REVIEW: Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Shadow of the Erdtree is the DLC expansion for the extraordinarily popular Elden Ring game. Grimdark Magazine’s staff were so impressed with Elden Ring when it came out that they did multiple reviews in a single article. I wasn’t one of those reviewers due to only playing the game this year but have much the same opinion as many other gamers: it was fantastic, lots of great updates, and probably the best story of the Souls games. I was fascinated by George R.R. Martin’s writing for God Queen Marika’s family as well as the constant twists and turns in the Golden Order’s history.
Shadow of the Erdtree is an entirely new area that you have to defeat the optional boss, Mogh, in order to visit. This is a litmus test for how capable your character has to be in order to play this DLC since Mogh is one of the hardest bosses in the base game. You can cheese him as I did with the Crystal Tear that neutralizes his best attack and Mogh’s shackle, but this is a sign that Shadow of the Erdtree is endgame content. Do not enter until you have well over a hundred and fifty levels, or you will be utterly wrecked.
Shadow of the Erdtree’s premise is simple: Miquella, the most beloved of her children after Godwyn, has entered a mysterious location called the Shadowlands. He has brainwashed several followers from disparate groups into joining his cult and plans to ascend to godhood. You need to stop him. Well, simple by Elden Ring standards. The Shadowlands were subject to a secret genocide carried out by Marika’s armies and led by a heretofore unknown son of hers named Messmer. It is almost literally a mass graveyard with much of the setting covered in spiritual tombstones.
Storytelling in Souls games tends to be environmental rather than character-based, though you will meet several NPCs who talk to you in this game and provide a decent amount of exposition. Even so, the setting is mournful and horrific with constant signs that something very bad has happened here. Miquella brainwashing his followers to get along is also handled in an understated yet horrifying way. These people would never associate with one another normally but are forced to in a way that they don’t even notice is abnormal.
If you do bother to pay attention to story, you’ll find out details like how Marika went from being a poor village girl to a god of the Lands Between. This is a grimdark story of a victim of genocide becoming a perpetrator of genocide themselves. Her betrayal of Messmer and his troops is also another nail in the coffin of Marika being remotely sympathetic. The Hornsent civilization is fascinating and even if they’re complete scumbags, they’re a believable race of complete scumbags.
The gameplay is, in simple terms, punishingly hard even by Elden Ring standards. So much so that even the developers seem aware of it as they provide upgrades that only work in the Shadowlands called Scadutree Fragments as well as Revered Ashes. Enemies like the Furnace Golems are easily able to stomp you and the bosses are almost ridiculous in their erratic movement sets as well as ability to deal one-hit kills. Most Souls players wouldn’t have it any other way.
There are a few flaws I felt Shadow of the Erdtree suffered from. There’s new enemies, new bosses, new equipment, and new lands to reach. A lot of it is very similar to the stuff from the base game, though, and even the new stuff isn’t necessarily that big of a change. After all, a hippopotamus being able to kill demigods like the Tarnished isn’t that different from the fact bears can do the same in the base game. Malenia is barely mentioned despite being Miquella’s sister and the same for the Haligtree. We also never get an answer for why Miquella was in a cocoon in the base game. Shadow of the Erdtree also lacks any new achievements, which is ridiculous in a modern title.
In general, this expansion is just more Elden Ring but that’s not a bad thing. I spent about forty hours playing the game and exploring it, which is worth the price of a full game but I should also clarify that I suck at Elden Ring too. This is only good for someone who has already beaten the main game and is willing to put in a lot of level grinding as well as build alteration. Even then, you’ll need the Scadutree fragments and Revered Ashes too. If that’s a challenge rather than a deterrent, then this is the game for you.
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