read what he thinks about the game world, the bosses and the new weapons here.
FromSoftware’s games have been with me for over ten years and are among my absolute favorites. Elden Ring alone has kept me busy for hundreds of hours. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming DLC ”Shadow of the Erdtree.”
The expansion is full of new content:
Overall, the DLC is set to be the biggest that FromSoftware has ever developed. To test it out in advance, publisher Bandai Namco invited me to Paris and I was able to play for around three hours. I saw the first large area, a legacy dungeon and smaller castles, as well as four bosses. I was also able to try out some of the new weapons.
Everything I saw immediately impressed me, even though the bosses clearly put me in my place several times.
Here you can see the story trailer for the DLC, which tells you more about Messmer and his merciless past.
Elden Ring shows the DLC “Shadow of the Erdtree” in the story trailer
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Shadow of the Erdtree is as dark as it sounds
In order to access the DLC, you have to have reached the endgame of Elden Ring. You have to defeat the bosses Radahn and Mohg. Only then will the gates to the Shadowland, a kind of parallel world to the In-Between, open.
The first thing I notice when I enter the expansion is the strange atmosphere. It is quite dark, in front of me is a vast field full of transparent gravestones. Shadows wander around, there is something threatening in the air.
The first death doesn’t take long to arrive. A huge, burning oven on two legs meets me, fires cannons at me and sends me to the afterlife.
Luckily, I’m not alone in this hostile environment. Various NPCs keep telling me about Miquella, who players already know from the main game and who the DLC revolves around.
“Shadow of the Erdtree” seems to focus on a single storyline and therefore seems to have a dense narrative in the first few minutes of the game. But you shouldn’t expect any extensive cutscenes or dialogues. The game’s content remains vague so far.
The new weapons bring a breath of fresh air into the game
The pre-made skill build is great fun and thanks to the generously filled inventory I can try out different weapons. Some of them feel refreshingly different.
My highlights: Two curved blades that my character holds upside down and that, when combined, deal a lot of damage quickly. There’s also an R2 attack that lets me dodge like a ninja and strike in a flash.
Also exciting: Two gloves that turn me into a kung fu fighter. This fighting style looked pretty cool in the trailer. It may be untypical for Elden Ring, but it works great in the game.
The only downside: When fighting big bosses, the gloves lack the range – I was much better off with my swords.
The boss fights are as tough as ever
Spoiler alert: The following paragraph reveals details about the bosses of the DLC. If you don’t want to know anything about it, skip straight to the next heading.
At the end of a legacy dungeon, I’m faced with a wild mixture of lion and dog. The boss was already seen in the trailer and uses a whole range of different attacks in the fight. First, he rears up and creates whirlwinds, in the second phase it rains lightning, snow and poison. Until the boss finally lies dead in front of me, I have to bite the dust more often than I’d like.
Within three hours I encountered a total of four bosses. In addition to the lion, there was also a Gollum clone and a dragon that had learned a few new, deadly tricks compared to those in the main game.
In terms of both design and combat mechanics, all of the bosses were quite different. The only thing they had in common was that they were extremely difficult. Yes, FromSoftware’s bosses did what they do best: wiped the floor with me.
If you’re worried that the DLC might be too easy, don’t worry: the initial bosses alone will probably cost most of you a few attempts. Not to mention the main enemy, Messmer, who will probably only be waiting for you at the end of the expansion and who I therefore didn’t meet. He could even outdo Malenia from the main game.
For those who want it a little easier, Shadow of the Erdtree brings a new feature into play: you can adjust the difficulty using optional fragments and blessings. I found four of them during testing, but I didn’t really notice much of a difference. To be perfectly prepared, you should bring a high-level character (min. level 100, preferably 150) – and in particular, get a certain stat to level 60.
A great expansion, but it lacks the kick
At the end of the three hours I am fascinated, exhausted, and partly frustrated. The perfect Souls mix of impressions. The overall impression is positive. What I have seen meets my expectations.
Despite this, I was hardly surprised. Everything feels familiar. Just more of the same. However, I would have liked a “wow” moment like in the main game. Just think of the first time you enter the game world, the dragon falling from the sky, the view of the capital… the list is long. I hope the full version of the DLC can catch up here.
However, anyone who is just starting out with Elden Ring and discovers the DLC as part of the game will definitely have a lot of fun with it. But after well over 100 hours, the experience somewhat displaces the feeling of novelty.
“Shadow of the Erdtree” will be released on June 21, 2024 and will cost 39.99 euros. Until the release, you still have time to sharpen your weapons, steel your nerves and brush up on your lore knowledge. The game’s abstract way of telling its story can, after all, make some players feel downright stupid.