Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree Boss Fights Are "On Equal Footing" With Malenia

Legions of Elden Ring fans have been scouring The Lands Between in recent weeks ever since director Hidetaka Miyazaki let slip that something (secret, reference, or otherwise) remained to be unearthed. A newly discovered link between a shield in the base game and enemies in the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree expansion has been found and may indeed be that missing link.

It's hard to believe it's been two years since one Elden Ring player rose above all others, proving their right to the throne of Elden Lord through repetitive ritual combat. Let Me Solo Her, as this jar-clad hero would come to be known, would dutifully slay the game's most brutal boss for players single-handedly, becoming an enduring legend in the process.

Elden Ring’s upcoming expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, is out this Summer and adds a new world, the Land of Shadow, complete with new enemies, over ten bosses and much more. It doesn’t affect the outcome of the base game (and vice versa), but you need to play a fairly significant amount to even access the expansion.

may be Fromsoftware's most-played game, but that doesn't mean fans have managed to unearth all of its hidden treasures. While dedicated adventurers can take pride in their dedication to hunting down secrets, it would appear that some pots have yet to be upturned. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki confirmed as much, noting that while the majority of 's secrets have been found, there's at least one that's eluded the player base.

Renowned Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki recently spoke about the future of the Dark Souls franchise, suggesting he is open to «delegating» the directorial position to others. Since the debut of Demon's Souls in 2009, the Souls franchise has grown into one of the most recognizable brands within gaming, defining a genre that became known as "Souls-like" games. The franchise has made developer FromSoftware into a household name, recently winning Game of the Year in 2022 for the highly-anticipated Elden Ring. Now, Miyazaki could be looking to take a step back from the franchise.

Elden Ring's Shadow of The Erdtree DLC finally has a release date, as we'll all be heading back to The Lands Between later this year. On top of the release date, FromSoftware released an exciting new gameplay trailer showcasing the new land we'll be exploring, which will no doubt be filled with horrible creatures, challenging encounters, and a handful of Malenia-tier boss fights that will make us want to throw our controllers out of the window.

Just when fans thought they had explored everything in The Lands Between and were gearing up for their next journey in Elden Ring, FromSoftware has revealed that there is a secret yet to be discovered. In the past few days, the Elden Ring community has been parsing the Shadow of Erdtree DLC trailer for more lore-related hints, but it seems like there is some work left to be done in the base game as well.

Elden Ring's director says both himself and FromSoftware at large don't feel pressured by other games in the 'Souls-like' genre.

From Software president Hidetaka Miyazaki has acknowledged that members of the Dark Souls studio had misgivings about Elden Ring's shift to a full-blown open world format, while qualifying that Elden Ring's vision for an open world was never "traditional". Rather, Elden Ring is an "open world" game in the same way that Dark Souls is a "hard" game, Miyazaki feels. Confused? Well, this is the godfather of the notoriously unforthcoming Souls series we're talking about. I've never interviewed the guy, but I suspect he composes his responses using the game's soapstone messaging system.

FromSoftware is changing its approach to level design with Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

The Souls games, or whatever umbrella you want to put all of FromSoftware's action RPGs under, collectively redefined an entire genre and literally defined a new one in the form of Soulslikes. So it is immensely amusing to hear creative director and studio boss Hidetaka Miyazaki describe this success, in an interview with Eurogamer, as: "Players seem to enjoy our games."

Two years after Elden Ring was released, we finally got our first look at the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. From cryptic teases to ghastly enemies, it had it all, and it sounds like there will still be some challenges in store for those seeking more of them.