Shadow of the Erdtree” – Reviews and recommendations

With “Elden Ring”, the Japanese game studio FromSoftware took a solid step out of its self-created niche. Let’s call the niche “relentlessly difficult games”. 25 million copies sold is the facit as of June 2024. “Elden Ring” has become a real phenomenon. The very trademark of FromSoftware, offering extreme challenges for players and letting them figure things out on their own, is still very much a part of the “Elden Ring” experience. But at the same time it is a completely open world, with many roads to Rome. The freedom to come up with something else when you’re stuck works like a warm, inclusive hug in otherwise bad surroundings. GROTESQUE: There are no limits to how grotesque the bosses are in FromSoftware’s games. “Shadow of the Erdtree” is certainly no exception. FIND THEM: This crab is one of the early boss challenges. You can find and use Scadutree Fragments all over the place, which make you take more damage and do more damage. You can also find Revered Spirit Ashes, which make your helper stronger. Photo: Bandai Namco Entertainment MAGIC: The game is peppered with small and large creatures that give a magical, beautiful touch. Here it is almost Studio Ghibli-like! Photo: Bandai Namco Entertainment CENTER: Messmer and his snakes are at the center of the “Shadow of the Erdtree” experience. Photo: Bandai Namco Entertainment As ordered Now a brand new “Elden Ring” world opens in the “Shadow of the Erdtree” expansion pack. We’re going to The Land of Shadow, where a host of new bosses, enemies, areas, weapons and features welcome expectant players. It’s more “Elden Ring”, simply. Much more “Elden Ring”. And that’s exactly what I wanted. GUIDE POSTER: You will follow in the footsteps of Miquella, and will be helped by majestic golden crosses. These act as a kind of guide for the players on where there is something interesting to find. This is usually where you also meet Miquella’s followers, characters who build out the story and the experience.Bandai Namco Entertainment As in the main game, you are not hand-fed information about why you are in The Land of Shadow, where to go or who you meet on the road really is. You are placed in this world with some vague hints that it has something to do with the main god creatures in the “Ring of Fire” story, Miquella and Marika. And then you have to kill a nasty guy named Messmer. Good luck with that, so to speak – just finding him is a significant challenge. Thus the adventure begins. HIGHLIGHTS: These enemies are some of the coolest in the game – they must be avoided at all costs. Photo: Bandai Namco Entertainment Exploring caves, citadels, castles and grand areas delivers a steady stream of cool boss battles, new equipment and new experiences. I also appreciate all the connections to characters, places and events we already know. The connections are vague and not always easy to grasp, but it gives the whole world more texture and depth. More compact The feeling of never quite knowing what lies ahead fills me with the same intense joy and shivering excitement that was always with me in the original game. I’m on a journey of discovery in a fantastic world where everything is trying to kill me. Constant. Scorpion spiders the size of vans, dragons, giants, more humanoid elite warriors and extreme bosses. To mention something. The Land of Shadows is smaller and more compact than The Lands Between, which means that the highlights come deliciously close. Many of the areas you are going to are not obviously accessible, and much of the fun lies in figuring out how to get there. MAJESTIC: There are many striking landscapes unfolding. How on earth do you get there? Photo: Bandai Namco Entertainment FromSoftware are masters at building incredibly stylish environments, filling those environments with extremely cool bosses and enemies, and then delivering a steady stream of satisfying rewards to players. This is a feeling of mastery in a box. The feeling that yes, I can do this here too, even if it seems insurmountably difficult. All-consuming is just the first letter. Not least, the peaks in the experience are absurdly high. Several of the areas you explore are among the best, most beautiful, toughest and most well-designed FromSoftware has made to date. The ending is also one of the fiercest things I’ve seen in a game. Dot. FIERCE COMBAT: It’s possible to find and use completely new ways to fight in The Land of Shadow. They can become useful tools in the fight against the game’s many bosses and tough enemies.Bandai Namco Entertainment For those particularly interested But it’s not just about getting in here. To access “Shadow of the Erdtree” you must first have “Elden Ring” installed. Then you must find and kill both Radahn and the well-hidden superboss Mohg, Lord of Blood. Both of these bosses are optional in the main game, you can get to scrolling text without facing them. But they are important for the overarching story, and are considered some of the toughest and most spectacular challenges “Elden Ring” has to offer. You should also preferably be around level 150 – that is the level of the people you will be fighting. In other words, this is an extension for those who are well prepared and particularly interested. “Elden Ring” is known to be notoriously difficult. The new “Shadow of the Erdtree” enemy Furnace Golem, which you can find in several places, fits the description well. This is probably not the best way to attack it, but the reward for taking these enemies is great. Video: Rune Fjeld Olsen But unlike previous FromSoftware games, there are many millions who are. In “Bloodborne”, for example, less than half of the players have managed to kill the game’s very first boss (!). In “Elden Ring”, around 35 percent of the players have killed Mohg. Considering how difficult and hidden this boss fight is, that’s an almost absurdly high number. The reward for getting there, and then plunging into “Shadow of the Erdtree” is anyway that you are fed a gaming experience that can only be matched by the one you get in “Elden Ring”. And when “Elden Ring” is one of the best games of all time, that’s really all you need to know. PS: The game launches on Friday 21 June. The game has been tested on PS5. And for the record, since many have already asked me – the price of NOK 400 is definitely justified by the content. About the game: Photo: Bandai Namco Entertainment Title: “Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree” Developer: FromSoftware Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment Platform: PlayStation 4 and 5, PC (Windows), Xbox One and Series X/S Release date: 21 June 2024 Age recommendation: PEGI 16+ Hello, game friends! I am a freelancer and write about games for news. On a daily basis, I work at Level Up Norway. Feel free to check out my list of last year’s best games, or which games I’m most looking forward to in 2024! You can find all the game reviews from news here. Published 18.06.2024, at 4 p.m



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