TRAILER ANALYSIS

All the big moments from the Shadow of the Erdtree reveal

IT WILL TRANSPORT PLAYERS TO AN ENTIRELY NEW YET FAMILIAR LAND

You might well ask why Elden Ring needs an expansion. FromSoftware’s brilliant fantasy RPG is already colossal in its scope and depth —several orders of magnitude larger than any game that preceded it. Yet any longtime fan of FromSoft’s work would have a quick and definitive answer —expansions are where the studio typically does its best work. From Dark Souls’ Artorias of the Abyss to Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters, FromSoft’s expansions see its games at their most vivid, intense and strange. More than simple continuations of the base, FromSoft’s expansions are often surrealist side adventures that fold back into the main narrative in surprising, yet essential ways.

Much like the base game, Shadow of the Erdtree aims to be exactly that, only more so. Following two years of silence, FromSoftware has finally broken cover on its hotly anticipated add-on, and everything unveiled suggests it’ll be a classic example of the form. Shadow of the Erdtree will transport players to an entirely new yet strangely familiar land, shed light on one of the base game’s most mysterious characters, and see players square off against the game’s toughest foes yet. But it’ll all be presented at Elden Ring scale, essentially adding a whole other Dark Souls into the already vast RPG.

Shadow of the Erdtree takes place in the Land of Shadow, which like FromSoftware’s other notable DLCs, is an area separate from Elden Ring’s setting of the Lands Between. Yet according to director Hidetaka Miyazaki, the Land of Shadow wasn’t always decoupled in this manner. In an interview with IGN, Miyazaki said the Land of Shadow “technically occupies the same space as the Lands Between, the same universe,” but

HATCHING A PLAN

The trailer opens with a shot of a withered arm dangling from a cracked, round egg. This is Miquella’s cocoon. Found in Mohgwyn palace deep beneath Caelid, it’s through this cocoon players will access the Land of Shadow.

ON THE TRAIL

This area with the graves was shown in the key art, with Miquella riding on horseback. The fact that the Tarnished rides through the same area demonstrates that players will quite literally be following Miquella’s trail.

BOUGH TO YOUR MASTER

The tree looming over the Land of Shadow does not appear to be the Erdtree. Interestingly, Miquella’s Haligtree has a similar split trunk, although one of the splits is broken when the player visits the Haligtree in Elden Ring. The veils above the tree, meanwhile, are similar to those suspended above Queen Marika’s bed, perhaps hinting that the Land of Shadow is some dreamscape of Miquella’s.

ASSEMBLING FARUM AZULA

This hulking fortress is similar to Crumbling Farum Azula, a late-game area in vanilla Elden Ring. Given how FromSoft expansions like to play with time and alternate realities, this could well be Farum Azula before it was consumed by a giant vortex.

LION ABOUT

This lion dancer appears to be a boss in Shadow of the Erdtree. The horns covering its body suggest that beneath the lion costume are a pair of Omen, large, ogre-like creatures afflicted by a curse and shunned by the followers of the Erdtree.

STUCK IN YOUR HEAD

It isn’t clear who this character is, although the clasp on his robe is seen being worn by an elderly man in a painting earlier in the trailer. Stabbing someone through the head with a big stake, however, is precisely what a character called Messmer the Impaler might do.

THE WICKER MAN

This figure is directly referenced by Miyazaki, who calls it “a terrible weapon” that was “used in a war that occurred in the Land of Shadow”. The burning stuff inside is “the remains of bodies that were put in there to burn”.

PATH OF DAGGERS

Throwing weapons are plentiful in Elden Ring, but are also typically consumable items. These throwing daggers will apparently turn all your attacks into throwing attacks, though it isn’t clear whether the daggers will still be consumed like arrows from a quiver.

WINGING IT

One of the last scenes in the trailer shows the player character sprouting a set of wings to battle Messmer. This ability looks similar to one used by the Crucible Knights. Perhaps Shadow of the Erdtree will shed more light on these warriors.