Uploaded June 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
I recently got to play Elden Ring's upcoming DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, for three hours at an event in Paris. Here's my analysis of what I got my hands on, and why no preview of something so dauntingly huge can be fully comprehensive.
Support the show on Patreon - patreon.com/writingongames
Podcast - http://anchor.fm/writingongamescast
Second Channel - youtube.com/channel/UC1xxfS_HILi09yaELQdmV1A
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How does one preview an expansion for what is already one of the most expansive, flexible games ever made? When so much of what players enjoy and don't is going to come down to granular choices made in terms of build, an expansion as massive as Shadow of the Erdtree, coming two years after Elden Ring's release, is only going to complicate matters—making it impossible to state with any degree of universality.
And so, when Bandai Namco invited me to a preview event for the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree expansion last week, allowing me three hours hands-on with the game, I decided I wasn't going to try and cover absolutely every new aspect of the DLC, instead simply trying to honestly describe my own personal experience and the complicated feelings I had to work through during those three hours. Insodoing, however, I come to the conclusion that the most exciting part about the upcoming Elden Ring expansion is that it is bigger than any of us could have possibly envisioned.
Let's talk weapon arts, environments, bosses and difficulty in this (sort of) preview for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree!
0:00 - Intro
0:08 - It feels impossible to preview Shadow of the Erdtree
1:52 - The structure of the Elden Ring preview
3:29 - Shadow of the Erdtree is TOUGH
5:59 - The new options are daunting
7:40 - The massive explorable areas of Shadow of the Erdtree
8:31 - The bosses
9:16 - The sinking feeling of previewing Erdtree
10:08 - Why Shadow of the Erdtree is so exciting
11:53 - Outro
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As stated in the video, the preview event didn't allow direct capture, and so the footage (unless stated otherwise) is from b-roll provided by Bandai Namco.
Bandai Namco paid for flights and accommodation to Paris for the night. They had zero editorial control over any part of the script.
Animated text intro by Isaac Holland - twitter.com/drazgames
#eldenring #shadowoftheerdtree
I recently got to play Elden Ring's upcoming DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, for three hours at an event in Paris. Here's my analysis of what I got my hands on, and why no preview of something so dauntingly huge can be fully comprehensive.
Support the show on Patreon - patreon.com/writingongames
Podcast - http://anchor.fm/writingongamescast
Second Channel - youtube.com/channel/UC1xxfS_HILi09yaELQdmV1A
---
How does one preview an expansion for what is already one of the most expansive, flexible games ever made? When so much of what players enjoy and don't is going to come down to granular choices made in terms of build, an expansion as massive as Shadow of the Erdtree, coming two years after Elden Ring's release, is only going to complicate matters—making it impossible to state with any degree of universality.
And so, when Bandai Namco invited me to a preview event for the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree expansion last week, allowing me three hours hands-on with the game, I decided I wasn't going to try and cover absolutely every new aspect of the DLC, instead simply trying to honestly describe my own personal experience and the complicated feelings I had to work through during those three hours. Insodoing, however, I come to the conclusion that the most exciting part about the upcoming Elden Ring expansion is that it is bigger than any of us could have possibly envisioned.
Let's talk weapon arts, environments, bosses and difficulty in this (sort of) preview for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree!
0:00 - Intro
0:08 - It feels impossible to preview Shadow of the Erdtree
1:52 - The structure of the Elden Ring preview
3:29 - Shadow of the Erdtree is TOUGH
5:59 - The new options are daunting
7:40 - The massive explorable areas of Shadow of the Erdtree
8:31 - The bosses
9:16 - The sinking feeling of previewing Erdtree
10:08 - Why Shadow of the Erdtree is so exciting
11:53 - Outro
---
As stated in the video, the preview event didn't allow direct capture, and so the footage (unless stated otherwise) is from b-roll provided by Bandai Namco.
Bandai Namco paid for flights and accommodation to Paris for the night. They had zero editorial control over any part of the script.
Animated text intro by Isaac Holland - twitter.com/drazgames
#eldenring #shadowoftheerdtree
