Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreeis a testament to the pride, ambition, and bold creative vision of FromSoftware as a studio—for better and for worse. By examiningShadow of the Erdtree, one is able to gain valuable insight into the design ideals of not justElden Ring, but FromSoftware’s broader portfolio of work.
Brutal difficulty, obtuse storytelling, and inspired art design—these things a FromSoftware game maketh—andShadow of the Erdtreeis no different in this regard. And that’s the best and worst part about the expansion: it’s moreElden Ring, bringing with it all the strengths and weaknesses of its progenitor. Ever-raging debate over difficulty aside,Shadow of the Erdtreeexcels at bombastic boss battles, satisfying progression, powerful world building, and jaw-dropping vistas, but flounders when it comes to delivering on its high fantasy plot.
Shadow of the Erdtree Continues FromSoftware’s Tradition of Underwhelming Endings
The Difference Between Great Lore and Great Stories
There are plenty of great endings in FromSoftware games: becoming a newborn Great One at the end ofBloodborne(circumstances permitting), linking the first flame inDark Souls, and sighting the pathetic true form of Old King Allant at the end ofDemon’s Soulsare all iconic moments in gaming narrative history. But these finales are effective more as a result of FromSoftware’s great world-building than due to the emotional strength of their presentation or setup.
It’s fascinating and disturbing that theplayer-character can transcend humanity inBloodborne, and it’s a fitting twist thatDemon’s Souls’ power-hungry king is really a grotesque lump of flesh, but these are intellectual interests, not emotional ones. It can be hard to be emotionally invested when, for example, the protagonist has no background, or when the gravity of the situation is defined more by events that happened prior to the events of the game itself.
An exception to this would beSekiro’s endings, which are underpinned by the more personal nature of its narrative.
Shadow of the Erdtreehas such issues with its ending. Upon defeating Miquella and Radahn, players will be treated to a brief cutscene that does little more than confirm Radahn’s role as Miquella’s consort—something that players will already have ascertainedduring the Promised Consort Radahn boss fight. After going through hell and back to complete the DLC, learning about the history of The Land of Shadow and characters like Messmer, it can feel somewhat underwhelming to get little more than a short cutscene expounding on what players already know, rather than one that yields new information or drives the story home with some sort of dramatic flair.
Future FromSoftware Endings Could Benefit From an Injection of Drama
Elden Ringhas many endings, but most of them are differentiated more by their lore context than by their actual content: four of the base game’s six endings are just the player sitting on the throne and becoming Elden Lord, with a few minor distinctions. Endings like Lord of the Frenzied Flame and Age of Stars are certainly more interesting, but these too are quite brief and, in many ways, devoid of feeling.
In future games, it would be nice to seeFromSoftware experiment with more emotionally impactful endings, perhaps incorporating more traditional narrative or filmmaking techniques to improve pacing and presentation. After all, players can easily spend dozens of hours in these game worlds, learning the lore and characters, so the more aloof and emotionally distant nature of many of FromSoftware’s endings can make them somewhat lackluster. These games shouldn’t exactly beThe Last of Us—FromSoftware’s aesthetic and tone are still captivating—but some more gravitas and panache would certainly be welcome.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
WHERE TO PLAY
Shadow of the Erdtree is the first and only DLC expansion for FromSoftware’s groundbreaking Elden Ring. It takes players to a whole new region, the Land of Shadow, where a new story awaits the Tarnished.
