Is Shadow of the Erdtree Worth Your Runes?

Shadow of the Erdtree, the new Elden Ring expansion, takes us back to the hit game with bigger and (mostly) better adventures. Read on for more details about the DLC’s best features. And its failings.

Minimal spoilers ahead.

The Grace of Gold

Elden Ring is doubtless the culmination of FromSoftware’s successful game production history. This year, I’ve been striving to play through their entire catalog, some for the first time. I’ve played all their games, from Sekiro to Dark Souls 2’s Old Iron King. Shadow of the Erdtree is FromSoftware’s biggest DLC in terms of scope. The game’s area is slightly larger than Limgrave but differs in vertical land mass. Instead of one large horizontal plane like the base game’s map, the DLC’s map has multiple layers and is visually stunning.

Legacy Dungeons make a grand return and are expertly brought together in densely packed areas. Although these dungeons are not to the same standard set in the original Dark Souls, they are more focused than in the base game. Smaller, simpler dungeon catacombs, forts, and caves are also included, so Shadow of the Erdtree has as much content as Dark Souls 3, with a comparable runtime. The story is more straightforward too, with a smaller cast. You’re given clear goals and enough context to understand the world around you without mindlessly moving from boss to boss. Lore scholars still have plenty to find in item descriptions too. I appreciated the simpler storytelling approach and was more invested in Sekiro’s story for the same reason.

A Wild World of Weapons and Wardrobes

I’d love to host hand-to-hand fight clubs with the DLC’s impressive new arsenal. Elden Ring already had a staggering array of weapons, and Shadow of the Erdtree adds plenty more. This includes my favorites: new hand-to-hand weapons. These anime-esque armaments crank the game’s full-on shounen anime fights to 11. New weapon skills and Ashes of War are flashy and fun. Somewhat underutilized in the main game, Magma now becomes a focus element. If you prefer typical fantasy and blade-and-board-style weapons, there’s plenty for you here, too. These will spice up the multiplayer components until players find the most effective tactic in this new meta.  

Alongside new weapons and armor comes a whole new progression system. Shadow of the Erdtree tackled the problem of differing player levels in a novel way. Once you arrive at the Realm of Shadow, your stats essentially reset. While you’ll keep your level and stats, the damage you give and take is dictated by your level of Scadutree Blessing. Similar to Sekiro, it’s a blanket increase to your attack and defense across the board. These are technically optional, but I don’t recommend skipping the option because most basic enemies will two-shot you out the gate without it. That’s unfortunately the beginning of a growing list of problems I have with Shadow of the Erdtree.

Tarnished Excellence in Shadow of the Erdtree

Performance matters if it hurts the experience, and this DLC’s performance is bad. My wife and I are playing on PS5 in performance mode. Despite this, frames drop frequently, causing cheap deaths in boss fights. The first boss fight in Shadow of the Erdtree is full of stuttering. The game will hitch for a second during a big attack, causing missed inputs. I even had a hard crash during a major boss fight. I’m sure this will be fixed, but it shows a lack of polish.

From there, let’s talk about the boss designs. They are good, climactic set pieces but the overall quality is mixed, with a lack of balance. My wife has thousands of hours in this game and her high-level characters faced abyssal health pools. The bosses’ damage output is also through the roof, even with Scadutree Blessings.

The damage comes from two things: excessive combo strings and element boosts. Adding more complications, some boss movesets fill the screen with particle effects and obscure the action. Others have quick, flailing movements that are difficult to track. They’re appealing, but reacting to attacks and learning timings is harder than ever. The best way I can describe it to series fans is this: recall the quickest and hardest-hitting bosses of Bloodborne. Now imagine playing it without the Rally mechanic. I’ve bested all of the toughest bosses in the franchise, and this is the most I’ve struggled. I’m all for a challenge, but those issues increase difficulty in a way that’s at odds with the series’ core design. My wife’s save files are level 251 on New Game +8 and level 517 on New Game +1. I understand some issues are due to the NG+ scaling, but base values are still very high.

Shadow of the Erdtree is Good, But Could Be Better

Finally, despite the density of content in Shadow of the Erdtree, it suffers from the same issues the base game had. The overworld is almost too large, and the enemy variety is low. There’s still a fair amount of empty space between the meaningful encounters and dungeons. One main quest line has you trek up a mountain and kill several dragons with essentially nothing between each fight. Just one long gauntlet. Be prepared to see some bosses reused as normal enemies and vice versa. Even the final boss uses one from the main game as a base with moves recycled from as far back as Dark Souls 3. I sincerely hope we return to a tighter, more focused world like in Dark Souls 1 and Bloodborne. Bigger is not always better.

That’s not to say the whole package is bad. I just expected a more thoughtful design and fewer bugs. It’s been two years and this is a $40 expansion on top of a $60 game. I did have fun with it and I think if you’re a big fan of the game like my wife is, you’ll love it warts and all. Temper your expectations and wait for the first bug patch. When it all comes together and works as expected, Erdtree is more of a good thing.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is available now for $40. The review was conducted on PlayStation 5, in performance mode. Save files used were soul level 251 on New Game +8 and soul level 517 on New Game +1. 

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