Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Gets Release Date and Gameplay Trailer. Community Made Correct Guesses

Source: FromSoftware.

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Updated

Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki gave extensive interviews to IGN and Eurogamer. We learn the following:

1. the Land of Shadow is to be larger than the base game's Limgrave (there will certainly be underground locations as well);
2. the structure of the region will be similar to the one in Elden Ring -- we will have open spaces, minor dungeons (catacombs, etc.) and main locations (the so-called legacy dungeons);
3. the transitions between these areas will be smoother than in the base game;
4. poisonous swamp location, characteristic of FromSoftware studio games;
5. more than 10 new bosses -- some of them as demanding as Malenia;
6. 8 new weapon categories will be introduced;
7. the difficulty level is supposed to be similar to endgame of base game;
8. George R.R. Martin didn't wirite anything new for the expansion (which doesn't mean that none of his "old" ideas were used);
9. Shadow of the Erdtree is so far the largest expansion by FromSoftware studio.

Original news

As announced, FromSoftware and Bandai Namco released the first gameplay trailer for the Shadow of the Erdtree add-on to the game Elden Ring. The information confirms previous reports by billbil-kun -- the expansion will be released on June 21.

Shadow of the Erdtree, unlike Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and Horizon: Forbidden - West: Burning Shores, will also be released on last-gen consoles, namely PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Elden Ring will thus be released on PC, PS4, PS5, XOne, and XSX/S.

You can watch the gameplay trailer below.

Before we move on to what you can learn from the above material, a few words about the physical editions of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. There will be two:

1. standard (PS5 and XSX/S) - with the original Elden Ring on disc and Shadow of Erdtree in digital;
2. Collector's Edition (PC, PS5 and XSX/S) – containing a code for the expansion (the distributor did not mention anything about the base game), a 18" statue of Messmer the Impaler, a 40-page printed artbook, and a digital soundtrack (this edition will be very limited).

Namco Bandai Entertainment/FromSoftware.

The collector's edition supposedly comes at around $250. The digital expansion is available in three editions:

1. Standard Edition at $39.99.
2. Premium Bundle at $49.99. Includes the DLC along with digital artbook and soundtrack.
3. Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Edition at $74.99. Includes both the base game and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
4. Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Deluxe Edition: $94.99+. Includes the base game, the DLC, and digital artbooks and soundtracks for both.

You can order the DLC on Steam and the PS Store (the offer should appear in the MS Store soon).

Alright, so what does the above gameplay trailer tell us? Here's the gist of it:

1. The expansion will take us to the Land of Shadow, a place hidden by the Erdtree, where the goddess Marika first set foot. This land is scorched by Messmer's fire.
2. This is where Miquella, a demigod sentenced to eternal childhood and the brother of Malenia, who decided to "get rid of his own body, strength and origin. Everything that's golden [as we know, Miquella wasn't on good terms with the Golden Order]. "And now Miquella awaits the promised return of his ruler."
3. As we expected, we will follow the trail of this demigod, who was a background character in Elden Ring, appearing e.g. in item descriptions. We can assume that we'll delve into the stories of Torrent (our steed, likely once owned by Miquella) and Godwyn the Golden (the first slain demigod, whom Malenia's brother intended to resurrect).
4. New bosses, locations, items, and weapons.

Namco Bandai Entertainment/FromSoftware.

Namco Bandai Entertainment/FromSoftware.

Namco Bandai Entertainment/FromSoftware.

Who is Messmer the Impaler, featured in the first image and gameplay trailer? Putting aside the fact that he is probably one of the bosses, discovering that will have to wait. I will just mention that in the official Bandai Namco Entertainment store, you can order his helmet, created for the most demanding and deserving fans.

1. Elden Ring Review: A Soulful Experience
2. Elden Ring - game guide