Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is the most hyped DLC of all time

The rise of video game DLC is a trend that not every gamer appreciates, but the upcoming new content for Elden Ring is looking to be a major exception to that rule. It might just be the most hyped DLC of all time.

Elden Ring was released in 2022 to a terrific critical response. The game received glowing reviews across the board, and players were just as excited about it. This wasn’t exactly a surprise, as FromSoftware’s games have made a habit of receiving great reviews and piling up increasingly impressive sales numbers. But Elden Ring took that success to a new level.

Now, FromSoftware is hoping to push things even further by extending the game’s life with a fresh DLC expansion.

Will there be more Elden Ring DLC?

It’s not hard to imagine how DLC might work effectively in Elden Ring. The massive open-world game already works by introducing large new playing areas to its players as the game unfolds. Plugging in another new zone or two makes perfect sense, and should feel natural if done correctly. Given the quality of Elden Ring, there’s no reason to expect anything but quality here.

One of the game’s main draws is discovering new weapons, armor, and magical spells, as well as clashing with new foes who require different strategies to defeat. This, too, is an area easily expanded on. Players are already excited to scavenge every nook and cranny looking for hidden items to collect and enemies to defeat.

Part of the hype also comes down to the growing sense that this may be the one and only expansion to this cherished game. FromSoftware president and game director Hidetaka Miyazaki is already reported to have said that this will be the sole Elden Ring DLC release. It’s possible that Miyazaki and his FromSoftware compatriots may change their minds about that, but there’s certainly no guarantee on that front.

What will happen in Shadow of the Erdtree?

As far as what exactly players can expect from the new Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, there’s no limit to the possibilities, but there are some reasonable likelihoods.

Miquella is the one presence in the game that is all but guaranteed. As the most prominent character not actually encountered during the game’s campaign, Miquelle stands to play a prominent role in Shadow of the Erdtree. The exact nature of that role is still to be determined, but it will almost certainly involve an epic battle, perhaps the climactic fight of the entire expansion.

It won’t actually be the first encounter with Miquella, whenever it does happen. That actually takes place deep in the subterranean caves of Elden Ring, when Miquella’s limp and bloodied arm falls from a seeming cocoon prior to a battle with Mogh, one of the main game’s more memorable boss encounters. In that instance, Miquella seems skeletal and frail. The character’s presence in a potential battle would likely be much more intimidating.

As for who else might show in the game’s new battles, there are many theories out there. One of the most prominent theories concerns the Blue Dancer, the namesake for the Blue Dancer charm that can be acquired from a Guardian Golem. It is supposed from the game’s lore that the Blue Dancer trained Malenia, Miquella’s infamous sibling who proved to be arguably the most difficult boss in all of Elden Ring. And if the Blue Dancer taught Malenia everything she knows, players can bet that her teacher will be even more challenging.

With all of this being considered, it’s easy to see why the hype for Shadows of the Erdtree is so high. Given its history of releases that have received rave reviews, it’s remarkably easy to imagine this particular DLC actually living up to that hype.