With over 450 hours (and counting) invested, Elden Ring is firmly placed among my favorite games of all-time. As I have covered the game extensively since launch, I was exceedingly happy to sit down with Bandai-Namco last week at Summer Game Fest to enjoy a brief hands-on demo of Shadow of the Erdtree. I was able to experiment with a few new weapons and their new skills, to challenge a few bosses, and to explore a small section of the Land of Shadow. Now, before I give you my impressions, here’s a reminder of the story setup for Shadow of the Erdtree and how it relates to the main game.
Shadow of the Erdtree focuses on Miquella, who we learn is the brother of Malenia and, thus, also the son of Marika. While he’s mentioned many times throughout Elden Ring, and even has items named after him, you never engage with him directly. Digging into various lore videos from some of the major FromSoftware followers (special shout-out to the fine gentlemen of RKG), Miquella once followed the Golden Order in hopes of curing his affliction of living with a child’s body. He eventually gives up his faith in the Golden Order and the Erdtree, and he creates the land of the Haligtree, an optional area in Elden Ring where his sister Malenia can be found. Miquella was eventually kidnapped by the Lord of Blood, Mohg, who had his own grand ambitions for Miquella.
With the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion beginning at the site of Miquella’s “cocoon” after conquering Mohg, we can assume those grand plans will never come to fruition. What does, however, is likely up for us to discover. The story trailer released just a few weeks ago leads into this directly, with the following quote being offered on the Shadow of the Erdtree site:
“Guided by Empyrean Miquella, players are beckoned to the Land of Shadow, a place obscured by the Erdtree where the goddess Marika first set foot. In these strange new lands, players discover the dark secrets of the world as they meet others who follow in Miquella’s footsteps with ulterior motives.”
Your Arsenal, Milady
Sitting down with the demo, I am asked what type of build I usually enjoy as the team had several characters ready-to-go with different stats, armor, and weapons to highlight some of the additions. I chose the dexterity-focused build and was handed a buffed, level 125 character holding one of the new weapon types: a “great katana.” It’s exactly what you’re picturing, a katana that is the size of a greatsword with a larger, slightly slower but more powerful, slashing swing. It was quite the spectacle as the uchigatana has been a go-to for me in multiple games, so playing with a larger, two-handed version certainly took some acclimating.
The great katanas are one of eight new weapon types that will be added to Elden Ring with the expansion. Specifically, they are:
- Great Katanas
- Throwing Weapons
- Reverse-Hand Swords
- Perfume Bottles (Expanded to a full weapon type)
- Hand-to-Hand Arts
- Beast Claws (Expanded)
- Thrusting Shields
- Light Greatswords
In my other hand is a new, light greatsword, named “Milady,” which is a weapon type that seemed to fit my play style like a glove. Again, it’s exactly as you picture should you be intimately familiar with Elden Ring‘s and, to a lesser extent, Dark Souls‘ weaponry from prior games. The light greatsword is a slightly smaller and faster version of a greatsword, and it fills a gap that I’ve always wanted to see by providing a stronger attack that isn’t quite as slow as a full greatsword. Along with the weapon is a new multi-action, slashing weapon skill that inflicts severe damage across a broad area.
While I was only able to experiment with two of the eight new weapon types, it’s clear that FromSoftware is both aiming to fill gaps while also expanding some lesser-used builds to be more viable. As Elden Ring‘s arsenal of weapons, skills, spells, and specializations is already vast, expanding it further sounds like a dream come true for players like me who love to experiment.
As I was using a dex-build for a brief demo, I wasn’t able to utilize any of the new sorceries or incantations, but for my casting-loving friends, don’t worry, as there are reportedly a wealth of new additions in that vein as well.
Living, and Dying, in the Shadow
Courtesy of an interview with FromSoftware CEO, Hidetaka Miyazaki, we learned that Shadow of the Erdtree will feature a new overworld map that can be traveled back-and-forth seamlessly with that of the main game. Expected to be somewhere between a quarter and a third of the size of the base game, it will still feature open areas to explore, dedicated “legacy dungeons,” and a wealth of secrets to uncover. According to Miyazaki, it’s the largest expansion they’ve ever created for a game, and they’ve experimented with the world layout with the aim of making the engagements more diverse than the core game. In my brief time, I experience this in action.
Setting out, I found myself in the Gravesite Plains from the initial trailer and, going on what I was told, this is essentially where the expansion will begin. Thus, similar to the initial Limgrave walk-out, you’ll have full freedom almost immediately. While I’m instructed to “generally” head towards a landmark in the distance, I’m given free reign to explore. And so, just moments in, I find a small corridor with a fog wall. After asking the team “What’s in there?”, we have a laugh when they respond with “Why not go in and find out?”
Naturally, I’m greeted with an immediate boss encounter, and let’s just say that fumbling with a build that wasn’t “mine” lead to a rather quick, humbling death.
I then head back to the open field and engage with a few new enemy types that I could reliably take down. I needed a little confidence boost after my initial, swift humbling. But, being a FromSoftware expansion, it was short-lived.
Moments later. I see another imposing presence in the distance that I recognize from the trailers. To be specific: this large…creature?
As I head toward it to say hello and introduce myself, I am essentially informed, from a great distance, that it’s not there to make friends. And so, I rapidly change course. Simply put, I’ll finish that conversation from the comfort of my home in the coming weeks.
But it’s another example of how the engagements have evolved from the core game, as that enemy was tougher and more imposing in-game than the overworld bosses from the core game, and you are free to approach it right from the start. How many of those types of encounters there will be in SotE, I’m not sure, but I doubt it’s a one-off.
Exploring a little more, I instantly find numerous new enemies and side areas I want to dig deeper into, which certainly made it feel more dense than the core game. Save for a few areas, I already felt Elden Ring was dense as it was, particularly in comparison to some other large, open-world games. Thus, I’m chomping at the bit to be able to explore the Land of Shadow to my heart’s content.
Emboldened by the Flame of Ambition
To further aid players in overcoming the wealth of new challenges in the Land of Shadow, the team at FromSoftware has added a few new buffs players can earn outside of simply leveling.
Scattered throughout the land are new Scadutree Fragments. These are a key resource that, when used at sites of grace, provide you a permanent buff to your stats (outside of your base level or equipped gear), titled “Scadutree Blessing Level.” These bonuses show up in a bright yellow on the status screen and are an additional avenue for players to strengthen themselves for the opposition they’ll face.
Similar to the Scadutree Fragments are Revered Ash Blessings. As the name implies, they are expanded power-ups for your Spirit Ash summons (and the ever reliable Torrent) that will take them beyond the prior +10 level.
Be aware, however; the buffs received from Scadutree Fragments and Revered Ash Blessings only activate while in the Land of Shadow. When you return to the core game, they are removed.
Of course, you certainly won’t be alone as Shadow of the Erdtree features a wealth of new NPCs that will play a significant role in the story and be able to be called upon on occasion. In speaking with the team, I’m told that NPCs play a very large role in the expansion, perhaps more-so than the core game.
While I run into a few while exploring and briefly say hello, I obviously don’t know the context of what’s come before, nor do I have time to waste. But it’s clear from this framed end-scene of the story trailer that we can expect expansive relationship building.
Put These Foolish Ambitions to Rest
You will need the additional bonuses and buffs because, according to FromSoftware, there are over 10 new boss fights in Shadow of the Erdtree, and as I’ve eluded to, expect them to be tougher than the core game. In fact, Miyazaki said this specifically in one interview:
“We wanted to provide these challenging encounters and these menacing threats, and in order to do that, we wanted to give the player a lot of freedom of approach. We wanted them to feel free in how they choose and when they choose to approach and tackle these hardships.”
As my demo time is coming to a close, the team offers to give me a go against one of the more challenging, later bosses, who most will recognize from the trailers. This lovely house cat:
I don’t want to spoil any aspects of the battle as I appreciate those who are like me and want to discover and overcome those challenges entirely for themselves. With that in mind, I will simply say this: it’s not a house cat.
It is a stunning battle, one that I was completely blown away by. After only getting a few hits in on my first two attempts, I ask the team, “Has anyone beat this guy over the weekend?” to which they respond without delay, “None.” And for reference, my demo was Monday morning, and they had been demoing since Friday…
After hearing that nobody else had taken it down, I jokingly told them they needed to lock the door as I wasn’t leaving until I conquered it, so they let me have one more attempt. Focused, I’m proud to say I got him about 2/3 of the way down, though I was burning through my Crimson Flasks as though I had fallen off the wagon. If that battle is any indication, and Messmer the Impaler was still to come, FromSoft fans can certainly expect to be tested in the coming weeks.
I’d like to sincerely thank the teams at Bandai-Namco and FortySeven for coordinating my play session of Shadow of the Erdtree. I will have a lot more coverage in the coming weeks, and you can expect my expanded thoughts/review on next week’s Bitcast.
If you’re new to Elden Ring and are planning to jump in, I highly recommend my Beginner’s Guide which will help you understand all of the core aspects of the game design, the starting classes, and all of the critical, early items in the game (that are missable!). It will also prepare you for some of the initial NPC storylines. And, of course, you can find my initial, spoiler-free review here.
Lastly, I of course must mention that I ran into some of the FromSoftware team in Los Angeles while there for Summer Game Fest. Yasuhiro was kind enough to chat with me and to take this picture of me with the legend himself!
