This is part two of my review for Shadow of the Erdtree, the DLC for Elden Ring (FromSoft). This is not a why you should or should not play the game, but more about my impressions of the game. I am mostly basing it on my first playthrough as that was me going in almost completely unspoiled. I had some preconceived notions of what the DLC would contain, of course, but that was more because I have played so much FromSoft than anything else. I knew that what was pushed in the trailers would not be the real story.
*SPOILER WARNING*
Though, I must say that even knowing this, I was surprised that Messmer was basically the mid-game boss. I should not have been, but with how heavily he was featured in the trailers, I really thought he would be near the end–but not the end boss, of course. I knew that much because of my FromSoft fandom.
Side Note: Messmer is quite possibly my favorite boss in the DLC. Not the fight itself. Way too fast and furious for my terrible reflexes and aging eyes. I was fairly overleveled by the time I reached him, though, and with the aid of Mini-Me (Mimic Tear) and Hornsent, he wasn’t too bad. It’s on the experential level that I really loved this boss. I mentioned more than once that it’s an epic spectacle that I could appreciate on a visual level. I also said in the RKG Discord that I could change/fix Messmer and make him all better! It was a joke, but not a joke because I’m alawys attracted to brilliant, tortured, and broken people.
At the end of the last post, I mentioned that I really hated the Abyssal Woods because of the Aging Untouchables. I think it’s a bad choice to make the only way to deal with an enemy (besides sneaking by them) is to parry them. I would say that, of course, because I hate parrying. A lot. It didn’t help that visually, the area was one of my favorites. It’s colorful, but also bleak-feeling. It’s supposed to be, of course. I was saying in the last post that it’s supposed to be scary, but I just felt impatient and irritated. I was not creeped out at all because I was too frustrated with the whole situation.
I want to rave a bit more about the environments and level design. I know I have done it ad nauseam in the past several posts, but it’s just so strong in the DLC. I can’t tell you how many times I marvelled at a vista unfolding in front of me or gasped over a shortcut unlocked. This is FromSoft at its best, and I am here for it.
Let me rattle off some of the stunning environments. Jagged Peak, Charo’s Hidden Grave, Cerulean Coast, Stone Coffin Fissure; and, yes, Abyssal Woods. The Finger Ruins (three of them) are visually impressive, even if they’re half-baked as areas. And the enemies in them have a ridiculous attack that infuriated me every time. They are snake/wormlike creatures that shoot out a purple laser beam that can immobilize you. It doesn’t do any damage, but it allows the enemies to swarm you. And it immobilizes you for a long-ass time.
I really liked Jolan’s questline, mostly because of what you can do with her Spirit Ash at the end of said questline. I didn’t figure this out by myself, by the way. I didn’t like what Count Ymir did to her sister, Anna, but that’s just par the course with the creepy sorcerers in this game. Ugh. Come to think of it, Ymir and Seluvis would be friends if they ever met. Which they might have.
Interjection: In the video I included above, Iron Pineapple mentioned ‘verticality’. Almost ever review of the DLC has mentioned this, and I have used this word myself about the DLC. Miyazaki said that the DLC was about the size of Limgrave. Which might technically be true when you’re looking top-down, but it’s definitely not true as to areas you can visit. Let me put it this way. It took me 200+ hours to finish the base game. It took me 60 to 70 hours to finish the DLC. That’s roughly a third of the time it took to finish the base game. Limgrave is definitely not a third of the base game–not even close.
I think one of the interesting things for me is to see how different I am from the normal FromSoft fan. Hardcore fan, I mean. For them, the bosses are the main thing–including how difficult the bosses are. They may say that’s not the main thing, but it’s definitely baked into the main thing (the bosses). For many people, it’s the joy of learning the bosses, even if it means dying to them over and over again. And all of them take great pains to point out that they do it solo without any kind of summons.
It’s a valid way to play. I’m just amused at how many of them make sure to state it every time. Or explain why it’s fine for others to use summons, but not them. Or a shield. It’s one reason I really like Fighting Cowboy. He’s very frank about that being bullshit. I mean, I’m sure he can and has done it solo, but he’s very open about using every tool available to him. So is CohhCarnage. It’s refreshing to hear FromSoft content creators advocating for and supporting the use of spirit summons. And NPC summons! And human summons, too.
In fact, I think it’s a disservice when content creators scoff at and eschew using the NPC summons because in many cases, there are story reasons for doing so. In the base game, fighting Radahn is supposed to be a Festival of Champions. You can call in several NPCs at once, and you’re supposed to. Iwatched people take him on solo, and while it’s impressive, it also misses the point. It’s supposed to be chaotic and full-on, and to not have that diminishes the impact of the fight. And, no, I don’t feel bad about snarking on the way they play because they have no compunctions about doing the same for people who summon.
One thing I love about Elden Ring in particular (and it continues into the DLC) is that you can play it in almost any way you want. There is no one specific build that you have to use to succeed. There are areas and bosses that are easier if you’re one build or another, but in theory, you should be able to do any area with any build.
This is, sadly, why one of my biggest complaints about the DLC is the final boss. In my first attempt at beating Promised Consort Radahn, I did not feel that I was learning the second phase. At all. The first phase? I could scrape by. I knew how to deal with his version of Rocksling and his hurtling at you move (which was his opening move 90% of the time). But his bullshit gravity magic thing that pounds down three times? Nope. Could not successfully dodge it even fifty percent of the time.
I’m done for now. More tomorrow.