So after some high highs and low lows with the new DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, I’m relieved that I can finally share the experience with friends. Don’t get me wrong— the expansion’s already a clear GOTY contender — but, like NPR contributor Keller Gordon, I’m a few degrees cooler on it than most critics. I edited his review and concur that it’s just a bit too labyrinthine:
[W]hile Shadow of the Erdtree is undeniably gorgeous, it frustrated me more than the base game. I often galloped in circles, searching for paths down forbidding rock faces. The Ruins of Rauh in particular sucked hours of my time as I fought the same foes and hit the same dead-ends. Yet tenuous as the traversal might be, it’s never been more essential.
It’s not just that this end-game realm expects players to have mastered the original content — it also introduces new resources to collect that permanently buff your damage and defense against enemies in the Land of Shadow. While you could try to power through without “Scadutree Fragments,” you’ll likely need to scour the map to acquire them because even early bosses are no joke.
But I also agree that it’s great to be back. I’m catching up with Marika, Miquella, and more like they’re old friends:
In the week I’ve spent with my Shadow of the Erdtree review copy, I’ve had a blast plunging back into this world brimming with uncanny vistas and terrifying adversaries. Although this expansion doesn’t feel as fresh as FromSoftware’s best downloadable content (like Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters), it’s still a breathtaking sequel of one of the greatest games ever made. I’m anxious to continue my journey, dive deeper into fathomless lore, and laugh each time I get impaled, crushed, electrocuted, lacerated, poisoned, and/or set aflame.
This week’s Nintendo Direct was a doozy. I booked Polygon’s Maddy Myers to discuss the imminent, surprise release of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom:
For the first time in nearly forty years, Princess Zelda is starring in the blockbuster video game series that bears her name. […]
Her skepticism was well-founded. Series producer Eiji Auonuma had long prioritized Link, the games’ traditional green-clad hero. In a 2016 interview, he asked Gamespot, “If we have Princess Zelda as the main character who fights, then what is Link going to do?”
But while Zelda has taken on many pivotal roles over the decades, she’s never served as a game’s main playable character. “She is usually the princess that the player saves,” says Myers. “But now she gets to take on an action role and solve problems.”
Zelda’s not the only leading lady that Nintendo’s recently elevated. The company just announced “Metroid Prime 4: Beyond,” a long-awaited game starring Samus Aran, a spacefaring bounty hunter who first appeared in 1986. Earlier this year, Princess Peach headlined her own game after the “Super Mario Bros.” Movie she featured in made over a billion dollars.
“I think, finally, Nintendo is realizing that this has frustrated players for a long time,” says Myers. “But as somebody who's been covering games for a very long time and playing them since I was a kid, I'm really delighted that kids these days get to grow up in a world where it's totally normal to get to point to the pink princess on screen and say, I want to play as her and actually get to do that.”
I enjoyed this article; I was interested to find I had the opposite reaction to Shadow of the Erdtree as you and Keller. My favorite part of the game was the maze-like nature of the over world. In the base game, if you saw something cool you could typically run straight to it. In the expansion, it felt satisfying to finally find the entrance to an area that I'd been searching for since the night before. I especially liked the way the world used vertical layers to hide areas in the world map. The abyss, the dragon mountains, and the back way into the keep were my favorite places to "discover".
Cool to read about your experience with the game, it's always interesting to hear differing opinions.
I enjoyed this article; I was interested to find I had the opposite reaction to Shadow of the Erdtree as you and Keller. My favorite part of the game was the maze-like nature of the over world. In the base game, if you saw something cool you could typically run straight to it. In the expansion, it felt satisfying to finally find the entrance to an area that I'd been searching for since the night before. I especially liked the way the world used vertical layers to hide areas in the world map. The abyss, the dragon mountains, and the back way into the keep were my favorite places to "discover".
Cool to read about your experience with the game, it's always interesting to hear differing opinions.