As much as I'd love more, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC should be the action RPG's curtain call
Feb. 22, 2024Opinion | As FromSoftware seeks perfection, I reckon Miquella’s story is the only one we need to see
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
As predicted, Miquella will be the star of this show – one that issequel-sized, set in a new location at about two-thirds of the main game’s stature – and, for me, this is a branch of Elden Ring’s speculative narrative thatneedsto be explored. Truth be told, Miquella’s story is theonlybranch of Elden Ring lore that actuallyneedsto be explored.
As someone who’s been waiting for Shadow of the Erdtree before it even had a title, then, it feels strange to say I reckon Elden Ring should in fact call it quits after Shadow of the Erdtree inevitably lands with a bang.
Elden Rings?
The excruciating wait for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is a blessing and a curse for the action RPG
I feel this way for a number of reasons. From a personal standpoint, I adore the lore tied to the flesh-eating, mind-altering Scarlet Rot sickness in Elden Ring, and how it relates to optional boss Malenia, the Goddess of Rot. Flanked by her twin – Miquella, who is the most powerful of the Empyreans – Malenia’s battle with Starscourge Radahn during The Shattering saw her unleash the true power of the Scarlet Rot, reducing Caelid to the familiar red-river ruins we now see in the process.
Before now, concrete information on Miquella has been thin on the ground, besides the fact that he’s ‘cursed’ to be perpetually young; and that he built the Haligtree to allow himself to age and, hopefully, purge his twin sister of rot. This was prevented from happening, however, when Mohg Lord of Blood kidnapped Miquella in his cocoon form. Mohg had planned to turn Miquella into a god by sharing his blood with him, you see (before then, all going to plan, becoming his consort), but we know this didn’t work because Miquella has stripped himself of his flesh and travelled to the Land of Shadow in his sleep – the very place the DLC unfolds.
If all of that sounds a bit ridiculous, I’m right there with you. Despite pushing 400 hours on my primary Elden Ring save I still don’t really understand it all, but I’m totally fascinated by Malenia and Miquella’s story nevertheless. Moreover, the very fact that Shadow of the Erdree’s narrative takes place concurrently with the base game will surely add a whole new dimension to FromSoftware’s interpretive storytelling too that I’m properly excited to play with.
“Light-touch interpretive storytelling is, of course, a FromSoftware cornerstone”
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Don’t get me wrong, IloveElden Ring, and I’d happily learn more about its dragons, about Nokron, about the dancing witches of the Dominula Windmill Village, but I’m pretty content with how their collective deep and sophisticated lore is hinted at as is. The myriad YouTubers who dissect the history of the Lands Between always make for compelling viewing anyway, and I regularly lose myself in the networks of unhinged thoughts and theories that populate Reddit and various other community spaces. Miquella’s story, however, is the only one that I feelneedsa closer look, in the same Artorias' did all those years ago.
After almost 400 hours with Elden Ring, I’ve found the action RPG’s hardest enemy – an innocuous, random teleporting knight who you might have missed entirely
FromSoftware has clearly,rightly,valued patience in its approach to growing Elden Ring. In conversation with Famitsu (spoken in Japanese; translated byGoogle), studio head Hidetaka Miyazaki said the development of Shadow of the Erdtree started after the base game was released, which suggests it’s taken somewhere in the vicinity of two years to get right. I have no issue with developers taking their time with added content, especially when it’s something of Shadow of the Erdree’s size and scope. But given the fact Miyazaki also said FromSoftware has no plans for future DLC after this one, but wouldn’t rule out future Elden Ring endeavours moving forward, I’d much rather see the studio work on Elden Ring 2 or another similar-styled project altogether.
Elden Ring is an astonishing undertaking, and I’m sure Shadow of the Erdtree will be the same. After that, I want to see FromSoftware spread its wings even wider. I think. There’s every chance I explore Miquella’s story and am left wanting more. And that’s the sign of a studio firing on all cylinders.
Here are the bestgames like Elden Ringto tide you over till the DLC
Best Path of Exile 2 Sorceress build
Path of Exile 2 devs know the action RPG is “not rewarding enough,” so a patch is making Rare monsters less stingy and introducing “‘unlucky’ drop protection” for the truly unfortunate
All of the OG MCU Avengers should return as villains, starting with Avengers: Doomsday
