Shadow of the Erdtreethe expected Elden Ring DLChas gone from receiving praise to facing a wave of negative reviews by the players, who point out significant problems with game bosses.
Released on June 21, 2024, Shadow of the Erdtree debuted with criticism very positive by the specialized press, achieving a Metascore of 95 points. Initially, the DLC was also well received in Steamwith a majority of positive reviews and an impressive peak of more than 550,000 simultaneous players shortly after its release, even, andl June 22, 2024SteamDB recorded a record of 780,000 simultaneous players.
However, as more players progressed through the DLC content, perception began to change drastically. The rating of the game in Steam went from “very positive” to “mixed”generating concern among the community.
To the June 23, 2024more of 22,200 players had left their reviews on Steamwith only the 63% of them being positive. The players expressed their criticism in detail, mainly highlighting the problems with the game’s bosses.
Many players reported problems with performance during boss fightswith frame drops and freezes, something that It was not common in the base game. This situation has been attributed to intensive visual effects that saturate the performance of PCs.
Besides, The difficulty of the bosses has been a central point of criticism. Veteran players of FromSoftwarethey pointed out that the bosses are “artificially more difficult”with a behavior overly aggressive and long combos that leave little room to counterattack.
User Crimson praised the expansion, but criticized the execution of the bosses, mentioning that they resort to “cheap tricks” and they do not reach the quality of iconic bosses like Lady Maria.
Streamers can’t handle the extreme difficulty
The difficulty of the DLC has reached so much that even Asmongolda streamer known for his extensive experience with gaming FromSoftware, confessed that he can’t take it anymore. He expressed frustration over the relentless enemies and difficult boss fights, which left him overwhelmed and exhausted.
Being a similar situation to that of another streamer, Jynxziwho also admitted defeat after countless hours trying to beat the base game, quitting after 49 hours. Although Asmongold did finish the base game, He couldn’t handle the DLC.
Jynxzi cited frustration with the difficulty as her main reason for quitting the game. Some viewers empathizedarguing that enjoyment is the most important thing and that there is no shame in quitting a game that is not fun for them.
Asmongold’s situation is slightly different, since although he enjoyed the base game and He dedicated many hours to itl, the DLC turned out to be a different beast for him. He expressed that the difficulty had become unbalanced, with enemy attacks leaving little room to counterattack.
It remains to be seen what the final result will be. Shadow of the Erdtree, if it manages to rise in the appreciation of the players and surpass its base version or if it will be forgotten as a DLC that did not measure up. For now, FromSoftware has not made any statements regarding the issue.
