Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree hands-on report
blog.playstation.comThe Land of Shadow is calling.
After a more-than-two-year wait, we’re weeks away from the launch of Shadow of the Erdtree, the enormous DLC for Elden Ring. FromSoftware hasn’t spent those years basking the accolades their first open-world adventure received; instead, they’ve been hard at work on this, their biggest and most ambitious expansion ever.
When I recently got a chance to go hands-on with Shadow of the Erdtree, even the tiny slice I saw made it easy to remember why Elden Ring is so beloved. Rise, Tarnished, and hear of the things I saw.
Shadow of the Erdtree takes place in an entirely new region, known as the Land of Shadow, and is accessed by touching the mummified arm found in Mohgwyn Palace in the base game. It’s here that Miquella, the oft-mentioned but never-seen character from the main game, traveled to in the game’s lore.
The section I explored opened with a sprawling meadow filled with gravestones and shadowy spirits. In the distance, I could clearly see what lay ahead of me: a vast settlement, an expansive castle, and a dark woodland looming on the horizon. Above all, an enormous tree stood, charred and gnarled, in stark contrast to the golden tree seen across the main game’s landscape.
While regions in the original game often glowed with autumnal warmth, this region’s dried grass and dying shrubs felt ancient and blighted. The dungeon and fortress I explored—Belurat Tower Settlement and Castle Ensis—were claustrophobic and folded over on themselves. They were filled with winding paths and concealed shortcuts, opening to reveal routes back to Sites of Grace. I fought through flooded cellars, lava-filled chasms, and forests alive with an eerie blue glow.
Fresh yet familiar, The Land of Shadow feels like a natural extension to The Lands Between, and FromSoftware’s mastery of level design is displayed here in glorious form.
It wouldn’t be a FromSoftware update without fresh foes to face, and in that regard, Shadow of the Erdtree comes out swinging. The
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