Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
Recently, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware allowed myself and several other press the opportunity to dip out toes into Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and give a small area of the upcoming expansion a try. It features a daunting new land that is filled to the brim with secrets, adventures, and plenty of bristling new foes to slay. Perhaps most importantly, the time I played with Shadow of the Erdtree made me feel like I was starting Elden Ring for the first time again, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
The story of the Shadow of the Erdtree follows some unexplored plot points in the original game, notably that of the deadly warrior Malenia’s brother Miquella, who does not appear outright in the original, but is mentioned from time to time. To avoid a forced fate of godhood by other godlike beings, Miquella the Kind abandoned his own flesh and lineage to escape to the Land of Shadow. That land is one of fire and bloodshed where another godlike being, Messmer, once waged an unsung war and still lurks. Now, Miquella is there, awaiting the supposed “promised Lord.”
That’s where players come in. With the power of the withered flesh of Miquella in his bloody little cocoon (it’s as gross as it sounds), we cross over from the Lands Between to the Land of Shadow in search of Miquella while avoiding the relentless hunt of Messmer. Truly, once you find the Cocoon, that acts as your door to the expansion. Once there, the Land of Shadow is spread out before us as an entirely new unmapped zone. I only got to explore a fraction of it, and it truly feels like a vast new landscape bristling with secrets.
Perhaps just as surprising is just how miniscule the Land of Shadow can make even the most leveled of warriors feel. My group began with several build options set at Level 150 with warrior, knight, and mage archetypes. We were also allowed to go see Rennala to respec to our preferred styles if we wanted. I went with my glass cannon Dexterity/Arcane build to do big damage with swift weapons at the cost of being a bit fragile. Even so, the stories around the play session were very similar. Despite many of us having plenty of time with Elden Ring, we mostly got beat around by the expansion as if starting fresh at Level 1.
A part of that lies in the scaling system of Shadow of the Erdtree. Your stats still matter in the Land of Shadow, but everything also scales around a special set of currencies that are very specific to the expansion’s play space. Much like the currencies used to upgrade your flask charges or their potency, one of these currencies upgrades your main character’s stats in the Land of Shadow, while the other is used to upgrade your summons and Spectral Steed. The upgraded stats you and your summons get from these currencies only has effect in the Land of Shadow, so if you go back to the Lands Between, you’ll be back to normal besides your level-ups. And these stats make a big difference in the Land of Shadow because everything is bristling with potential to murder you. It’s a great way to make it so whether players are Level 100 or Level 500, they’ll face a challenge that scales to them.
There’s so much to discover in terms of new battles and loot as well. From the moment you enter the Land of Shadow, you can see a lumbering giant in the distance looking like it’s made of charred tree roots and embers. This thing is kind of like the Tree Sentinel from the first moments of Elden Ring. You sure can fight it, but it sure will demolish you if you’re not prepared. Off to the west of that was a mausoleum that was completely optional and had a knight with a rapid-fire crossbow that filled me full of bolts like a pincushion in no time. North of that was a castle that was filled with ghostly ghouls, mages, swordsmen, fly people, and some of the most terrifyingly ugly scorpions I’ve ever seen. Oh, and at the end was a giant dancing lion beast that shifted between wind, ice, and lightning elemental phases.
Simply put, in just a few hours, Shadow of the Erdtree had me convinced our builds are going to have to be in tip-top condition and our reflexes best be honed if we’re going to beat the challenges in this expansion without a countless array of “YOU DIED” prompts. Thankfully, besides the Land of Shadow currencies, this expansion is brimming with new accessories, armors, and weapons to discover. In fact, the Bandai Namco staff stated that the number of new weapons was somewhere around 100 with eight new categories scattered throughout them. At one point, I discovered a pair of curved swords with an Ashes of War skill where my character would plunge the sword into the ground, sending up a blast of gnarled horns at a foe I was targeting. The ability tracked and had massive range, and the swords scaled with Dexterity. I know what weapons I’m bee-lining for when I officially start playing this expansion.
Shadow of the Erdtree looks absolutely immense. If the sheer space of the new land wasn’t enticing enough, the scaling qualities make it uniquely challenging regardless of your level. I felt all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed like I’d just come out of the Cave of Knowledge for the first time again before being beaten to a bushy pulp by the first formidable threats. Even then, it just pushed me to delve into the new gear and discover some delightful new approaches to offense and defense, for which I’m certain to find plenty more. FromSoftware promised a lot with Shadow of the Erdtree, but from everything I saw, I have every reason to believe the studio will deliver in incredible fashion.
This preview is based on a hands-on PC play session in a closed event hosted by the publisher. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree releases on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on June 21, 2024.