Shadow Of The Erdtree – Review (PS5)
Elden Ring is a certified classic and has solidified FromSoftware’s place as one of the best in the game. However, as an all time great, you don’t just settle.
They could have looked at Elden Ring and said “Hey, we’ve sold 25+ million copies, we won game of the year, a genre that is literally coined ‘Soulslike’ is because of our greatness. No need to touch what is already a masterpiece.” Lucky for us they didn’t see it that way and delivered for us the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
As I said before in my previous review of Elden Ring, I am a relatively new FromSoftware fan. I can’t claim the grit and expertise like the tried and true who have gone before me can. I can say though, that they continually get me hooked to their games with the combat and iconic bosses that transcend generations in gaming.
From the moment I stepped foot in the DLC with my faith build, that I had proudly gone through the base game multiple times with, I was humbled. The first enemy that I came across sent me a message that I clearly didn’t know what I thought I did.
With that, the same feeling of “what am I getting myself into” that drew me in two years ago was doing the very same thing again. However, this time with the experience to understand there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If you take the time to explore and learn how to approach certain enemies and situations, you get rewarded and the game not only becomes easier, it makes more sense.
Also starting this with the mimic tear unlike in the base game wasn’t bad either… (Get good community let me live please)
World Exploration
The world exploration is maybe the weakest part of the DLC so lets get that out of the way first. It is a lot of open space that at times doesn’t have too many enemies that you come across.
For myself, that wasn’t a huge deal, I am more objective based when I game. So going from point A to point B to complete, find, or get to a certain part of the map I am seeking is not hindered by minimal things being along the way. After the first or second encounter with new enemies I’m usually running past them anyway once the novelty of the enemy being new has worn off.
The different areas of the map have enough uniqueness and differences between them that I valued and enjoyed the experience in each place on my journey through them. Now some places I well never go back to (Abyssal Woods..) but it doesn’t mean I hated the experience I had there.
Overall the map and exploration did leave a tiny bit to be desired if that’s what you are into but that’s only compared to the base game and its not bad, just not as good as it could be.
The Boss Fights
Now where it shines and where most FromSoftware games hit the mark for me are the boss fights. You may read this and say “Wow, Bdawk is really just a simpleton for loving the fact that he can square up with bosses and make them put respect on his name.” To that I say, you are correct.
Those are the experiences that sit with me well after I have finished the game and moved on to something else. The dismay I felt when I thought I would never beat a certain boss. The frustrations from getting so close only to choke away the fight at the end. The sense of accomplishment and dopamine that hits when you finally overcome that boss that you have been stuck on.
Each one of the ten remembrance bosses provide those range of feelings. Culminating with one of the most entertaining boss fights at the end of this DLC. Now this boss is frustrating, I won’t make it seem like the experience is just breathtaking and fulfilling from beginning to end. It is not even close to that with the amount of stress that it will put you through unless you have the most unstoppable/technically sound build or just do this stuff when it comes to fighting FromSoftware bosses.
There is beauty in the struggle and I love those experiences. Some bosses were a little underwhelming compared to others but if I could just play a game mode where you solely re fight the bosses as much as you want, a good amount of them from this DLC would be towards the top of the list.
Scadutree Fragments (You need them!)
I would like to end this review by touching a little on the design. The traditional leveling system that is in the base game and typical of most FromSoftware games is not gone but its impact is downplayed to a certain extent. Whether you are level 1 or level 250 you enter the DLC on the same playing field (again to a certain degree).
Even though this frustrated a lot of players I think it was the right move to encourage anybody, whether they hadn’t beat the game or were on NG+7, to get into this DLC. Having to collect an item called a Scadutree fragment in order to do more damage as well as increase your damage resistance is really what gave that sense of “what am I getting myself into” that I mentioned earlier.
If I had been able to walk in and do the type of damage I was used to in the base game it would have impacted my experience negatively. I wouldn’t have experienced those array of feelings fighting bosses. I would have been less inclined to travel to different areas of the map to discover what the terrain had in store. I also would have mowed through the DLC way too fast and probably would have felt disappointed with this purchase.
Elden Ring is one of the greatest games I have ever played. The expectation that Shadow Of the Erdtree had was tremendous. I regularly tell my wife that “Pressure either bursts pipes or creates diamonds”. FromSoftware hasn’t burst a pipe yet and Shadow Of The Erdtree hit the marks on all the things that made me love the game to begin with. I highly recommend this DLC and there is a great chance I will be back again when I get that FromSoftware itch.
