When Elden Ring released, it was kind of a revelation of what an open world game could be: something that pushed back at the player, that didn't feel the need to explain everything, that was willing to let players experience the game differently from one another or miss things entirely—and that as a consequence inspired a feeling that truly anything could be around any corner.
Shadow of the Erdtree feels in turn like a revelation about what an Elden Ring could be. The base game burst into the scene with an incredibly confident swagger, and the DLC turns that swagger back on itself. At every turn, my mind was blown by reinventions of how weapons can work, how items can work, even how combat itself can work. The map—although perhaps overlarge in places—takes on a dimensionality that was only hinted at before, exploding out the sense of exploration even despite being maybe a third as big as the original. The dialog writing and voice acting are outstanding, building on the company's excellent work with Armored Core VI. The plo, dives satisfyingly into the major open questions and shines a light on areas I never even thought to wonder about, while still maintaining FromSoft's characteristic mystery.
And the fights? Listen, I may be the wrong person to ask. I love 163 of the 165 base game boss fights. I was always gonna love more, harder, and more complex versions of the same and indeed I do. I wasn't sure any the final boss, but I've beaten it three times now so I can safely say it's gas (except maybe that left-right-cross attack, what are you supposed to do about that?).
My only real problem now is that I should play other games but my soul cries out for a new Elden Ring run or several to put the new DLC weapons through their paces!
Reviewed on Jul 05, 2024