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.