Highly anticipated: Bandai Namco has finally revealed what's in store for Elden Ring players with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. The massive expansion for the award-winning heir to the Soulsborne formula will bring new storylines, new challenging boss fights, and a completely new world to explore. And that's just the beginning.
A year ago, publisher Bandai Namco and developer FromSoftware went into radio silence soon after announcing the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for Elden Ring. After a year of wild speculations and alleged hints strategically placed by the Japanese studio here and there, fans of the massively successful action RPG video game have now been served a brand-new trailer and a slew of additional information about the DLC.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will be set in the Land of Shadow, the official website now states, which is a "completely new world" beyond the Lands Between where the original game is set. Players will be able to seamlessly travel back and forth between the two maps, suggesting that there will be some quests involving both worlds.
Shadow of the Erdtree is FromSoftware's largest expansion to date, featuring a brand-new story following demigod Miquella on his journey to unravel the secrets of the Golden Order. The DLC will introduce new weapons, equipment, weapon skills, and magic spells that weren't available in the base game. Of course, there will also be a multitude of new enemies and challenging boss encounters. New intricate plotlines will further enhance player role-playing freedom, as promised by the Japanese studio.
The Land of Shadow is where the goddess Marika – the original bearer of the Elden Ring and centerpiece of the game's mythos – first set foot, as explained in the trailer. The land was seemingly purged and set ablaze by Messmer, one of the main bosses players will face. Miquella departed to this land after renouncing his flesh, strength, and divine lineage. The former demigod will likely serve as the new in-game guide for players, taking over after Melina set herself ablaze in the base game.
Speaking with Eurogamer, FromSoftware boss Hidetaka Miyazaki stated that George R. R. Martin did not provide additional material for the Elden Ring expansion. The US author wrote the original mythos, which formed the narrative base of Elden Ring, according to Miyazaki. Shadow of the Erdtree is based on another part of the original story that FromSoftware decided to reserve for the expansion.
Development on the DLC began after updates and patches for the base game settled down, Miyazaki confirmed. Beyond expanding on what has already been seen in Elden Ring in terms of gameplay, the Japanese studio decided to try something new with a different approach to field design. Shadow of the Erdtree will feature a "denser and richer" level design, Miyazaki said, with over 10 new boss fights and at least one extremely challenging encounter on par with Malenia – the infamously hard, yet optional boss many Elden Ring players have struggled against.
Shadow of the Erdtree is set to be released on June 21, 2024, for all supported platforms (PC, PlayStation, Xbox). The Elden Ring DLC will be available in two "premium" editions, which can already be pre-ordered on the official website. Additionally, there is a massive (and massively pricey) Collector's Edition with a miniature statue (or should we say oversized action figure?) of Messmer the Impaler, a 40-page hardcover artbook, a download code for the DLC's digital soundtrack, and more.
https://www.techspot.com/news/101970-elden-ring-shadow-erdtree-dlc-has-new-trailer.html
