Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Review
Souls games may be difficult for some players, but their quality and uniqueness stand out more than their difficulties. Released in 2022, Elden Ring was one of the games that best matched the word "quality", almost to perfection. It was unique in every way, including its open world, lore, combat mechanics, bosses, and weapons, and it trapped players for dozens, perhaps hundreds, of hours.
- Unique World Design
- Bosses are Very Well Designed
- Newly Added Weapons
- Brand New Development System
- Unsatisfying in terms of Lore
- Final Boss Being Bad
Today, two years after the release of Elden Ring, the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was released. If you are wondering what the DLC offers, as the bestgameprice.com team we've got you covered! In this article, we will review the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree for you.
Ready? Let's dive in!
What Does Shadow of the Erdtree Offer to Players?
Shadow of the Erdtree is, to be honest, not a DLC but an additional package that has the potential to be a separate game. No matter which way you look at it when you compare this DLC to all other DLCs in the gaming world, you can be sure that Shadow of the Erdtree will stand alone on top.
Shadow of the Erdtree offers players an average of 30-40 hours of experience. In order to enter this DLC, you need to do various activities and defeat a few bosses in the Elden Ring. Also, you must level up your character to at least 125. The game welcomes us with a huge map called Shadow Realm, and its sequel resembles the Elden Ring gameplay structure you know. Go to the Bonfires one by one, proceed from there, kill the boss in front of you, get stronger and move on to the next boss. Shadow of the Erdtree also contains the same logic, but it does it in an incredibly challenging way.
Story and Lore
FromSoftware games do not offer a cinematic narrative, unlike today's traditional gaming approach. The story and lore of the Souls games are told through collectable items in the game or through exceedingly rare cutscenes, and as a result, most players generally have difficulty understanding what the story of the game wants to tell us and what it offers. Just like in Elden Ring, this approach is not broken in the DLC, there is a story told in the same way.
Miquella the Kind is at the center of the story of Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. We follow the footsteps of this character, who is famous in Lands Between for growing the Erdtree with her own blood, throughout the Shadow Realm, and many events develop subsequently, but we do not want to give spoilers by telling them here.
Difficulty
If you're a social media user or have read the DLC's Steam reviews, you know exactly what we're talking about. Shadow of the Erdtree offers incredibly difficult content due to its gameplay structure. In addition to increasing your character's level in the game, you need to collect the "Scadutree Fragment" and "Spirit Ash" items on the map and develop your character specifically for the DLC. If you do not strengthen your character by looting these items from different locations on the map, you can be sure that you will have difficult times when fighting the first boss you encounter or any mob on the DLC map. That's why Shadow of the Erdtree is a strenuous DLC, but if you collect these items on the map, the tables turn, and you can easily finish the game except for some bosses.
The Shadow Realm and Shadow of the Erdtree
Shadow of the Erdtree takes place in an alternative world called the Shadow Realm. We can say that this world is visually designed more beautifully than Elden Ring's original map. Just like the map of Elden Ring, there is something in every corner of this map, and this way the feeling of discovery in the game increases considerably. There are settlements in the game, including castles, villages, dungeons, ruins, and more, and you may encounter something even while riding your horse in a straight line. Once you enter the DLC, you will be left speechless when you encounter the goodness of the map's design. FromSoftware has designed the map of Shadow of the Erdtree carefully, as in Elden Ring itself. There is an incredibly vertical and wide map, and it is truly fascinating.
In the Shadow Realm, you encounter heroes and ancient forces lost in the past. These heroes appear before us, lost in the shadow of Erdtree and now part of this dark world. As players, we are tasked with rescuing these lost souls and unravelling their stories. This situation offers us the opportunity not only to fight new enemies, but also to delve deeper into the Elden Ring universe.
Bosses
Bosses, one of the most critical points of the Souls games, also have a critical place in Shadow of the Erdtree. Shadow of the Erdtree DLC contains a seriously large number of bosses (more than 70), many of which will become iconic in the future. Especially with its pattern similar to "Messmer the Impaler" on the cover of the game and the Nina character in the Full Metal Alchemist anime, Divine Beast Dancing Lion is very memorable and unique both in terms of design and mechanics. Other bosses were also of the same quality. Yes, before you ask, most of the bosses are incredibly difficult...
Wrap it Up
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree was released as a DLC that is almost a game in itself. It brings a new breath to the world of Elden Ring with its difficulty, unique map design, more than 100 new weapons, and iconic bosses. For fans of the Souls series and Elden Ring, this DLC offers an experience not to be missed. We recommend that you give Shadow of the Erdtree a chance, which will be remembered by the gameplay depth and difficulty level it offers to the players.