After scooping up a ton of awards in 2022, Elden Ring is back this year with the long-awaited Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. A few days before its availability for everyone, the international press was able to get their hands on it and gave their opinion after 3 hours of play. You will find some summaries below.
First previews of Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC
Game Informer
I had a lot of fun, but I found it even more exciting to talk to other journalists about their experiences. In addition to learning who could kill the two main bosses and how, each person I spoke to told me about a discovery they made, whether it was a location, a character or enemy that I haven't found. I won't spoil anything I heard, but it was all deeply exciting and also deeply strange. From Software has touted Shadow of the Erdtree as the greatest expansion it has ever created, and given that I've rarely heard the people I've spoken to repeat their findings, I'm inclined to believe it.
What I remember most about Shadow of the Erdtree is that – surprise – it’s even more Elden Ring. It's the least exciting view imaginable, but aside from the intriguing, but not immediately noticeable aspect added by Scadutree's improvements, it's another excuse to revisit a world I love. It's hard to get a sense of the narrative implications of the expansion and, to be honest, it's the last thing that interests me about this game, no matter how interesting its story appears to be. All I want is to experience a new set of trials and surprises, and Shadow of the Erdtree looks set to achieve that and then some.
PC Gaming
I didn't feel like I saw everything that the first map fragment depicted in Shadowlands, and that's assuming that these two major bosses led to dead ends in my preliminary version (l (one of them, I was told, guards the door to many, many more). I found a tiny dungeon with only one boss fight – the Blackgaol Knight – and while I could be wrong, precedent tells me there will be a small handful just in the areas I've explored.
But my impressions are based on many assumptions. Elden Ring's tremendous momentum lies in the simple joy of discovering and exploring new frontiers. As Hidetaka Miyazaki told Edge in 2021, he doesn't play launch versions of his games because he “wouldn't know the unknowns that the new player is going to experience.” After my brief handling, I can confirm that the most important element is present in Shadow of the Erdtree: curiosity is amply rewarded.
Eurogamer
It's hard to guess the exact size of the DLC area – large parts were obscured on the preview map – but I think Hidetaka Miyazaki's description of it being larger than Limgrave is a bit spot on. This also doesn't take into account the density of some of these places: I spent most of my time exploring the heights and depths of Belurat.
What is certain is that Shadow of the Erdtree already has the appearance of a true epic. With its dark atmosphere, intricate world-building, and bold level design, it has all the necessary ingredients for yet another chapter in Elden Ring's sprawling narrative. Since I put down my controller at the end of the preview session, my mind has kept returning to the Land of Shadows to imagine what might be hiding in its cliffs and steep hills. Few games can evoke such a vast sense of mystery and potential. When the DLC releases in a few weeks, I can't wait to relive the thrill of venturing into these tantalizing, unknown lands. And, of course, getting trampled once again. We have to be realistic.
Gamespot
I haven't been able to get a real sense of the scale of the full DLC experience, but it seems substantial. I've been blocked from progressing into a larger territory, and the Spirit Springs (which you now need to unlock by looking for piles of stones to interact with) have been mentioned, meaning there will clearly be a fairly large territory to explore.
So, yes, Shadow of the Erdtree takes the same Elden Ring gameplay you know, with new weapons, new items, and new areas to explore. But this is something no other game has offered and no other developer has delivered. If the overall quality of Shadow of the Erdtree is consistent with what I've played, From Software is poised to reaffirm that Elden Ring is one of the best open-world games ever made.
While Elden Ring quickly established itself as a must-have of the genre and a true revival of the open world, all media seem to indicate that its extension intends to follow the same direction by offering a gigantic experience focused on exploration and curiosity .
With new creatures, bosses, weapons and even the possibility of improving the mount, Shadow of the Erdtree indeed seems to be the most ambitious expansion produced by FromSoftware, as announced by Hidetaka Miyazaki.
Fortunately, we will soon be able to get our hands on it, since the expansion will be available from June 21 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC.