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

Shadow Of The Erdtree is more Elden Ring. Which is to say, it's more of one of the best games of all time. It doesn't veer very far from the established formula but rather amplifies it in key ways. Combat in the Land Of Shadow feels faster. Both in the sheer aggressiveness of the enemies you face but also through the new weapon types you can find like the Light Greatswords, Beast Claws and various new Ashes Of War. One of the biggest highlights for me has been the narrative and how it's interwoven the NPCs more than the base game ever did. There's some great lore revelations to be found here and they're also far easier to decipher/understand. Lastly I think SOE brings with it some of the best art direction FromSoftware has came up with. Some truly stunning scenery like the Cerelean Coast to name one. Shadow Of The Erdtree does fall short in one way to me and it's with the ending. After one of the hardest bosses to ever grace a FromSoft title the DLC just kinda ends with thud in my opinion. I really would've liked to have a grander cutscene to tie a bow to this journey. Still, I'm a little sad for it to be over. I really enjoyed exploring every inch of this world and hopefully this isn't the last fantasy world we see FromSoft develop.