Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree review: "It's almost getting boring praising FromSoftware every time"

Shadow of the Erdtree might be one of the most hotly-anticipated creations FromSoftware has ever made, with two years having elapsed since Elden Ring broke out of the Soulsborne niche and exploding across the planet both critically and commercially in a way none of their games ever have. And with seemingly longer spent cooking up Erdtree than any other expansion before, sky-high hype gives the expansion a lot to live up to.

Well, good news - Shadow of the Erdtree has stuck the landing as smoothly as anybody could have expected, providing a whole new region and dozens of hours of refined content that in many places is arguably even better than Elden Ring itself. Plus, you can now flying-kick a hippo in the head with a lightning-infused shoe. What a time to be alive.

I banish you to the Shadow Realm!

Shadow of the Erdtree at its core remains Elden Ring as you know it, and for many that will be the only recommendation that matters, building on one of the strongest foundations possible. Once the expansion starts you're dumped unceremoniously into rolling plains with multiple paths to explore and the occasional boss fight blocking your way like an unfluted Snorlax. Go far enough in any one direction and you're likely to find some hotspot of horrors - a castle, a village, a dungeon or yes, a poison swamp. In this case, the swamp is spread out across several floors of a large, square stone structure filled with enemies, so it's more like a poison apartment block.

It makes sense; non-linearity is a big thing here - at times it's intentionally difficult to know where to look next, snuffling through canyons and sticking your head into dusty cathedrals to see if there's any plot waiting for you inside. In fact, while Erdtree is a big expansion with at least six or seven major areas to explore, I'd say barely half of them are essential - though the need to collect the new "Scadutree Fragments'' to power yourself up means that they're only optional in the most technical sense of the word. When 18 tons of enraged atrocity with a helmet precariously balanced on top lunges at you, you'll be glad you combed the secondary areas for new buffs and gear first.

And some of that gear is a real delight. I already praised the Martial Arts that were added to the game, and the creative spectrum of spells and weapons in Shadow of the Erdtree will no doubt hit the existing Elden Ring meta like a meteorite. And even if you don't use what you find, the simple act of exploration is a joy! Elden Ring was a beautiful game, but I think the landscapes in Erdtree might be even more eerily gorgeous than what came before - the Cerulean Coast being a particular standout; seashore cliffs with fields of glowing blue flowers broken up by hundred-foot stone coffins jutting from the ground. Vertical exploration is also a much bigger element now, exploring multiple levels and using spiritsprings to project yourself into the sky, and it gives you ample opportunities to look over these stunning vistas.

That being said, some regions are so hard to find as to make online guides almost mandatory, with one major area requiring you to discover a special salute in the arse crack of nowhere and perform it in front of one off-the-beaten-path statue with almost no indication that you're supposed to do that. Though honestly, I don't even know if that's considered a flaw in this day and age, or just accepted right now as part of FromSoftware's eccentric charm. Either way, it's undeniably ballsy to gatekeep dozens of hours of content away behind obscure dance routines and 80's Sierra adventure game levels of unintuitive puzzle design.

Lions and titans and heirs (you died)

A malformed hippo with porcupine-like quills sprouting from its back, prowling a dusty castle courtyard. A battle-scarred, one-legged dragon pulling itself around a crater on a wing reduced to a nub of bone. A rose-hued amalgam of insects with a woman's body rising imperiously from the midpoint, holding court in her church of rotting flowers.

No consideration of a Soulsborne game can go without discussion of its bosses, and there's some real standouts here, with creative concepts that speak to eons of implied history. Admittedly, there are also some less memorable fights, and a few reskins of bosses in the core game, but they're clearly intended as filler between the meaningful encounters, which maximize adrenaline and spectacle in equal measure. I'd be combat rolling through firestorms and retaliating with a barrage of elbow strikes, higher brain function thrown away in exchange for pure instinct, and when hard-earned victory eventually came I felt like I'd seen the face of god at the bottom of a cocaine barrel.

In fact, I'd say the only real stumble in the lineup is the final boss, who's so absurdly overpowered as to overstep from meaty challenge into exhaustive frustration. After two days of increasingly angry attempts I did finally manage to secure victory, but that felt more like the result of statistical inevitability than increasing skill, and turned what should've been a glorious finale into a bit of a slog - the whole "Isshin Sword Saint" problem.

Perhaps more interesting than the bosses are the moments where FromSoftware stretches the limitations of its mechanics and nearly reaches whole new genres. One area in particular abandons combat altogether and goes full horror stealth, with the player navigating around unkillable foes without getting their attention. It's genuinely unsettling, and while it's a bit rough mechanically speaking, has completely sold me on Miyazaki tackling a more overt horror game in the future.

Miquella? I 'ardly know 'er

It goes without saying that explaining the plot of any FromSoftware game is like trying to discuss the deeper themes of Hamlet after watching ten minutes of The Lion KIng 2: Simba's Pride through an electronics store window, but I'll try my best: after being named-dropped multiple times in the core game but never actually seen, the followers of the demigod Miquella have tracked him to the distant land known as the Realm of Shadow, and are scouring the region to track down the lost lord.

But upon arrival it becomes clear that this place is far more than just some god-king's summer home: the forces of a new demigod called Messmer are stalking through its grasslands and forests, all with some sort of grudge against Marika, and it's not clear what Miquella is even doing here, nor why he's apparently amputating pieces of himself along the way.

We take the inscrutability of Soulsborne narratives as a given these days, but I think it's worth occasionally reiterating why Miyazaki's iconically cryptic approach to story has worked before and continues to do so in Shadow of the Erdtree: firstly, there's always an emphasis on diminishing the significance of the main character. Nobody tells you anything because you canonically don't matter, which puts the upcoming struggle into context: you're basically a script extra who's trying really hard to become a main character. Secondly, the story can still be deciphered for those who are willing to go looking for it, effectively gamifying the narrative, and even without proper context the goal is always simple and clear: find Miquella. If a big monster with an orchestral soundtrack and a cryptic introductory cutscene is blocking the path, you're on the right track.

I was pleased to find that the story did concretize over time, as I riffled through item descriptions and considered the context of what characters said. Messmer's grudge becomes clear, and Miquella's ambitions are revealed. That's not to say it's anything simple, but that's the third reason this structure works: FromSoftware didn't use it as an excuse to scrimp on storytelling, they just spread it around the world for you to find with interconnected storylines both great and small. Twenty years later, it's still wonderful when done right, and thrown even more into relief by the many imitators who have done it wrong since. I'd like to give particular love to Igon, the stubborn dragon hunter who bellows threats at his enemies in a manner reminiscent of Captain Haddock separated from his whiskey.

Still untarnished

Shadow of the Erdtree has its occasional stumbles, but they're isolated moments in an expansion that, on the whole, might be the best Elden Ring content out there. It's certainly one of the most beautiful experiences I've had in a while, with landscapes you could enjoy just exploring even without challenge at all. Meanwhile, an exhausting final boss can't detract from what is a sumptuously rich experience. If FromSoftware is going to keep making games of this caliber, there'll always be hope for the creative future of the industry.