Everyone who could defeat Mohg and Radahn in Elden Ring They are already enjoying everything Shadow of the Erdtree has to offer, with all its new bosses, weapons, enemies and areas to explore. We cannot deny that FromSoftware did a great job with this DLC that gives us more of what we love but without forgetting to add some newness to its mechanics.
Much of the discussion on networks about it revolves around the fact that they should already give it the game of the year award. Although we are among those who love this expansion, we believe that giving it the GOTY is somewhat exaggerated. That’s why we’re here to tell you to reduce the cream on your tacos a little.
Why doesn’t Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree deserve GOTY?
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree does a lot of things right
Before you come at us with tridents and torches we want you to know that we know what a gem Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is. Especially nowadays where very few studios insist on giving us so much in a DLC.
With work they give us content for about 5 hours while the good Miyazaki gives us 30 more hours at least, 100 if you are one-armed like us. Additionally, they managed to capture the same feel of the base game with their new zones. Well, it feels like we’re playing for the first time with surprises at every turn and bosses that kick our butts again.
We understand them and we also know that we are in the stage of falling in love. After all, we are in the first week and everything seems perfect. Give it a little more time and you will begin to see some of the imperfections that are there, which have been creeping in since Elden Ring.
Well, yes, but GOTY candidate?
Now that it’s clear that we consider Shadow of the Erdtree a very good experience, let’s see why we don’t consider it worthy of a GOTY. First of all, it is an expansion of Elden Ring. It is necessary to have this game to access the content. Also, let’s remember that the base game has already won thousands of GOTY awards in 2022.
To be the GOTY again in 2024 it would have to present tremendous innovation and practically be considered a totally new experience, which it does not do. Yes, it gives us more weapons, new attacks and villains to face, but at its core it remains the same exact gameplay.. As more of the same that we got from the base game it’s perfect, but as a GOTY candidate we don’t think so.
A GOTY should push the industry forward in different ways or introduce things that haven’t been seen before. A very engaging narrative, complex and fun gameplay, accessibility so that anyone can experience it.
Shadow of the Erdtree falls short in several of these aspects. We already said that the gameplay is basically the same. Its story, although easier to understand than that of the base game, remains vague and told through NPCs or object descriptions. But perhaps where it fails the most is in its accessibility.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree was not made for the masses
One of the things that made him so loved Elden Ring It is its accessibility. Many people who had never touched a soulslike or a FromSoftware title in their lives could enter it without so much problem. Not necessarily because it is easier than others, but because its open world gave more possibilities to face its dangers.
Summon the mimic tear to help you with the bosses, go somewhere else to level up if an area is difficult for you. Go defeat another boss and then return to this one, which is not even necessary to advance the story.. So there are several examples from the base game.
Shadow of the Erdtree To begin with, it already has barriers to accessing it, since it asks you to defeat two of the most difficult bosses in the base game. One of them is also difficult to find. Furthermore, once inside even the most experienced players find themselves with a considerably greater challenge. Many users have even started review bombing it because of how difficult it is.
Here we don’t judge FromSoftware by the difficulty of its games. That’s how they like to make them and it’s worth it and respected. But to all those who say that the GOTY should be taken How could something that very few will be able to enjoy be worthy?
The grades are very good but you have to analyze them well
Now if you want to go by its rating on Metacritic, where it is already the best DLC of all time and also the best game of 2024, there are several things to take into account. First, its rating of 95 is based on reviews from 59 specialized media.
For comparison, the best game of 2024 until this expansion, according to critics, was Final Fantasy VII Rebirth which has a rating of 92 based on 149 reviews. They are three tenths less but with a much greater amount of varied opinions. That is to say, it managed to captivate many more people while Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree managed to captivate a very small group.
In terms of audience ratings, we see that this DLC has 83. In general it is a good rating but here we see just several of the complaints that we already mentioned. Story that doesn’t make much sense, a lot of difficulty, little or no explanation of its new additions, poorly designed bosses and performance problems. The game is clearly not perfect.
The phenomenon of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtrees is more novelty than anything
For us what happens with Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree It’s just what we mentioned about falling in love. We are so used to being sold three-hour experiences for $70 that when they give us 30 hours of content in a DLC our pants fall off.
Many were so surprised by the new bosses, weapons, dungeons, and sheer amount of content that they were blinded to all the glitches around them. For them it is a game of ten no matter what others say. It’s okay that you like a game and we don’t judge you for that, but it’s not enough to say that it will be GOTY.
Even so, we do not doubt that Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree be in some ceremonies, but maybe only as a better DLC or expansion But how to give the game of the year to an expansion that gives us practically the same as the winner from 2 years ago?
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