Main cast: Naomi McDonald (Miquella the Kind), Jessica Rhodes (Saint Trina), Pip Torrens (Radahn the Promised Consort), Jack Barton (Messmer the Impaler), Connor Byrne (Midra the Lord of the Frenzied Flame), Poppy Lee Friar (Rellana the Twin Moon Knight), Emma Ballantine (Romina the Saint of the Bud), Naomi Yang (Needle Knight Leda), Alec Newman (Dryleaf Dane), Ben Miles (Sir Ansbach), Stefanie Martini (Redmane Freyja), Matthew Gravelle (Count Ymir), Eleanor Matsuura (Swordhand of Night Jolán), and Anna Koval (Swordhand of Night Anna)
Developer: FromSoftWare
A Review with Equal Parts Enthusiasm and Exasperation
FromSoftware’s Elden Ring was a blockbuster hit that propelled the studio into the mainstream consciousness, transforming it from “the people who made *Dark Souls*” into a household name. With the much-anticipated release of the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, fans like me are eager to dive back into the Lands Between and explore new mysteries, particularly the fate of the demigod Miquella, a plot thread tantalizingly left dangling in the main game.
As our Tarnished character embarks on this new journey, the Land of Shadow awaits, brimming with 70 new weapons, 10 new shields, 39 new talismans, 14 new sorceries, 28 new incantations, 20 new spirit ashes, 25 new ashes of war, 30 new armor sets, and a plethora of new consumables and craftables. That’s right—this baby comes armed to the teeth with fresh content.
Let’s Talk Weapons
For Dexterity builds, the Backhand Blade and Milady offer swift, deadly strikes, while the Spear of the Impaler and Rakshasa’s Great Katana are perfect for those who love a mix of range and bleed damage.
Intelligence builds will revel in the Star-Lined Sword, a katana that combines brains and brawn, and Faith users will find the Euporia twin blade devastatingly effective.
Arcane aficionados, fret not, as the Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword is here to electrify your foes.
But The Bosses LOL at Your Weapons
Let’s not sugarcoat it—the bosses are brutal. Not only are they punishingly difficult, but the challenge is often exacerbated by frustrating camera angles and relentless second phases that flood the screen with blinding particle effects. It feels less like learning and adapting and more like memorizing patterns, a dance with death that sometimes seems less fair than the original Elden Ring—and I’m not one of those screaming that the bosses in the latter are unfair, mind you.
Adding insult to injury, many bosses are recycled assets. Yes, even the final boss!
This lack of originality and effort stings, but there is a silver lining in the form of Messmer, a boss who blends tragic villainy with pure body horror, snakes writhing from his very flesh. His design is a masterpiece, even if his fight suffers from the same visual clutter and pattern memorization issues as the rest.
Did They Just Pull a Griffith on Us?
Now, the elephant in the room: Miquella the eternally boyish psychopath.
Yes, really. Everything that is wrong in the world of Elden Ring is due to two people: Ranni, who wants to avoid her fate and damn all that stands in her way, and Miquella… who appears to have machinated everything just because the guy he is fixated on marrying is more interested in riding a horse than him.
Ranni’s actions are somewhat understandable, plus she has the waifu privilege that lets even the most heartless simps give her a pass.
Miquella, however, just comes off as that creepy kid that made you promise to marry him, and you agreed so that he would bug off and leave you alone, only to realize too late that he really means it and he has superpowers that will compel everyone around you to stalk, harass, and even try to kill you unless you actually marry him. That’s so messed up.
On one hand, cultured fans of Mogh like myself will be pleased to see him #beattheallegations. Sadly, he will never find justice because we killed him and then… well, the poor guy’s dead and now his creepy evil plans will never come to fruition. Poor Mogh, he deserves better. #justiceformogh #notamoghlester #hewasmiquallested
On the flip side, as one of the handful of non-YouTube content creators that are genuinely interested in the lore, I feel underwhelmed by this turn of event. In one fell swoop, Mogh, Radahn, and perhaps even Malenia are reduced to being pawns that might not be in full control of their faculties up until we kill them, and this devalues those characters in a way that doesn’t feel right to me.
The Half-Arsed Conclusion
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a mixed bag. It boasts some great ideas and standout moments, like the confrontation with Messmer, but it also disappoints with recycled assets, a mostly lifeless world (though, to be fair, it is the Land of Shadow), and a tendency to favor flashy, anime-inspired spectacle over substance.
Furthermore, its existence as separate from the base game, despite being an expansion, is deeply disappointing because the base game is unchanged by the Tarnished’s actions in this expansion.
This is an expansion that will delight some and frustrate others, much like the Lands Between themselves!
