3.5/5 ★ – Oodlemeister's review of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.

From the very first moment I arrived at Gravesite Plain and surveyed the vast ethereal landscape of the Realm of Shadow, it felt like putting on old comfortable pair of shoes. The enormous Scadutree bearing down on the landscape was quite the sight. I hadn’t played Elden Ring for two years, but seeing this battle-scarred region filled with wraiths and spectral tombstones, I felt that old twinge in my bones. That feeling that all players of From Software games get: the call of the abyss. The promise of inevitable death. And make no mistake, this expansion will destroy you, over and over again. Shadow of the Erdtree beckons its Tarnished players to the Realm of Shadow to follow in the footsteps of Miquella the Kind. For anyone needing a refresher, Miquella is the demigod son of Queen Marika the Eternal and King Consort Radagon. Miquella was born cursed, forever destined to live as a child. He is also an Empyrean, a special being capable of ascending to godhood. It is this very state of being that Miquella pursues in this colossal expansion. His ultimate goal is to usher in an age of compassion; a gentler world where all beings can live in peace under his love. Sounds good in theory. But is the price paid worth it? As important as Miquella is to the story, not many in the Realm of Shadow appear to be aware of his presence, with the exception of a few devout loyal followers you will meet along your journey, themselves eagerly tracing the eternal child’s path toward the Gate of Divinity. Most of the land’s denizens are more concerned with the purge being carried out by Messmer the Impaler, the flame-wielding red-haired tyrant whose motives will become clearer as you go on. The Realm of Shadow itself is no small add-on. Its map is roughly a third of the size of the base game map. There is plenty to discover, not the least of which are a bunch of new weapons and armour, as well as talismans. You won’t be lacking in variety here. In saying that, the map itself can be a chore to get around. It has far more verticality than the base game map, with a lot of high cliffs blocking off major areas. The all-important map items can be extremely hard to get to. On more than one occasion, entire areas were accessible only after going through an obscure cave or place you wouldn’t expect to have to find. It can be extremely frustrating to see where you have to go, yet not know how the hell to get there. Exploration is not just suggested in Shadow of the Erdtree, it is imperative. You will want to try to cover every inch of the land, if for no other reason than to collect Scadutree Fragments. These precious items are the expansion’s way of levelling the playing field when it comes to difficulty. You have a Scadutree level that is separate from your normal base game level. As you collect fragments, you can increase your Scadutree level. This results in better attack power and defence. You cannot rely on base game level alone to get you through Shadow of the Erdtree. If you don’t increase your Scadutree level, you’re going to get murdered. Speaking of murder, the expansion boasts a whole new host of bosses, some memorable, some not. Some are challenging, some are less so. And some will have you curled into the foetal position on the floor because you feel you just cannot beat them. From Software game bosses have always been a topic of furious debate among players. One player may struggle with a boss, while another beats it easily. Shadow of the Erdtree’s bosses feel like they are hard for hard’s sake. Almost all major bosses are fast and have combos that are very long. They leave very little room for you to attack. You may only get one or two attacks in before needing to go back on the defensive. Couple this with the ability of the bosses to launch across the room and deplete your health to zero in two hits (plus huge area of effect abilities) and you’ve got an extremely frustrating experience at times. At best, when victorious, you will feel the euphoria that From Software games are famous for. At worst, you will just feel a tired relief that it’s over and you can finally progress. Nowhere is this felt more than in the expansion’s final boss fight. From what I have seen, it is almost universally reviled as unbalanced and in need of changes. Of course, everyone’s experience is subjective. For my own part, I played the game without summons the whole way through. It was only the final boss where I needed to use Spirit Ashes to beat it. But it feels as if the bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree are designed around using summons. This is not me saying “only true players don’t use summons”. Far from it. I’m not one of those people. Play the game with the tools it gives you. Play how you want and have fun. For me, playing without summons feels more rewarding. But also more frustrating at times. Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment. But Shadow of the Erdtree continues Elden Ring’s spectacular story and world building by adding new lore and fleshing out its characters’ backstories further. This has always been the most interesting part of the game for me. I just wish a lot of the expansion wasn’t such a chore at times. In saying that, it’s still well worth the time investment.