Summary
- Some Elden Ring players find Shadow of the Erdtree too difficult.
- A lot of their complaints are centered on the expansion's bosses, which even some self-proclaimed soulslike veterans found "overtuned."
- Shadow of the Erdtree Steam reviews have dropped to the "Mixed" category following its release, with many players citing its difficulty as the reason for advising others against buying the DLC.
Some Elden Ring players have recently been taking to social media to bemoan Shadow of the Erdtree as too difficult. Their complaints started surfacing online as soon as the new Elden Ring DLC 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 that Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree made history as the highest-rated video game DLC ever made.
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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 the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree bosses, 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 difficulty already 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 Erdtree continues 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 because Elden Ring Director Hidetaka Miyazaki recently defended Shadow of the Erdtree's difficulty as an integral part of the expansion's experience.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Released
- June 21, 2024
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.
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Base Game
- Elden Ring
- Developer(s)
- FromSoftware
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, FromSoftware
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
