Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree - Collector's Edition (Add-on) (Xbox One/SX)

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree übertrifft jegliche der Erwartungen und stellt alle Erweiterungen diverser anderer Spiele deutlich in den Schatten. Mit guten 20 bis 30 Stunden an abwechslungsreichen Inhalten und neuen Arealen, perfekt auf Veteranen zugeschnitten, ist das Label „Erweiterung“ von FromSoftwares eine ziemliche Untertreibung. Bei solch einem gewaltigen Umfang inklusive spektakulär gelungenen Bosskämpfen fallen kleine Mankos, wie dass man manchen Gegnerarten einen noch größeren Facelift verpassen hätte können, oder dass die neuen Upgrades recht simpel nur Werte erhöhen, überhaupt nicht ins Gewicht.

I find myself wishing Shadow of the Erdtree had a continuation from one of the endings of Elden Ring, or ventured back to explore the Shattering itself. Instead, it feels like a filler episode in Naruto. Sure, the fights are cool, and there's a new progression system to work through, but what is the point if nobody is going to acknowledge it again for the rest of the series. But hey, at least the Convergence Mod team will have a field day with all of this new stuff to play with.

From Software didn’t drop the ball and make Elden Ring worse, nor do I believe it wholly topped what it had achieved before. Shadow of the Erdtree maintains a sky-high status quo, even if it loses a little magic from being a known quantity this time instead of a complete surprise. Still, Shadow of the Erdtree is one hell of a mic drop that further cements this adventure as one of the finest ever crafted.

It's an achievement in world-building creativity that stands head-and-shoulders above the rest, with the closest comparison I can make being the late, great Kentaro Miura's Berserk. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is From Software's victory lap, an unmissable tour de force that is every bit as brilliant as the original game.

Much of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is more of the same gruelling beauty - but a shift to explict storytelling and signposting means its essence as a living, evolving shared text is lost.

FromSoftware's latest RPG is a precarious balance of masochistic punishment and satisfaction, and thanks to new improvements and adjustments, it's the most accessible and user-friendly Souls-like on the market. But make no mistake, the Lands Between aren't for the faint of heart.

There are things it could still do better in terms of onboarding, and it could do even more on the front of quality-of-life enhancements for returning Souls players. But as an experience, it’s one of the most wondrous and open-ended games I’ve played in years. It has so much to say from a design perspective that people will be talking about its choices for years on end, and playing it for longer.

Elden Ring retains the heart of what makes FromSoft’s action RPGs so compelling, and takes things to a whole other level by pulling the best elements from their older games and improving upon them in this one.

Elden Ring is the game Souls fans have been waiting for. From the open world design, to riding into battle on Torrent's back, and the dark narrative woven through the world, this is a clear Game of the Year frontrunner that will have us all ensnared for a long time to come.