(upbeat jingle) - [Falcon] Welcome back to another episode of "Before You Buy". The show where we give you
some straight up gameplay and our first impressions of
the latest games releasing. The highly anticipated DLC
for "Elden Ring" is here and it is massive. Starting all the way back with the original Dark Souls, From has delivered with
substantial add-ons that feel like an essential
part of their games. I'm talking about stuff like
"Artorias of the Abyss", the Crown trilogy, "The Ringed
City" from Dark Souls III, "The Old Hunters" from "Bloodborne". These are like the platonic ideal of good downloadable content and what I'm saying here is
that "Shadow of the Erdtree" has a whole lot to live up to, especially when you compare it
to how huge the base game is. Is it one of From's best
add-ons or one of its worst? Let's get right into it. Hi folks, it's Falcon
and today on Gameranx, let's talk Elden Ring's DLC,
"Shadow of the Erdtree". I will try to keep this as
spoiler free as can possibly be. I'm only gonna show bosses in areas that exist in the trailers. It's not trailer footage
that we're showing you. It's areas that were
featured in the trailers but still there's a lot to see and it does not make sense
to show it to you here. Now I don't think I need to
explain what "Elden Ring" is. If you're watching this,
you probably already know. It's souls, but in an open world. DLC, it's same format as the base game. It's got an open world map full
of little points of interest and Legacy Dungeons to explore. You start off in this
mostly closed off area, it's called the Gravesite Plains, and then from there
you're off to the races. Like usual, there's barely an explanation for what's happening or why. You're in the Realm of Shadows, some kind of strange alternative
world to the main one and you're following in the footsteps of the last Shardbearer you didn't get to kill in the main game, the most precious of the
demigods, Miquella the Kind. That's really all you've got to go on and the plot is as usual
pretty shrouded in mystery. Unlike previous DLCs From has done, I will say this feels much more
connected to the base game, at least on a story level. A lot of the NPCs you meet are servants of the various demigods
you slayed in the main game and the events going on in
the Realm of the Shadow, directly connect what's going
on in the Lands Between. So loreheads are probably
gonna go nuts for the DLC, it expands the story of "Elden Ring" in some pretty interesting ways. Getting here isn't as easy as just selecting DLC in a menu though. You have to actually
make significant progress in the main game to
access the new content. For whatever reason, this is
just how From does their DLC. You have to find the entrance
somewhere in the game world and if you haven't completed these sometimes Arcane
requirements to get there, sorry, no DLC for you. It does make it so the content
integrates a little more naturally into the main game. But if you just started a New Game+ or haven't made a lot of
progress in the main game, getting here is gonna take a while and I mean a while, you gotta get like 2/3 through this a 100 hour
RPG to even get a chance to fulfill the requirements. It's possible to grind up and skip through huge
chunks of the main game so you can get to the DLC faster. But let me just say it right now, I don't recommend doing that. If you go into this thing unprepared, you are gonna get your ass kicked. I had to start a new game to get here, which is why I've got such a scrubby set when I started the DLC. Yeah, I'm using the Bloodhound's
Fang, which by the way, autocorrect wants to be Bloodhound Gang but I'm not Siskel, I'm not Ebert, and they would not give me two
thumbs up for this loadout. In my defense, I was
in a hurry, all right? I was not ready. Even though you can get here
earlier, this place seems meant for late game players. It seems like it pretty much expects you to have beaten the game for the most part. That's what I'd recommend if
you want a smooth experience 'cause it is super
unforgiving from the start. There's a few ways to make things easier. "Shadow of the Erdtree"
introduces a few new mechanics, they're DLC exclusive and
they can help out immensely. For instance, the Revered Spirit Ashes that can make your spirit summon stronger, and even better, these things called Scadutree Fragments which increase the damage you do and lower the damage you take,
the more of them you collect. The catch here is these
bonuses only work in the DLC, so there's a progression track that can only be followed
in the Realms of Shadow. It might be a little divisive, but I like how they're
implemented personally. Scadutree Fragments are
mostly found in churches and Miquella's crosses, which are sort of breadcrumb trails showing
you the vague direction you're meant to go. As directions, they're not that useful but it was always a relief to see them because the strength and
defense boosts you get from these items are, they're significant. It's a mechanic that rewards
players for exploring the world and even though the boost
you get, it's small at first, it really starts to add up after a while and you can make certain boss fights that seem impossible at first, relatively tame once
you have enough of them. Like the base game, you can either follow the
breadcrumbs or just explore and see what you can find. But what makes this area so different is that you start off in what
is essentially the center of the map rather than one end of it. Given that one path quickly becomes two, becomes three, just spreads out from there and the map here is a lot more
vertical this time around. So you're constantly looking at spots and wondering how the heck
you're supposed to get up there. Some people might find that frustrating but I like the sense of discovery. Looking around and trying
to figure out how to get to some seemingly unreachable areas. The map might not look that big at first, but believe me it's gigantic. The landmass is way
bigger than I expected. There are huge chunks of the area that are completely optional too. Visually, pretty much on
par with the original game, but the amount of love and detail that's gone into this new
area, it is impressive. Everything just has this extra
layer of visual polish on it. There's fewer spots that feel empty and even if they are, there's visual storytelling
all over the place. It gives you insight into these land and you know the freaks that live there. There are just some amazing vistas to find that'll make you wanna stop and just stare out into the distance or marvel in some cyclopean sculpture. It's just a very cool world to look at. It's not technically impressive but the art design is topnotch and that's what we've come
to expect with these devs. One thing the standard game
gets rightly criticized for is the quality of the
side areas or mini dungeons. You know the many little tombs and mines you could explore
in the regular game. They get filled out in the world, but once you've seen one
mine, you kinda seen them all and they do start to get a
little repetitive after a while and "Shadow of the Erdtree"
really tries to improve on that with new areas like jails and forges that are essentially just more tombs but they're a lot more
interesting to explore. They have unique enemies and challenges, they feel a little more
substantial to explore, not just like repeating
barren hallways and caves. They're actually dressed up to feel like they're almost at the level of the Legacy Dungeons and
that's a big improvement overall. Another thing that makes
these places worth finding is they all almost have something new to get. There's loot everywhere. New weapons, and talismans, and armor sets are just
falling into your lap and a lot of these things have
new animations or mechanics. There's just some amazing and
powerful weapons to find here and in another positive,
this place just showers you with Smithing Stones so you
can actually upgrade all this stuff, which is good because like I said, you
basically need a max stat weapon to get much done in this DLC. At level one trying to kill even the most
basic chump soldiers, it's like trying to
chop down a redwood tree with a pocket knife, which
is sort of ridiculous but that is also, that's
"Elden Ring" for you. Speaking of enemies, there's
a lot of new stuff here, but also there is a kind of
disappointing amount of reuses. A lot of enemies from
the base game appear here and while some of them get new tricks, a lot of them are exactly the same. Another problem from the base game that rears its ugly head here as well. The parts where you're just sort of running by enemies. I'm not talking your
regular old souls walk back after getting killed in
a Legacy Dungeon area. I mean the many open world
areas where there's just a ton of random enemies wandering around and you just ride the
spirits dead past them. In the regular game it was noticeable, but here it stands out even more because in general the open
world feels more designed and curated and it's maybe smaller and more detailed in a lot of ways. So the parts where you're running through, avoiding everything, it
stands out as awkward. For the most part though
the Realm of Shadows is just a joy to get around. It's somehow even more
non-linear than the regular game with a lot of secret paths that
can get you to certain areas and completely bypass
certain bosses if you want. When I said there's
big sections of the map that are optional, I really mean it. Reaching those spots, which I feel kind of like they're secret, they're not secret but they feel secret. It's some of the most
satisfying exploration I've done in a game. It can't be understated just how strange and interesting this map is. Like it really went all out
with the weirdness here. This DLC feels like they're
applying all the lessons they learned making "Elden Ring", and the open world itself
benefits from that, the absolute most. It's all so big that it's
kind of a mini sequel. I mean this DLC is easily bigger than many full price
soulslikes I have played, not just in terms of landmass either. There's more bosses, more
dungeons, more everything and it's impressive as hell. There's definitely some
of that classic From DLC here though, for better or worse, might I add there's a
little more platforming and environmental
challenges going on here. A lot of the nastiest traps
aren't sequestered away in their own special tombs. They're, some of the bullshit
enemy placement, you know and probably don't like. There's gotcha traps, infuriating snipers, and confusing environmental
puzzles all over the place. It makes each location feel unique, but it does get exhausting after a while, especially when you find
yourself getting stuck. Look on the bright side though, there is always another
incredibly hard place to go get killed in. The new bosses, which I'm
not gonna show a lot of, they are no joke. I'm not sure any of them are
quite as hard as Malenia. There's new mechanics that
boost your attack and defense, put you on more of an even
playing field compared to her. But some of them are definitely close. Do you love absurdly long
attack strings that always seem to have one more attack
after you think they're over? How about massive area of effects
that can trigger on a dime and are nearly impossible
to dodge through? How about chaotic screen obscuring effects that make it hard to tell what's going on? Oh yeah, and massive health bars on bosses that can often kill you
in a single hit or two and who attack so aggressively you almost never get
your turn to attack back. This DLC's got all that and it's somehow even worse than you probably expect it to be. I admit, I used and abused spirit summons to get through this one. Absolute maidenless behavior. I know, I know, but good lord some of these bosses are brutal and I had to use every advantage I could to beat some of these things. That's the DLC overall though. It's really tough, especially early on and if you're not rolling with the most overpowered
equipment possible it's very hard but it's
also very satisfying. It's easily From's biggest DLC yet. It's probably one of
the biggest of all time like up there with "Blood
and Wine" from "Witcher 3". I think it's probably bigger than that. This feels like Elden Ring
1.5, both in terms of size and how overall I think the DLC is a more refined experience
than the base game. As much fun to explore
as the standard game was, playing this game really
makes you understand how flat the terrain actually is. And after exploring one or two tombs in the base game, you've basically seen everything
you're gonna see there. This DLC is very different from that. Everything's special. It all feels handmade. Honestly, even when
they're reusing assets. These guys are the masters of using and reusing what they have and while certain parts of "Shadow of the Erdtree"
can feel familiar, there's a lot of big surprises
here in some amazing areas and boss reveals that are easily some of the best in From history. So is this the best
DLC From has ever done? Well, that comes down to taste, but just looking at what's here, it's the most fully featured DLC. It may not be as tightly
designed as "The Old Hunters", which is arguably their best DLC, but it's definitely up
there in terms of quality. It's huge, but it's not cheap. The base price is 39.99 and
you do get your money's worth. You could probably finish
it in about 20 hours or so if you just push
right through the main path. But for completionist
you can easily lose 30 to 40 hours here or more. It can't be understated
how big this DLC is. It's almost too big at times. There's one too many moments where the only interaction I was doing with the game was pressing forward and tapping the dash button to rush through a visually stunning but
otherwise empty environment. But for me, not that big of an issue. I kind of like seeing more stuff. If the DLC had been something
a little more dense, I think it probably would've
been the perfect DLC. But also, I mean nothing is perfect per se and very, very, very
good is more than enough. In fact, it's more than
almost everybody else. If you're into "Elden Ring", this DLC is pretty much
essential, highly recommended. Great stuff. That's all for today. Leave us a comment, let
us know what you think. If you like this video, click like. If you're not subscribed,
now's a great time to do so. We upload brand new videos
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is of course a subscription, so click subscribe. Don't forget to enable notifications, and as always, we thank you very much for watching this video. I'm Falcon, you can follow
me on Twitter, FalconTheHero. We'll see you next time
right here on Gameranx. - [NPC] If you discover any more crosses, be certain to tell me. I presume you too are keen to know just what kind Miquella is doing here. (thrilling music)
