Gameplay

After spending a few quality days with the first (and only) DLC for ELDEN RING, Shadow of the Erdtree, I can comfortably say that it takes a near-perfect base game and elevates it to god-like status in the gaming industry. Whether you love, hate, or are just indifferent to the soulslike genre, FromSoftware has proven time and time again that they are masters of their craft. Erdtree is the crowning jewel of what they can and have achieved here. Even without discovering every location or secret, it’s one of my favorite games ever and definitely the pinnacle of DLCs.

First off, the bar to entry for this DLC is high. You must beat Radahn and Mohg in the base game in order to enter the Realm of Shadow. This is no easy feat but if you can’t beat it yourself, remember you can summon co-op players online to help you pass it. I was level 200 entering the DLC but I have heard around 120 is a good entry point. Either way, it doesn’t matter much as fragments you find in the realm will help improve your defense and offensive stats.

Without spoiling Erdtree, let’s just say that it takes everything amazing about the base game namely exploration, awesome weapons and armor, incredible boss fights, and more secrets than you can count, then ratchets that up 2x. Almost every nook and cranny of Erdtree is filled with delight, terror, and something to do. At first, the map may seem a little small but as you explore indoor and outdoor locations, you will realize it’s absolutely immense. This is how you take something already amazing and make it even better. I

Graphics and Audio

With raytracing and playing at 4K 60 FPS on PC, as you can see from the screenshots included, Erdtree is filled to the brim with technical and artistic eye candy at every turn. There were so many amazing moments, my screenshot key was starting to get worn out. Day, night, sunset, rainstorms, and sunrise are stunning outdoors and the castles, caves, and interiors are just dripping with quality. This is a showpiece in every sense of the word.

Equally as impressive, the orchestral score and audio design are a real treat. The subtle yet haunting track in the first area of the DLC reminds me of the same track in Limgrave in the base game. It will be forever stuck in my head. The boss fights and thunderous moments hit you just as hard as the subtle moments and while all voice acting is quality, one crazy character you meet will haunt your dreams…

Feedback

It’s extremely difficult to find any flaws with Erdtree and anything mentioned here is basically nitpicking from someone who has spent hundreds of hours with the base game and DLC. Luckily, inventory and recent item changes (available for the base game as well at launch) are a great improvement but I’d still love more power to manage categories of weapons, armor, spells, etc since I believe I have collected almost all of them. Also, on the graphical front, vignetting and chromatic aberration cannot be disabled without mods that force you offline. Give us more graphical options FromSoftware, please!

Verdict

It should be apparent now that if you loved ELDEN RING, you will absolutely adore Shadow of the Erdtree. Not only is it a love letter to ELDEN RING and soulslike fans, it’s the best DLC in existence. It raises the bar for every developer out there. In fact, I don’t think DLC is even the appropriate term for Erdtree. This is a full-blown expansion with a massive land to explore, tons of new enemies, weapons, armor, and spells to almost justify a full game. I don’t give 10/10 scores lightly. Buy it. Love it. Embrace it. I can’t wait to see what the folks at From do next.