Back to talk about Shadow of the Erdtree, the DLC for Elden Ring. By FromSoft, duh. Because I have been bitching at it for the past several posts, I want to talk about what I like/love about it in this post. It’s interesting because in looking for reviews that were less than glowing, almost all of them casually acknowldege that, yes, the level design is beyond compare. Yes, the environments are varied, rich, and visually dazzling. Yes, there are interesting new NPCs with really good voice actors who will tug at your heartstrings.
*SPOILER WARNING*
Weirdly, or maybe not weirdly, there is one NPC who has won the heart of so many people. His name is Igon, and he is Captain Ahab to a dragon called Bayle’s Moby Dick. So many people love him and his rallying cry of, “Curse you, Baaaaayle!” Briefly, you come across Igon sitting in the road, crying out in pain. He talks about his pain at length. Then he rants about Bayle. At top volume. It’s all very over-the-top, and people seem to love it.
Then, later, you run into him as he’s lying in the road, and he’s whimpering. I think I missed that in my first playthrough. After you fell a dragon, he shouts and rants some more. (This is in a third place). He asks you to call him in when/if you face Bayle the Dread. Then, in the fight with Bayle, you can summon Igon in the arena. His first words are, “Curse you, Bayle!” And he rants throughout the entire fight. The. Entire. Fight.
You may be able to read between the lines to see that he is not my favorite. I don’t hate him, but I think he’s overwrought and way too dramatic. The voice actor has been talked about it and said that he didn’t even know Bayle was a dragon when he was reading his lines. They just kept telling him to go bigger. Then again, I am also not a big fan of Solaire, either. Who is in the same vein as Igon, though much more lowkey.
I love several of the other NPCs, though. Redmane Freyja was my bae, and I wish there was more of her. Hornsent is such an interesting character. He hates the Tarnished for what they (we) did to him, but he will aid the Tarnished if it’s in his best interest. I can respect that. And the fact that he invaded me after I helped him against Leda and after he helped me against Messmer, well, I thought that was a great touch.
I have to give a massive shoutout to the level design. I cannot just shrug it off with, “Of course the level design is great. It’s Miyazaki.” It’s more than that, really. The video I have included just below by Agt Jake mentions that there are some areas he hasn’t yet figured out how to get to, even when he can see them. That one is mind-blowing in particular because once you figure out how to get to that specific area, you just…keep on going. And going. And going. Until you pop up somewhere completely different, and it’s a whole new area.
I actually found this one and figured it out on my own. When I popped up in a different area at the end of my traveling, I was astounded. I honestly could not believe it, and I was so proud of myself for figuring it out. The new area wasn’t just some throwaway area, either. It was an area with meaningful content and a sad addition to the base game lore. It took my breath away, and I could only marvel at how incredible it was.
It’s the same with the shortcuts in the DLC. They are so much better than they are in the main game. When I found one in Belurat, the first big legacy dungeon I did, I actually teared up. It’s an incredible feeling, and it reminded me of why I play these games in the first place.
The level design in Elden Ring in general is top-notch. The level design in the DLC is several steps above and beyond. It’s elegant, labrynthian, and intense. It’s everything I want in a FromSoft game, and more. The fact that I got lost so often was my own issues, and I can’t fault the game for it. I’m not really mad about it; it just makes the game harder fro me.
I love some of the bosses. Messmer is by far one of my favorite bosses of all time. His fight is epic and such a spectacle. His whole deal as Sad Boi who surely I could fix if he just let me love him enough, er, evil man who needs to be eradicated is a trope, yes, but still a thrill. Plus, his story is engaging and more complex than some of the others. He’s Marika’s son, the one she chose to get revenge on her enemies. And to scorch the whole world. Then, when she got what she wanted out of him, she turned her back on him and essentially disowned him.
Understandably, he was emotionally destroyed by this. He tried all his life to get back in her favor to no avail. That’s one reason he went even further into the dark. He did try to keep his snake abilities in check, but when push came to shove, he let it all hang out. His story is tragic, but it doesn’t let him off the hook for the horrible choices he’s made. It’s actually a good allegory for child abuse–though it’s not even really an allegory. Some people rise above the abuse they suffer as children while some do not.
There is a debate as to whether people prefer the more straightforward storytelling of the DLC or not. The basic story is easy to see–and follow. Miquella the Kind decides to shed his, ah, humanity and become a god. Not for selfish reasons, mind, but because he thinks that’s the best way to help the world.
You may be able to tell by my voice that I think that’s utter bullshit. Miquella is not kind, and he has never been. Many a narcissistic egomaniac has thought that they would make the world a better place–and he is one of those. There are hints of that in the base game, and it only becomes even clearer in the DLC. He may have had good intentions (I highly doubt it), but we all know what that leads to.
I don’t mind that the base story is laid out like that. You stil have to dig for the rest. You’ll get more if you read the item descriptions and talk to everyone and such. I think it’s a nice mid-point between the esoteric way FromSoft usually tells their stories and leading people by the nose. I guess some people felt it twas too hand-holdy, but I don’t agree with that. Yes, there were a few times when there were clear directions (like tiptoeing through the Abyssal Woods), but it did not feel overbearing to me.
I feel like I get maybe a quarter of the story as I play, which is fine, but I liked that I knew more in this one. However, because I fucked up the NPC quests, I did not get some very key plot points until they actually happened. If I had been able to find Ansbach in the Shadow Keep, for example, I would have had a very important piece of the overall puzzle. He was an acolyte of Mohg, and his dialogue in the Shadow Keep library lets you know that something hinky is being done with Mohg’s body.
That’s all for today. I will do part two tomorrow.