FromSoftware tried something new with Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree: "We wanted to go more in-depth and bring a denser and richer level design"

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.

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.

While players have scoured and stained every inch of the Lands Between in the two years since Elden Ring launched, they might not have uncovered every secret just yet. With a June release now confirmed for Shadow Of The Erdtree, the long-awaited expansion, director Hidetaka Miyazaki has now hinted that we Tarnished may have missed something. One small secret may yet remain, assuming he's not pulling another prank, or maybe not. Honestly, Miyazaki should say it has hundreds of undiscovered things. Keep everyone guessing. Communal Internet knowledge has ruined the mystique of video games.

A new combat system in ’s DLC will likely change how players approach difficult challenges with bosses and mini-bosses in the additional content for the game. The long-awaited expansion was announced back in February 2023, a year after the base game’s original release. At the time, little information was provided other than the title itself and artwork featuring a blonde character mounted on a Spirit Steed, with an alternative version of the Erdtree far in the distance. Now, more information has been uncovered with the DLC’s gameplay reveal trailer.

Think you know everything there is to know about Elden Ring? Think again, Tarnished – according to director Hidetaka Miyazaki, there's still «a small element» yet to be discovered.

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.

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.

FromSoftware’s Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree promises to explore the “dark secrets” of the world, shining more light on the mythos. However, director Hidetaka Miyazaki confirmed that its ending won’t change the base game’s progression of events (and vice versa).