How can you possibly follow up on a masterpiece? How could James Cameron make Titanic 2? How could Kubrick direct The Shining 2?
How could System of a Down possibly make another album as good as the others?
And how can Hidetaka Miyazaki and the team at FromSoftware possibly release a chunky expansion to 2022’s game of the year?
It’s not a task I’m envious of.
Elden Ring was clearly the best game of 2022, and it remains one of the best games of the generation so far, but it was also rough.
Post-launch, multiple questlines and NPC interactions had to be patched in, the map needed to be changed regularly, and PVP players were demanding severe balance changes.
Chespin is the target of 2023’s first community day in Pokémon Go
These things came in time – along with even more additions to the game – but it paints the picture of a game that had a difficult development, and that remains true with Elden Ring’s DLC expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, in 2024.
Elden Ring’s main game has a cast of characters I adore.
They all have unique storylines, and while most of those stories end badly, they do an amazing job of filling out the world.
They all lead you around the world of The Lands Between, adding slivers of context to each location and pertinent story beat for you to piece together.
I couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed when pretty much all of my decisions and quest progress in the main game was irrelevant in Shadow of the Erdtree – instead, you meet a new cast of characters that, frankly, don’t seem to be as deep or memorable.
The Lords of Elden Ring are far more important here.
FromSoftware lore archivists will be poring over every detail we discover about Miquella, the twin brother of Malenia.
Miquella’s been sleeping at the back of Mohgwyn Palace for years, but in Shadow of the Erdtree, his beef jerky-like hand is the entrance to the Land of Shadow.
Ironically, Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing, didn’t know all that much.
Not only did he not know that a Tarnished could become Elden Lord, but he didn’t know about the legion of powerful warriors that have been hiding in the Land of Shadow beneath the Scadutree.
Messmer’s red hair and objective of punishing those who have lost the grace of gold indicates that he’s a child of Marika, a demi-god.
Genshin Impact Dori: Best weapons, artifacts, and teams
But he’s also friends with snakes, which are a cursed symbol in the eyes of the Erdtree.
Did Ofnir just not pay much attention to his books, or did Marika’s attempt to veil the Land of Shadow even remove its inhabitants from the annals of history?
Story is usually a bit of an afterthought for most FromSoftware fans – at least until VaatiVidya gets a video up – so it ultimately doesn’t matter quite as much as the world and bosses of the Land of Shadow.
The area is pretty meaty, managing to squeeze several expansive areas into a surprisingly small footprint.
If you were able to ride Torrent in a straight line, you’d be able to go from end to end quickly, but the world here is dense.
A tunnel entrance in one place can lead to an entirely new area with multiple Sites of Grace and unique legendary items.
Catacomb dungeons are found a little less frequently, but the ones that are here are often three times the size of those in the main game.
There’s so much optional stuff to find, too.
The main game only has a handful of necessary bosses, if you know where to go and what to do.
It’s the same story here, with only three of the areas being truly “necessary” if you want to beeline to the finish.
Stray from the beaten path, however, and you’ll find carefully placed paths and tantalising teasers everywhere.
The first area, the Gravesite Plains, has a bridge crossing a ravine, and at the bottom, you can make out items and ruins to explore.
It’ll be hours before you find a path down there, though.
The same goes for the mountain looming in the skyline of every outdoor environment.
The path to get there isn’t obvious, but dig around enough, and there’s so much more to find.
Every moment playing Elden Ring – when not looking for the one tunnel entrance that might lead to a new area – feels like you’re making fast progress.
Gathering runes, the new Scadutree and Revered Ash fragments, finding Sites of Grace, collecting rare Talismans, it all feels like forward progression, and FromSoftware is still rewarding curious players with items hidden away in places that seem entirely unintended.
It can keep me glued to my controller for hours, as I constantly question whether the things I’m doing and finding are intended, or hidden bonuses that reward my observation skills.
I’m either a genius, or FromSoftware’s game design is so good that it makes me feel like one.
Then there are the bosses.
If you’ve played Elden Ring – or any Souls game, really – then you know what the combat is all about, and you just need to know how tough those bosses are actually going to be. If you’re not ready to take out the main game’s Elden Beast, then you shouldn’t be stepping into the Land of Shadow.
The first main boss of the DLC is designed to keep out under-leveled players, and from there, the true challenge begins.
While most foes can be easily surmounted with summoned NPC allies and Spirit Ashes – or even multiplayer pals, if you need an extra hand – there are a few that are more fun to fight one-on-one, and another that feels like a towering challenge even with a lot of help.
It’s Elden Ring, but more.
FromSoftware hasn’t done much here to radically change what you expect from the game, it’s not really playing with new mechanics or ideas, but the denser world design is better than the main game, and the bosses are just as brilliant as ever.
It’s more Elden Ring, up to the quality of Elden Ring.
Despite being a DLC expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree just might end up being 2024’s game of the year.
If you want to read more on new games, check out our Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance review.
