Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree - Ignored the Story Beat
Hi Elden Ring supporters! Recall the frenzy generated upon the announcement of Shadow Of The Erdtree, the DLC for Elden Ring? Everybody said, " finally, we'll get answers to all those burning lore questions!" As it happens, the DLC threw a curveball. Though the narrative is yet unknown, it boasts 80 new bosses, a fresh area to discover, and lots of fierce battles. Not as much.
From Software games are not particularly known for spoon-feeding you the narrative. They enjoy piecing you together from hints and cues strewn all around the planet. For repeatability, it's fantastic; but, it can leave some questions unresolved.
People hoped some of those riddles would be solved when Shadow Of The Erdtree dropped. It fell short of the buzz, though. Though only a small number of them truly provide more lore information, there are almost eighty fresh bosses.
Igniting the Story Beat Missing
You first find the absence of an intro cutscene. You arrive teleported straight into the new territory; no elegant introduction or lore drop sets the scene. Sort of a bust, right?
Including the major story players, even the superiors? Indeed, neither build-up to those battles nor any other. Like BAM! You are in the middle of something large devoid of background. "I found out some bosses were super important for the lore but only after the fight," Reddit user Khaoticol said. I merely thought it was another boss; there was no build-up."
Only 4 of the 15 bosses in the DLC have cutscenes; they drop remembrances. Most bosses in the main game received cutscenes, thus this felt a little strange. And Radahn, the cutscene following your defeating the last boss? Let's say, then, it was not the grand confrontation everyone had in mind. It did provide some fresh background for some things, but it did not address all those unresolved issues about the narrative.
Perhaps More is Ahead.
Hey, there is some hope though. Sekiro Dubi, a data miner, came upon a cutscene with St. Trina not included into the DLC. St. Trina says, "Thank you... in a brief moment. At last, he will be free," over a black screen. This little scene reveals some rather fascinating information about Miquella: he is not exactly a nice man.
Fromsoftware has not addressed the lack of lore in the DLC, but George R. R. Martin, who helped create the Elden Ring universe, mentioned rumors regarding a possible movie or TV show. "What rumour?," he asked on his blog, wink wink. Perhaps this will mean a live-action adaptation will feature more of the narrative. Fingers crossed!
Those who want to solve all the riddles of Elden Ring could find themselves hanging for now. Though it didn't quite live up on the narrative front, the DLC brought a lot of awesome content. Hopefully, going forward—perhaps in a movie or TV show—we will have more lore.
