Elden Ring, Shadow of Airdtree, or when excellence becomes a (blessed) habit

I still kick myself for not having known and enjoyed (or suffered, depending on how you look at it) the cult Dark Souls saga before. Some of the games, especially the first one, laid the foundations for what is now known as the Souls genre and elevated the developers of FromSoftware to the level of geniuses.

Luckily, a couple of years have gone a long way, and the trilogy dropped one after another with Bloodborne, the PS5 remake of Demon Souls, and, just over two years ago, Elden Ring. A video game that ultimately universalized the formula and became such a transgressive and impressive game in such a short time that it became a de facto classic and a must-have for any video game lover.

This is what we said here at El Loot de Txeron when we analyzed it and said that “everything is so incredibly epic, beautiful and immersive that entering this world is an experience that no video game lover should miss. There is so much to explore, to die, to overcome, to improve, that the challenge is unique and unrepeatable. A myth, a reference, is born.”

And now, in FromSoftware’s tradition with previous games, comes an expansion of the title called Shadow of the Erdtree. A the type of content is consistent with DLC, but which, based on what it offers, could be the second part of Elden Ring due to the amount of experience it offers. and it can last for over 40 hours. In the base game, it can even triple that amount, but if you stick to the industry standard, it could easily be called Elden Ring 2 and no one would complain.

And the presentations are doneWhat does this DLC offer? Well, basically it’s a parallel story to the original, which, told in a slightly less mysterious way, takes us into the Shadowlands in the footsteps of Mikella. In these strange lands, we will have to uncover the dark secrets of the world and meet others who will also follow in Mikella’s footsteps. In fact, during this pilgrimage, we will have these new NPCs to interact with, as well as several golden crosses that will serve as landmarks so that we don’t get lost in this new open-world scenario. These are points where the demigod left fragments of himself, which allow us to learn a little more about the history of the place overshadowed by the Golden Tree, where the goddess Marika originally settled.

And you will die many times. More than in the base game. So, no anesthesia. The expansion significantly increases the difficulty of fighting high-level characters who endlessly farm the Middle Lands.

Increasing difficulty has its own special balance formula.

To compensate for this, the DLC introduces so-called Blessing of the Shadow Tree. These are two types of consumables that we can collect throughout the Shadowlands and which apply to our character and others to our summons. In both cases, we increase damage dealt and reduce damage taken, so they become an important improvement to balance out the increase in difficulty. They activate and improve grace when we rest, but yes, they only work in the Shadowlands. If we go back to the original map, there will be no such improvement. The good thing is that most purists who don’t need any help (including summoning and mimetic tear) can’t activate them and are challenged by this expansion, which has some of the hardest bosses I’ve ever encountered. From software titles.

Actually, As I write this, I’m still trying to beat the final boss after 45 hours of play. and I think I’ll have to go around the Shadowlands a few more times and farm more boons to balance out the fight. And maybe that’s the magic of this extension: encourage us to explore every corner to overcome this barrier of difficulties. And that’s where you’ll find yourself enjoying a DLC that brings together, like no other, a multitude of biomes, caves, dungeons, unique secondary bosses, secret areas (some huge ones that you might completely miss if you don’t explore) and a ton of loot, all while combining a surprising verticality to the scenarios that wasn’t in the original title.

Of particular note is a location along the main mission route that will make you feel like you’re in Dark Souls thanks to the clever formula that guides the entire scenario as you progress.

To this we must add excellent art direction and a soundtrack of the same level to form a nearly finished product. The most noticeable complaints are frame rate inconsistencies in the PS5 version, camera issues in some moments against big bosses and some clicking.

Conclusion

Either way, the game achieves perfection again. There seems to be something about FromSoftware that we players applaud. And he continues to amaze very much with his ability, forgive the excess, to surprise. Every setting, every new dungeon, every new path that will lead you to new experiences that will keep your jaw hanging. And this is remarkable, because after over a hundred hours of play in the base game, there is still enough gunpowder left in the expansion that at many points fireworks appear and surprise you again. Crazy. So prepare to enjoy (and die), Sinluz.

We were able to analyze Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree thanks to a PlayStation 5 key provided to us by Bandai Namco Spain.