Shadow of the Erdtree is the long-awaited DLC for the critically acclaimed open-world action RPG masterpiece, Elden Ring. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Review Overview
What is Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree?
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is the one and only DLC expansion for 2022’s Game of the Year. It expands on the already established and vast open world of the base game by adding new weapons, equipment, spells, bosses, and more. The DLC also expands on the story of the Demigod family, as it tells more of what transpired in Miquella’s journey.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree features:
⚫︎ New weapon types and Ashes of War that expand the game’s combat
⚫︎ New spells, equipment, and talismans to bolster the player Tarnished
⚫︎ Unique progression system exclusive to the DLC area
⚫︎ New dungeons, locations, and settings to explore in The Land of Shadow
⚫︎ More than 30 hours of content for a DLC expansion
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree's gameplay and story.
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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
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 New Weapon Types Are Amazing Absolutely Massive New Area to Explore Less Dungeons, More Intricate Designs Separate DLC Progression Levels |
Reskinned Bosses Not Easy to Access |
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Overall - 94/100
Having played through most of the Souls DLCs and having some of these expansions as my favorite gaming experiences of all time, Shadow of the Erdtree is able to replicate the wonder of playing through 2022’s Game of the Year for the first time again and lives up to the ridiculously high standard that it set for itself. It introduces new weapons, armor sets, spells, and more to the already massive game, and each of these new things makes you want to try them out. Not only that, but the game also has new bosses to overcome, new areas to explore, and a story that fleshes out some of the missing bits that the base game had concerning the mystery of Miquella.
This is the best DLC for any Souls game out there, and we urge those with the base game who are on the fence or skeptical about buying it, we, at Game8, assure you that it’s absolutely worth the purchase and will not disappoint. As for those who have not tried any Souls game, or Elden Ring for that matter, this is the best time for you to get started and discover why the Souls series is held in such high regard in the gaming community.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Story - 9/10
Similar to any Souls game, they don’t outright tell you what exactly transpired in the game’s lore, but it is told in bits and pieces in the in-game items and dialogue that you may or may not miss. Shadow of the Erdtree does a better job of explaining the events, however, as there are times when they explicitly tell you what happens after major events and you won’t need to visit a separate video just to piece together everything that’s happened.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Gameplay - 10/10
Most of the gameplay from the base game doesn’t change, but make no mistake, even with an endgame build, the DLC is no pushover when it comes to difficulty. It’s still unapologetically a Souls game and will require a good amount of focus and concentration for you to overcome the new challenges set before you in the DLC.
With regards to progression, the game introduces a DLC-exclusive level to keep everyone of varying levels on the same playing field. This was, in our opinion, expertly done. This means that regardless of whether your build is optimized, maxed out, or close to being finished, the DLC will still be roughly equal in terms of difficulty for everyone.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Visuals - 9/10
Those who were already impressed with the game’s visuals back then will find that the game has even more to offer. With gorgeous backdrops, amazing details, and varying designs, the DLC doesn’t disappoint the eyes. The best part of the DLC is that it’s willing to tackle more vibrant-looking areas as opposed to the rest of the Souls games with their normally bleak designs.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Audio - 9/10
One of the main aspects that the Souls series is known for is its music, especially when it comes to boss battles. We are glad to share that the DLC does not disappoint when it comes to the boss music. It’s just as epic and amazing as usual, and it even introduces a new flair when it comes to mixing it with the boss’ identity and how they attack.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Value for Money - 10/10
This is FromSoftware’s greatest DLC expansion since, and we are not putting it lightly. This $40 dollar experience could easily be another game in the series, and with the added bonuses of exploring a completely new open-world area in The Land of Shadow and the excuse to play Elden Ring yet again, it’s absolutely worth the price. The DLC manages to recreate the first-time experience everyone had when they opened the gates to Limgrave back in 2022, and that is no easy feat for a series that has continuously set a high standard for itself.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Review: DLC That Lives Up to the Hype
I’m not one to underestimate any of the Souls DLCs, but this time I thought I was completely ready. But even with all that preparation, I was immediately put in my place after the first hour of the experience. To put more context into this review, I have played through most of the Souls games and their respective DLCs as well, as I am a big fan of the series. Hearing about Elden Ring’s DLC made me want to revisit the game that made me enjoy the series yet again back in 2022, which subsequently made me play the older games in the historic franchise.
The DLC enhances what was already great about Elden Ring’s identity: an open-world Souls game that is massive in scope and has a ton of unique places to explore. With the introduction of new weapon types and spells, exclusive progression, and bosses to overcome, it manages to one-up the masterpiece it already was back when it was released in 2022 and the rest of the DLCs that the franchise already had.
Elden Ring has always been beautiful to look at, and with the DLC’s new areas, the visuals are sublime. The game’s starting area is already a sight to behold: the Erdtree on the horizon, the Fire Golem walking in the distance, and the fields littered with graves set the tone of the DLC’s already impressive atmosphere. The biggest difference and wonder is that the DLC doesn’t shy away from the usual bleak tones and even introduces vibrant areas that make you wonder if this is the same franchise that literally flooded a city full of ash twice to represent endgame areas.
As usual, the music is epic. The DLC kept me excited to look for more of them to fight with just so I could hear the epic boss music that'd play in the background. On top of this, the game’s audio design is still as great as it was, with the addition of new sound effects for certain weapons, enemies, and more.
Those who have already played through Elden Ring will find the gameplay to be the same as back in 2022, but the DLC adds more flavor to the already seasoned base game. The new weapon types are unique and introduce new ways to play the game as opposed to the traditional weapons that Souls fans may be tired of looking at. The new animations for these weapon types look great and fit the game’s overall aesthetic, as some of them may even make you look like an actual boss character.
The main aspect of the DLC that I personally liked the most was the progression. After finishing the base game, you will most likely have an already optimized or very strong build that’s fit to be called Elden Lord. However, the DLC balances this by having its own progression system in the form of Scadutree Fragments. These fragments act as the DLC’s leveling system aside from the traditional way to level up which is based on your stats. It directly affects your damage resistance and overall damage output in The Land of Shadow when its increased.
This progression system forces players to explore the massive new areas that are in the DLC, even those with already optimized endgame builds. This, in my opinion, was the most impressive and most important part that the DLC needed to address. Other than making new areas and new weapons, FromSoftware was able to solve the problem of giving the player a reason to explore every inch of The Land of Shadow.
All in all, Shadow of the Erdtree is what you want from a DLC and then some. It completely enhances what the base game already offers, which to some already consider to be a masterpiece. It manages to beat the already high standard it set for itself in 2022 and the series as a whole. For those who have yet to play Elden Ring or any Souls game for that matter, this is the absolute best time to experience and find out why the series is beloved in the gaming community.
Pros of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
| Things Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Got Right |
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New Weapon Types Are Amazing Absolutely Massive New Area to Explore Less Dungeons, More Intricate Designs Separate DLC Progression Levels |
New Weapon Types Are Amazing
The new weapon types are absolutely amazing. They add so much more to the game’s already robust combat that it actually feels like a different game at times. We were absolutely blown away by the Light Greatsword and the Martial Arts weapon types. While these two are highlighted as our new favorite weapon types, the six other weapon types are easily just as great since they just spice up the massive amount of choices that you already have.
These new weapon types open up new styles of play and new ways to tackle different combat scenarios as the Throwing Knives and Perfume Bottles have a more midrange style of fighting as opposed to locking yourself in using long-range magic or incantations and the usual weapons.
Absolutely Massive New Area to Explore
The Land of Shadow is massive. So massive, in fact, that one could say Hidetaka Miyazaki was lying with how he said that it was just as big as Limgrave, because it’s Limgraves stacked on top of each other. This could easily have been another Souls game with its massive scope and landmass. The use of verticality in Elden Ring has already been great as opposed to the other games in the Souls series, but this DLC pushes it further by having it play even more of a part in exploration.
Less Dungeons, More Intricate Level Designs
With a huge map to explore, they actually made fewer dungeons for you to go spelunking. The advantage with this is that the level design of the dungeons has been enhanced so that it’s enjoyable to go through them. This was something of a bother in the original release, as there were tons of dungeons to explore, but they weren’t particularly interesting or fun to get lost in. The newer dungeons feature bigger puzzles, platforming, and other gimmicks that make the Souls level design shine.
Separate DLC Progression
After the DLC was announced, I prepared my character to endgame levels of stats and upgraded all of my equipment to the maximum level possible. Despite this, the game still isn’t a pushover. To put it simply, the DLC has endgame levels of enemies that deal high amounts of damage even when you have the base game’s defensive items equipped. To counteract this, the DLC introduces Scadutree Fragments to increase your Scadutree Blessing, which increases your damage by a flat amount and increases your damage resistance in The Land of Shadow exclusively.
This means that those who finished the base game in its entirety or to a high endgame level will still need to explore the new areas and find these fragments to survive, just like those who rushed to get into the DLC. I personally think this was the best way to reinforce the game’s open world and its identity as a Souls game. Don’t get me wrong, having an endgame build may make the DLC easier, but it will not make it into a cakewalk and I assure you that you will be humbled pretty quickly.
Cons of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
| Things That Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Can Improve |
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Reskinned Bosses and Enemies Not Easy to Access |
Reskinned Bosses and Enemies
With the gigantic world that the base game already had, it would be unavoidable to have bosses have similar movesets. However, some enemies and bosses are reskins that already exist in the original game. Of course, this is not the case for the whole DLC, but its still a missed opportunity to make everything a unique enemy.
Not Easy to Access
Accessing the DLC itself will take you a considerable amount of time before you can actually try it out. With the requirement of defeating a difficult optional endgame boss in Mohg, Lord of Blood, and story boss Starscourge Radahn, it will take a new player a significant amount of time before you get to access the DLC itself.
While veterans of the series will have no problem with this, as this has always been the case for every expansion in the Souls series, new players will have to progress enough just to access this massive DLC.
Is Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Worth It?
Absolutely, It’s Time to Journey to The Land of Shadow
The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is absolutely worth the $40 dollar price tag. To put it simply, it’s literally more Elden Ring and it is the best DLC FromSoftware has made since. For those who wanted an excuse to play Elden Ring again, this is the sign you’ve been asking for to revisit the game.
And to those who have never played this masterpiece before, do yourself a favor and play through the game to experience the beauty of a Souls game. It will be difficult, but that’s what challenges are for: to test you and make you better after overcoming them in the process.
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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Player Reviews
We gathered reviews from players across several platforms and found they had these things to say about Manor Lords:
⚫︎ It Looks and Feels More Like A Sequel Than a DLC
⚫︎ Major Performance and Optimization Issues
⚫︎ The Fanbase Is At Odds About The Scadutree Fragments
⚫︎ FromSoftware’s Devolving Boss Design
It Looks and Feels More Like A Sequel Than a DLC
If we’re not counting the countless copypastas of Igon's monologue against Bayle, the most common response to Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is resounding applause. Fans on platforms like Steam, Reddit, and Twitter have expressed their awe and appreciation for the DLC's scale, with many describing it as "more of a sequel" due to the substantial content it adds to the base game. This is in addition to a library’s wealth of new lore and answers it provides, which, in typical FromSoftware fashion, is exceptionally rich.
Overall, the consensus on the DLC's quality across all facets can be summed up by a frequently mentioned and likely non-hyperbolic title penned by fans worldwide: "One of the, if not the, greatest game expansions of all time."
Major Performance and Optimization Issues
Many players have reported severe performance and optimization issues with the DLC that were not present in the base game. Some have complained that these issues, while typically manageable, become critical during Elden Ring's large-scale combat. Most boss fights become unwinnable when the game frequently drops frames, severely impacting the overall quality of the experience.
FromSoftware has responded to these concerns, citing background mouse control programs as the culprit and advising players to terminate these programs while the game is running. However, some players found this explanation insufficient, insisting that the game itself simply performs poorly.
The Fanbase Is At Odds About The Scadutree Fragments
One of the DLC’s most controversial changes from the base game is the Scadutree Fragment progression system. This system increases the player’s stats incrementally when enough Scadutree Fragments are collected. Some fans have criticized it as gimmicky and disrespectful to the Souls series’ traditional level-up system, or little more than an excuse to crank up the game’s difficulty artificially for internet points. Others argue that the system is necessary to provide NG+ players with a challenge in the DLC area without completely alienating new players.
This contentious back-and-forth within the fanbase prompted an unprecedented response from FromSoftware. To assist players who found themselves stuck in the DLC's early stages, the developers provided a detailed map of all Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes.
FromSoftware’s Devolving Boss Design
Another notable difference in the DLC is its boss design, which, according to several reviews, has devolved into AoE spam and increasingly smaller windows to retaliate. One reviewer expressed their disdain for this direction, accusing FromSoftware of making the game more difficult for difficulty's sake—a far cry from the lore-focused boss design the company was known for. This sentiment is echoed by other reviewers, who feel the game is not worth playing if one cannot spare 20 or more hours to learn every boss's attack patterns.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree FAQ
Can I access the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree with a fresh save?
No. The prerequisites to access the DLC area are to beat Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood. Afterwards, you will be able to interact with the entrance of the DLC located near the Cocoon of the Empyrean Site of Grace.
Do I have to finish the base game first before accessing the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree?
No. After beating the needed bosses, you may access the DLC area as you wish. However, it is recommended that you are prepared to fight endgame-level bosses and enemies when doing so.
Game8 Reviews
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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Product Information
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| Title | ELDEN RING: SHADOW OF THE ERDTREE |
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| Release Date | June 21, 2024 |
| Developer | FromSoftware Inc. |
| Publisher | FromSoftware Inc., Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| Supported Platforms | PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4 /Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / Steam (PC) |
| Genre | Action, RPG |
| Number of Players | 1～4 Players |
| ESRB Rating | Rated M |
| Official Website | Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Official Website |
