Alright. I have been dilly-dallying long enough. I have stretched out my games of the year in my usual fashion. Yesterday, I talked about two indie games that are on my top five non-From games of all time list, and today, I am finally going to announce my game of the year. As if I need to. I’ll do it, anyway, just in case it needs to be said.
My game of the year (GOTY) for 2024 beyond a shadow of a doubt despite the controversy it stirred up for even being nominated
Shadow of the Erdtree (Elden Ring, DLC, FromSoft)
Man. It’s been quite the year. It flew by, and yet, at the same time, it’s dragged out because of a personal tragedy. When the Shadow of the Erdtree trailer was surprise-released back on February 21st, my personal tragedy started. I was not able to really participate in the joyous celebration on that day or the next, when the real tragedy struck.
By the time the DLC rolled around four months later, I was ready to play it. I was still in pain and sorrow because of what happened four months earlier. I can’t think about that time without tearing up, still, nearly a year later. Even while I was rejoicing about a new Miyazaki world in which to roam, a part of my heart was still quietly breaking. The fact that the name of the DLC included the name of my beloved who is no longer with me made it even more bittersweet.
Before my medical crisis, I had so many plans for Elden Ring. I saw the first real trailer for it at GeoffCon in summer of 2021, and I lost my shit. Another Miyazaki world in which I could wander endlessly? Yes, please! I had all these grandiose ideas about what I would do in the game. I would have one solo play chaarcter and another for co-op. I was going to get the plat, of course, because apparently, that ws a thing with me now (except Sekiro. Ain’t no way in hell that’s happening).
Then, the medical crisis happened, and all that was wiped from my brain. Once it was established that I was fine, more or less, after what happened to me, all I cared about was that I had another Miyazaki game to play. Any ideas of soloing or playing in a certain way was wiped from my brain. None of that mattered, and it seemed silly that it ever had. I even wrote an article about it for a gaming website, and it really crystalized for me what the From games meant to me.
It’s never been about the difficulty. Oh, I know many people say that with false modesty, but it’s true for me. Yes, I had beaten all the Souls games (the trilogy–I have yet to play Demon’s Souls) solo (except for the gank runs in the DLCs of the second game). Yes, I have done the same with Bloodborne (except for the DLC. That kicked my ass and beacuse I played it with the DLC included, I was worn out by the end. I summoned for three of the five bosses in BB, and I don’t even care. Oh, and it’s not my style of game at all. I struggled so hard with it that I just wanted to get it done).
When I played Elden Ring, I did not care about any of that. I used the spirit summons from the first and I made no qualms about it. For me, I just wanted to enjoy the game. I would not enjoy the game if I forced myself to solo every boss.
Which brings me to Shadow of the Erdtree. The DLC is a masterpiece, and it absolutely desreves game of the year. I’m not mad that it didn’t win because there were other deserving games, but I don’t get why people were so mad it was nominated. “It’s built on the base game!” Well, so are many sequels. And there were remakes that got nominated, too, so you can’t tell me that’s any different.
It took me 70 hours on my first playthrough to beat Shadow of the Erdtree. At least. It might have taken me even longer–my memory is hazy. The level design was jaw-dropping, and the intricacy of the interlocked pieces rivaled the base game. I can’t tell you how many times I went off the beaten path for hours and then ended up somewhere that I had no idea I could access from where I had started. You can get to so many places in so many different ways, it’s mind-blowing.
In addition, the NPC questlines are really engaging, and once I did them properly (on my second playthrough), it had quite the impact. There were secrets that were nearly impossible to find (and, if I’m going to be honest with you, I didn’t actually find them myself; I had to look them up), and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were still a few left to be discovered.
I have played it through completely twice and nearly completely two more times. I still haven’t found everything, I’m sure. No matter how thorough I am, I am bound to miss something. That is one of the joys about the From games–the way the community comes together to figure shit out.
There are so many strong characters in the DLC. I have a thing for Messmer (he’s my main BAE, and he’s deeply misunderstood), and I reall ylike Redmane Freyja, too. I was so happy that I was able to summon her for a few of the boss fights, and when I was able to do her questline properly the second time around, the big brawl right before the last boss was an incredible fight.
The boss fights were spectacles from start to finish. Weirdly, most of them weren’t that difficult for me. I’m not sure why. These are the big bosses, I mean. Some of the field bosses kicked my ass hard and relentlessly. In fact, it was the first Nameless Mausoleum that made me respec to add twenty points of Vigor. I was miserable trying to fight that asshole and getting one-shot over and over again.
It was an intense journey that had surprises, horrors, and delights every step of the way. I am ending this for now, but I will write more about it tomorrow with no holds barred. I know that I will be playing it again and again for the rest of my life because I always have one FromSoft on the go. This DLC was quite the cap on the crown that was the gem, Elden Ring.