The Souls games, or whatever umbrella you want to put all of FromSoftware's action RPGs under, collectively redefined an entire genre and literally defined a new one in the form of Soulslikes. So it is immensely amusing to hear creative director and studio boss Hidetaka Miyazaki describe this success, in an interview with Eurogamer, as: "Players seem to enjoy our games."
Miyazaki, you may have heard, has a reputation for underselling things, arguably dating back to his work on the tiny little experimental project that became Demon's Souls and went on to ignite one of the most influential series in video game history. This quirk has become a major talking point among FromSoftware fans once again following Miyazaki's estimation of the forthcoming Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, which was finally pushed into the spotlight with a reveal this week.
In an interview with IGN, Miyazaki reckoned that the DLC's main area, the Land of Shadow, is "probably comparable" to the base game's opening area, Limgrave, "if not larger." This is already a little vague since there isn't exactly a "Welcome to Limgrave" sign in the Lands Between indicating clear geopolitical borders. How much of the surrounding lands, not to mention the underground, are we including here?
Like many other Elden Ring fans, I also can't help but think of the time that Miyazaki said Elden Ring, an improbably large game, would probably take around 30 hours to beat provided you don't take any "detours." I had to look this up just to make sure I wasn't misremembering my own writing, and sure enough, he did offer 30 hours as a rough estimate, with the caveat that it's a hard thing to estimate.
My first playthrough of Elden Ring took about 125 hours, but to Miyazaki's credit, that was with every detour imaginable. That said, I don't know anyone outside of speedrunners who beat this game in 30 hours or less. You certainly could, especially on NG+, but I just can't picture it for a first run. Maybe Miyazaki also meant 'without dying very much' when he was talking about "detours." For reference, the much more holistic data on How Long To Beat puts Elden Ring's main story, with no extras whatsoever, at just under 60 hours, which feels much more accurate.
Am I saying Shadow of the Erdtree's Land of Shadow is actually way bigger than Miyazaki's estimate implies? No, but I am seriously beginning to suspect that it will be much more involved than Limgrave, if only because FromSoftware can't seem to help itself. I'd also wager that the sheer landmass of the DLC isn't the biggest determinant of its actual scope, especially with FromSoftware actively pushing for "denser and richer level design" this time around.
Our own Joe Donnelly argues: As much as I'd love more, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC should be the action RPG's curtain call.
