More than two years since the release of FromSoftware’s magnum opus in the magnificent Elden Ring, the Japanese team is giving us another dose of entertainment with the return of The Lands Between. I mean…about half. While the core gameplay we know today is preserved, the game takes us to a completely new location with new monsters, bosses, stories, and countless places to explore. Despite high expectations and several years of waiting, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is still “only” expansion. It really brings a lot – in fact A LOT OF – but don’t expect a revolution.
If you’re familiar with FromSoftware’s work, you probably won’t be surprised if I tell you almost nothing about this story. Just like the base game, the main idea of the expansion is clear at first glance. We’re going to the Shadow Kingdom, where we follow in Mikel’s footsteps; one of the descendants of Queen Marika. Even the local shadow empire was not spared by the destructive war, and Michella, whom many consider the embodiment of goodness, peace, love and other similar qualities, decided to get rid of parts of his essence and close himself off from the world. This is a special solution that many of his followers, whom we will also meet on our journey, are trying to get to the bottom of. However, Mikel’s decision is far from the only aspect that actively influences him in these countries. This is something we will continually explore throughout the expansion.
As you probably guessed, a lot of things need to be thought out in more detail and connected to dismembered parts of the lore, as is customary in such games. However, if you’re interested in the world of the Ancient Ring, there are some interesting revelations and clues waiting for you that could have a big impact on how we perceive certain things. And this includes aspects that already played a big role in the original story. VaatiVidya, a well-known keeper of knowledge in the community, so he will have a harvest again. This time, probably even more than with other expansions from FromSoftware.
Shadow of the Erdtree is by far the biggest expansion we’ve ever seen from the studio, and its length alone is essentially an entirely new game. The entire Shadow Realm environment is roughly the same size as Limgrave on the map as previously announced, but with one major drawback: the map is two dimensional. This means that in a straight line the new location is not as massive as the original map, but relies much more on verticality, more turns, more points of interest and significantly larger dungeons than it appears at first glance. take a quick look.
Open fields, which we could already meet in the original game, await us here too. But everyone is trying to somehow differentiate themselves from the other. Although some of them resemble, for example, Limgrave or the Altus Plateau – even in tone or color palette – there are also species that are unusual for the entire Elden Ring. Be it a field of blue flowers or what I can only describe as a valley of fingers. However, you don’t have to worry about the developers forgetting what many players consider to be the biggest strength of the base game’s level design. This time around there are also so-called legacy dungeons and more enclosed locations such as smaller castles.. And while playing, I got the feeling that they were given the most space in Shadow of the Erdtree.
Likewise, the number of catacombs, caves, and other such overlooked sites has been significantly reduced. There are still some hidden, but most of them are additionally reported by another attraction. Moreover, they do not tend to repeat themselves. Although you will find something similar to the classic catacombs here more than once, this time they are much larger and more interesting. Instead, the developers came up with completely different types of environments.be it prisons or forges, which also carry very significant consequences for history.
Even after exploring most of the original game’s map, I enjoyed exploring every corner of the expansion I came across. As well as a large number of main and side bosses. (there are about twice as many minor ones as major ones), I came to this conclusion only after about 30 hours of playing. And I still have the feeling that I missed something.
Source :Indian TV
