Summary
SomeElden Ringplayers have recently been taking to social media to bemoanShadow of the Erdtreeas too difficult. Their complaints started surfacing online as soon as the newElden RingDLC was released.
The first and only expansion for FromSoftware’s 2022 soulslike hit the market on June 21. Its initial reviews were overwhelmingly positive, to the point thatElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreemade historyas the highest-rated video game DLC ever made.
Some Elden Ring Players Think Shadow of the Erdtree Bosses Are ‘Overtuned’
But early player impressions of the expansion appear to be somewhat of a mixed bag. That’s in no small part due to the DLC’s difficulty, which some vocal players have decried as too extreme. A lot of the ongoing criticism is aimed at theElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreebosses, most of whom hit much harder and take way more punishment than any enemy from the base game, even after collecting a bunch of Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ash upgrades. But stats are just part of the problem, with some players also bemoaning the bosses' movesets as everything from “overtuned” to “ridiculous.”
The following paragraph includes minor spoilers containing the names and/or vague moveset descriptions of the first two Shadow of the Erdtree Remembrance bosses.
Based on the ongoing barrage of complaints, it would appear that many players have already gotten stuck on the DLC’s first two Remembrance bosses, Divine Beast Dancing Lion and Rellana, Twin Moon Knight. While both of their movesets have been criticized as extremely erratic and near-impossible to anticipate, Rellana appears to be particularly problematic for many a player, not least because of her ability to perform elaborate and seemingly never-ending combos, forcing the Tarnished to constantly stay on the defensive.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Steam Reviews Drop to ‘Mixed’ Over Difficulty Complaints
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s difficultyalready seems to have alienated enough players that even its Steam reviews have dropped below the “Mixed” threshold, with many users citing the game’s painstaking bosses as the main reason for advising others against buying the DLC. Even some self-proclaimed soulslike veterans have voiced their concerns over the game’s overtuned bosses.
Looking at the bigger picture,Shadow of the Erdtreecontinues FromSoftware’s long-standing tradition of delivering painstaking difficulty with its DLCs, so the relative level of challenge it has to offer isn’t necessarily surprising. And while the Japanese developer does occasionally nerf bosses post-release, it remains to be seen whether it opts for any such moves this time around, not least becauseElden RingDirector Hidetaka Miyazaki recently defendedShadow of the Erdtree’s difficultyas an integral part of the expansion’s experience.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
WHERE TO PLAY
Shadow of the Erdtree is the first and only DLC expansion for FromSoftware’s groundbreaking Elden Ring. It takes players to a whole new region, the Land of Shadow, where a new story awaits the Tarnished.
