Summary
FromSoftware has made some pretty sizable games in its time. The studio’s debut game,King’s Field, was an incredibly ambitious first-person dungeon-crawler,Armored Corecame out of the gate swinging with a challenging mech combat game, andDemon’s Soulsintroduced the world to the now-belovedFromSoftware action-RPG formula. But FromSoftware didn’t stop there. Each new FromSoft entry has been more ambitious than the last, withElden Ringbeing the shining jewel in FromSoft’s crown.
A true magnum opus, at least for now,Elden Ringis an absolutely gigantic game, boasting well over 130 hours of content. And now with the recently released Shadow of the Erdtree DLC,Elden Ringis an even beefier juggernaut, containing over 40 hours of new content. But while all ofElden Ringand Shadow of the Erdtree’s content is original, the two aren’t afraid of repeating some assets throughout their lengthy runtime, and that’s far from a bad thing.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Reused Content Doesn’t Feel Cheap
As mentioned up top, Elden Ring is a huge game, featuring far more content than any FromSoftware game that came before it. Wherethe firstDark Soulshad just 26 bosses, andBloodbornehad just 22,Elden Ringhas well over 200 in its base game. Naturally, not all of these 200+ bosses can be expected to be completely unique, and the same can be said for all ofElden Ring’s optional areas and dungeons. But while FromSoftware reused some boss designs and level assets inElden Ring, it did its very best to ensure that any reused piece of content still felt distinct and worthwhile in some way.
A good example of this isElden Ring’s many repeated boss designs. From Crucible Knights to Erdtree Watchdogs to Godskins to Magma Wyrms,Elden Ringfeatures a multitude of reused boss designs, but each one is given some kind of unique trait that sets it apart from all of its other iterations. For instance, some reused bosses will have an extra attack in their moveset or will have a unique elemental buff, and some bosses will fight in a pair or a group. Similarly, though the architecture and visual design of some optional areas like catacombs and underground dungeons can look very similar across the game,Elden Ringwill always give each area a unique layout, some different enemies, and occasionally even an additional gimmick.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Repeat Content Feels Just as Rewarding
Though it is technically just a DLC,Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreeis surprisingly massive, featuring over 70 new bosses, and a ton of new areas. Much like the base game before it, Shadow of the Erdtree decides to reuse a few of its assets to pad out the DLC’s runtime, but again, FromSoftware has tried to ensure that each repeated asset has some distinct flair that keeps it memorable and rewarding. In fact, in some ways,Shadow of the Erdtree’s repeated assetscan be even more rewarding than those in the base game.
One of the best examples of this isthe Darklight Catacombs. Though this dungeon looks very similar to a few that have come before it, including a handful in the base game, it has a unique gimmick in that the entire dungeon is pitch-black. If players manage to navigate their way through this dark dungeon, they’ll be treated to a solid boss fight, and then an entirely new, even larger optional area. Repeated boss fights are also made worthwhile by often rewarding the player with much-needed Scadutree Fragments.
Elden Ring
WHERE TO PLAY
ELDEN RING, developed by FromSoftware, Inc. and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin. Danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to date. Hidetaka Miyazaki - President and Game Director of FromSoftware Inc. Known for directing critically-acclaimed games in beloved franchises including Armored Core and Dark Souls.George R.R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows, and A Dance with Dragons. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with the lovely Parris in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
