Critics have swooned for FromSoftware’s “Elden Ring” expansion pack ‘Shadow of the Erdtree’ with its 95/100 Metacritic score dubbing it the best dowloadable content (DLC) of all time. However, player reviews have been notably more mixed than the critics so far. Though still positive overall, the title has managed only ‘Mixed’ reviews on Steam with around 14,000 of the 37,000 counted as negative.
Complaints appear to be a mix of game design, performance issues, and in almost every case – difficulty. FromSoftware games are famous for their difficulty, and even get a certain amout of leeway because of that, but as says: “Erdtree may have broken a significant amount of players, even longtime veterans.” Game publisher Bandai Namco had blunt advice today for those complaints, saying on social media: “This is a suggestion to level up your Scadutree Blessing”.
In fact, the game’s director Hidetaka Miyazaki is well aware of the difficulty, telling : “Traditionally we’ve always liked the higher difficulty curve type of games and experiences, but I think that nature in and of itself alienates a good portion of the game playing audience...
The amount of freedom that we give players helps offset that difficulty curve and makes the game more accessible and engaging.” The comments seem more diplomatic than the ones he gave the other week, saying basically frustration is a part of the game itself: “If we really wanted the whole world to play the game, we cou.
