Elden Ring’s first and most anticipated DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, is only a few days away from its official launch. Undoubtedly, after the base game, the DLC has created high expectations among players, but the trailers and demos show that it has reached beyond what the Elden Ring fanbase expected. Even the latest reports reveal that Shadow of the Erdtree is going to be one of the top games by FromSoftware.

FromSoftware has created a versatile universe with its Soulsborne games. Several of these games have received exciting expansions over the years, but reportedly, Shadow of the Erdtree is the biggest among them. The developers haven’t ever worked on an expansion this big before. Well, a recent list shows their hard work paid off, as the upcoming DLC is receiving high praise even before the official launch.

FromSoftware Once Again Proved Its Level of Creativity By Making A DLC Franchise’s Second Best Even Before Launch

The story of Shadow of the Erdtree is not connected to the base game; even the in-game worlds are different. Still, players will begin their journey in the Land of Shadow as Tarnished and explore some mysteries to deeply understand the story. Since this DLC was announced, the Elden Ring community has been eagerly waiting for it, but they probably never hoped for the expansion to create records before the official release.

The Soulsborne series by FromSoftware is one of the most renowned gaming series, with multiple blockbuster titles like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, The Old Hunter, etc. Of course, Elden Ring and the upcoming expansion also fall under this series. When Sekiro was released in 2019, it was the Game of the Year with 90 Metacritic points, and in 2022, Elden Ring also received the same honor with a 96 Metacritic score. 

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Similarly, Bloodborne has 92, and Dark Souls 3 has 89 Metacritic points. However, suppressing them all, Shadow of the Erdtree has already occupied not only the best DLC spot but has also become the second-best Souldborne game by FromSoftware with a 95 Metacritic score (after Elden Ring). This is one of the biggest achievements for a game that hasn’t yet been released.

Hidetaka Miyazaki Discussed His Process of Designing The Back-to-Back Superhit Dark Souls Titles

Whatever Dark Souls title FromSoftware releases, the undeniable contribution of their famous game director always leads the way. Hidetaka Miyazaki has developed several award-winning titles, including Elden Ring and Sekiro, in the last few years. Recently, in an interview, the game director openly talked about his creative process to develop these games.

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In the session with Game Informer, Miyazaki revealed that he generally uses a sandwich method for every new project, where he takes advantage of all the strengths of the previously developed titles. He mentioned the following:

“By sandwiching the game development process, the middle almost has only one place to go which is completing that whole experience.”

He continues his argument and mentions that several high-level conceptions are easy to imagine, but when the time for implementation comes, things don’t seem that easy anymore. He mentioned that this was the case when he started working on Dark Souls and Elden Ring. However, in this interview, the game director restricts himself from hinting at what they are planning next.

Currently, all the attention is on Shadow of the Erdtree, which is going to be released within a few hours. So, in the meantime, you can check out how Elden Ring’s success has changed Miyazaki’s life. Anyway, if you are willing to get prepared for the DLC, check out our Shadow of the Erdtree pieces to get ready for the adventure.